Gearbox Whine

[Guest]

Hi there,

i'm looking at replacing my 1994 MKIV Supra (NA) with a 944 Turbo (86 vintage).

I've seen a nice car but there was a whine from the gearbox. The owner reckons it is a bearing which should cost £200-300 to replace. The cheapest i've seen these bearings at is over £600 so i'm not convinced.

Can anyone tell me if this is a major issue with the box or not (will it die soon) and/or how much is a repair likely to cost, assuming that there are no other issues that could be causing this.

all replies appreciated.

martin.

 

[sawood12]

£200-£300 sounds very cheap for any bearing related gearbox work. As far as i'm aware there are no bearings in the gearbox that are easy to replace without at least partially stripping the box so I guess you are talking a substantial bill, especially when you factor in the inevitable 'while I was in there I noticed this bit was broken too' factor. 944 gearboxes can whine a bit but if it is very noticable when driving i'd look into it carefully. If you've set your heart on the rest of the car i'd consult a gearbox specialist to get an idea of the potential costs involved in rebuilding and repairing the box.

 

[TTM]

All the bearings, synchros and gaskets required for a complete gearbox rebuild cost £600. That's what I paid anyway.

A whine will often mean worn out differential bearings and/or main shaft bearings (and/or torque tube bearings). Past certain mileages all 944 gearboxes tend to whine somehow, but it does not necessarily mean they need a rebuild - it merely depends how loud the whine is.

 

[Guest]

Ah thanks guys. I need to try a few more 944s to see if it can tell if it is a bad whine or just standard transmission whine by the sound of it. Good to know it can be a "feature" of the cars otherwise i might be shopping around a while!

Car looks great but the seller wants nearly 5k for it and i was worried about handing over that sort of money with a potential £600 +VAT bill on top. I don't want my first taste of the 944 to be tainted by an unreliable car.

 

[Guest]

My '83 lux has a very slight wine but nothing more than most older cars have and it can only be heard if your really listening for it and only when at low speeds.

Mine had full Porsche history though so guess it had gearbox oil changed when required.

 

[Fen]

Do some research on here about 220 vs. 250 Turbos before you commit to an '86 car. Others have bought early ones only to wish they'd held out/paid a little more for a later one with more power/LSD/bigger brakes/stronger drive shafts etc.

 

[Guest]

some of the sigs in this thread are already worrying me! troublesome short drive and if it isn't blown it sucks? heh. i take it the turbo is a reliable unit though? its either a turbo or an s2. Basically the best car for the cash. Do want a nice interior though!

m.

 

[Fen]

Basic rule: Turbo to modify, S2 to keep standard. If you want to modify a Turbo the later 250bhp cars are a better base.

Turbos are reliable, most of the dead ones have had something hit the impellor rather than wear out.

 

[Diver944]

I think it's a very good idea to find out exacty when the gear oil was last changed. The official interval is 4 years but a lot that I looked at had NO record of it ever being done. My personal view is that a lot of the 944's whiney gearbox reputation is purely due to skimping or less than diligent servicing.

Many people report an immediate improvement just by sticking fresh oil in (of course just as many report no improvement [] )

 

[sawood12]

ORIGINAL: fivetide

some of the sigs in this thread are already worrying me! troublesome short drive and if it isn't blown it sucks? heh. i take it the turbo is a reliable unit though? its either a turbo or an s2. Basically the best car for the cash. Do want a nice interior though!

m.

Don't worry about it. If you buy a decent car they are as reliable as any other car on the road, if not moreso. All the work i've had to do on my car is due to its age rather than the car being inherantly unreliable. Typical German over-engineering means even those with fairly heavily modified cars enjoy a level of reliability modern cars would envy. But the trick is to buy a good one in the first place!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Many people report an immediate improvement just by sticking fresh oil in (of course just as many report no improvement )

Mine was SOOOOOO much quieter for changing the oil.

For a couple of hundred miles.....[]

I now tell people it's a racing gearbox. []

 

[Guest]

thanks for the advice chaps. i'll be using the car quite a bit but mainly on weekends. i do a lot of work on my cars myself, dropping oil ever 4 to 5k etc so happy to look after the car. glad to know it isn't a terminal thing (necessarily). could well be joining the ranks in the near future. friendly advice always helpful!

 

[Diver944]

No, it's not supposed to be noisy but if there is wear or a lack of oilchanges you can hear it. Does your boot carpet have the thick sound deadening foam still attached - this cuts down a lot of noise? The gear oil should be changed every 4 years but a lot of unloved cars never seem to have this done and some cars do have very noisy boxes as a result.

 

[cococola]

change the oil and you may have a quieter box with smoother gear change.

 

[zcacogp]

... alternatively it may make no difference at all! (As it did to mine ... )


Oli.

 

[Guest]

Think I'll change it for the thicker stuff. Anyone know which one to use?

 

[Mike_Pollock]

All the ones I've been in have to agreater or lesser extent, replacing the oil can help.
Mike

 

[AntB]

Yeah same here. Thought it was normal.

I spoke to my Indie re this whine - and they said that they did it out the factory and customers used to complain.. 100K later and still the same with no issues.. Just one of those 944 features..

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Mine is about the noisiest I've known. When I bought the car RPM were happy to do a deal on changing it if I was worried, but it's just a feature of the cars. When I arrived at Silverstone last weekend Robin Walker asked me to depress the clutch so he could hear me speak. []

A gearbox won't cost any more than a clutch to replace, anyway, as there are plenty of breakers out there. The only way to know whether it's really worse than acceptable is for (I'm guessing it's a question from a buyer here) to encourage them to try a selection of cars and then yours. There will be plenty of 944 owners at Porsche and Polo in a couple of weeks, send him or her there and I'm happy to let them listen to my gearbox whine.

 

[AntB]

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

Mine is about the noisiest I've known. When I bought the car RPM were happy to do a deal on changing it if I was worried, but it's just a feature of the cars. When I arrived at Silverstone last weekend Robin Walker asked me to depress the clutch so he could hear me speak. []

A gearbox won't cost any more than a clutch to replace, anyway, as there are plenty of breakers out there. The only way to know whether it's really worse than acceptable is for (I'm guessing it's a question from a buyer here) to encourage them to try a selection of cars and then yours. There will be plenty of 944 owners at Porsche and Polo in a couple of weeks, send him or her there and I'm happy to let them listen to my gearbox whine.

Very kind of you Paul... Thank You ..

who knows - if I still have the car I may come down myself.. [] (thats if we are back from Holiday then..)