Hi everyone,
I just bought a 1998 5spd Maxima not too long ago and the transmission makes a whining sound then I move in first gear and only first gear. What could this problem be? And if I keep driving like this, how long would my transmission last? Thanks

 

Tare it down and inspect it for worn bearings, gears, synchros ect. Catch it before it actually fails and it will cost you a lot less.

 

Thanks for the reply. If I do that, I would probably take it to the shop. Do you know about how much (on average) they would charge to take apart and inspect the tranny?

 

I did my 98 se tranny, i had to replace the input shaft bearing it was making similar noise ur is 1st to 2nd, took the tranny off my self and brought it to a shop chareged me 450 for parts and labor to install them

 

Can you describe when it's whining? When the car is rolling? Clutch in/out? Does the whine follow the engine speed (increase in frequency when the clutch is engaged (pedal up) and you hit the gas)?

Your whine could be anything from the TO bearing to the differential and/or shaft bearings.

If/when you have some free time, try the following:
1) Neutral/standing still/clutch engaged (blip throttle to see if the noise changes)
2) Neutral/standing still/Clutch disengaged (blip throttle here too)
4) In gear/rolling/clutch disengaged
5) Neutral/rolling/clutch disengaged

These tests may give an indication as to what's making the noise. I'd try them out before recommending a tear-down of the tranny.

 

Thanks again for the replies Nismomax and Syrth. Syrth, as far as I know the whining noise is ONLY in first gear when the cluth is disengaged and the whine does follow the engine speed. The higher the rpms, the louder it gets. I got some free time right now so I'm going test out the following scenarios you listed. I'll get back to you on that soon... thanks again guys.

 

what about in reverse? does the car do it in reverse too? my car does it in both (1st, and reverse) gears and its normal (i've had the trans looked at, everything was perdy )

 

I know reverse is normal, but 1st gear should be silent.

I have it now too, and its bad and loud, so noisy need 2k tranny

 

I've had it in 1st gear since i got the car, and when they took the trans apart, they found no bad parts

 

sounds to me like you have the "internal tranny bearing syndrom" along with many many other 4rth gen owners. I myself have gone thru this and believe me it just gets worse and worse if you don't do anything about it now. It started only in 1st gear like you mentioned, only a faint whine. Then 2nd and 3rd and before I knew it, I was used to this whining in every gear and didn't do anything about it. 20k miles later, it starts leaking oil and grinding 1st gear, sometimes won't go into any gear at all.

$900 later, bought new bell housing cause it was cracked and replaced all bearings inside. Now it's brand as new!

I say you should act now and have it checked out before you run into more problems down the road. Good luck!

-Paul

 

first have it checked, cause after i heard about the tranny bearing problem, i rushed to get it opened and looked at and the shop was like "oh you need a new clutch but nothing else is wrong" and now my car has a POS clutch in it and i had to pay more for it than i would have for a stage one exedy clutch with a new flywheel! grrrr.

 

My '98 had the same symtoms...I bought a complete bearing/seal kit (250.00) and had it installed at a shop about 30 mins from you...(Springfield,VA)..R&R labor about 700.00

 

Syrth,
1) Neutral/Standing still/ clutch engaged- blipped the throttle, no change in noise
2)Neutral/ Standing still/ clutch disengaged- no change in noise
3)In gear/ rolling/clutch disengaged- whines in first when i accelerate, when I let go of the gas it sounds like its winding down but still there.
4)Neutral/rolling/ clutch disengaged- no change in noise

Nismos14- Whines in reverse too, but not as loud as first gear. But that could be, b/c I don't go as fast in reverse as I do in first.
I'm definetly going to get my tranny checked out, but hopefully it'll be fine like yours.

Thanks again to everyone that replied.

Oh yeah, are there any other symptoms for a tranny bearing problem besides this?

 

Very interesting, can you give me the name to the shop? Did they do a good job?

Thanks.

 

my bet is that there is probably nothing majorly wrong but definately have it looked at and let us know good luck

 

I would not go tearing apart the tranny because of the 1st gear whine. My car has always had it, before my diff bearing repair and after. Now if you had a leaking axel seal along with a whine in 1st gear and 2nd I would be thinking bearings. Not enough symptoms to think it is the bearing at this time IMO

 

Good thinking Mike.

A whine in 1st gear might be normal it depends on the whine really. If you notice a leak from the axles seals by the trans - you know what to do asap! And don't think that just replacing the seals will solve the problem becuase I ended up replacing them 4 (count 'em) four times in 3 months. I was afraid to face the facts that my trans is falling apart.

Best of luck dude. Keep us posted.

-Paul

 

The 1st gear whine is pretty normal. My 96 did it for the 6 years I owned the car and I never had any trouble with the tranny.

 

One more important detail: When you say clutch engaged, what do you mean?

The definitions are as follows:
engaged == disk against flywheel (pedal up)
disengaged == disk away from flywheel (pedal down)

As for the other symptoms, I would keep an eye out for gear-oil leaks from the drive axle seals.

 

my car whines in 1st also. i dont think its a big problem. somtimes though when its cold out and i first drive away if i keep on the gas steadily in 2nd or 3rd at like 2,000 rpm the car will shudder, and jerk in a pattern, feel as if the engine isnt gettin enuff gas or sumtin... beats me..

anyone have any idea???