djwrx

got a 53plate wrx
full subaru service history
60 k on clock
do average 6 k a year
well during the winter i noticed when reversing i heard a whining..now i know they straight cut boxes and they whine but this is defiantly louder than when i bought the car
when you dip the clucth in and out it quietnes down
well i park at night where i live and reverse in doing a left hand down.the other night as i took foot right off clucth i heard knocking noise underneath.
all exhasut mountings etc are ok cos had car on ramps to do mudflaps and nothing appears lose
subaru said the whining was nothing too worry about
a garage i have used for over 20 year(whom i trust and they do many motorsports type conversion) reckoned it could been gearbox oil not warming up too temps>>> we was hitting minus 16 most night and no warmer than 0 for about 3 weeks.they looked at gearbox oil too check it hadnt broke down and was still freash and warm
so that was ruled out
now temps back up too double figures still get whine and im on and off clucth too reverse cos worried im damaging the box....
any ideas????
dont want my gearbox blow up !!!

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

check both gearbox oil and rear diff oil for metal flakes to see if anythin is breaking down in there.

djwrx

you reckon i should have them both drained?? if there bits in there what you think next step would be ?

djandyg

iTrader: (2)

reverse gear is straight cut hence why they whine.

djwrx

is there a particular reason why it only whines in reverse?? i have know problems going upi the box etc and it always selects fine and no cruching etc

djwrx

yer i know they whine...what im saying is that it whining LOUDER than it has since i owned it..you know when you drive something everyday..ell if it not sound right you pick up on it straight away

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

dont need to drain the box n diff. just drive for a bit so it's warmed up. give it a few minuites to settle, then pull the drain plug out momentarily n let some oil out in 2 a clear glass jar or something so u can inspect it. if theres any metal flakes in there, then you will need to get someone familiar with scoob boxes to open it up n inspect and repair whatever is wrong.
rememer to top the box oil up after before you drive it again

djwrx

yer me mate at garage did that when on the ramps.the oil was a nice golden brown and clear>>>....????

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

rear diff too ?

djwrx

hiya mate..they didnt check the rear diff cos had oil changed last april and the sound they reckon was coming from the front end.i did say could it be the rear diff and noiose traveling up the chassis etc..i had a bmw 325 i whuch made a grinding noiise and ended up having low diff oil and when you went round corners....perhaps i should have the levels checked on the rear diff....the dipstick by the turbo..does that cover the rear diff or is it drain plug etc on the back ??

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

dipstick by the turbo is for gearbox oil level.
i have a clasic, so the drain plugs could be in a slightly different position to you, but on mine, there are two plugs on the rear of the diff. a high level one for filling and a low level one for draining.
jack up the back of the car and have a look. i suspect you will either have 2 plugs like mine on the back of the diff, or one on the back and one on the bottom to drain.

it may well be your gearbox thats the problem, but reverse puts force on the rear diff opposite to normal forward driving and therefore could make a noise in one direction and not the other if there was a problem with the diff.

djwrx

would you say it a major concern or is it just put up with it being as it only reverse that is noisy...i get know noise thru the gears apart from a bit of whine in first if was in traffic and drive say quick then back off...you get a urrrhh urrhh urrhhh kinda nise if that means anything.i dont thrash the car or nothing and never give any stick in 1st or second

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

it could be nothing or it could be serious. impossible to tell without inspecting the box internals.
i'm not familiar with the internals of scoob boxes, only old landrovers, but the basic principals are the same. usualy there is 1 shaft called a layshaft. this shaft is conneced to the gearbox output shaft. all gears sit next to the layshaft and selecting a gear will engage the gear with that shaft. if you get a whine in all gears, its usualy too much play in the layshaft. if you get it in only 1 or 2 gears, then its the shaft those gears are on thats got the problem.
as you only get the noise in reverse, its probably just that shaft thats has an issue.

you could leave it as if reverse is not used that much, and its not giving you problems, it may be ok for quite some time. but, if it goes and contaminates your gearbox oil with metal fragments, it could do damage to the rest of your box.

i would suggest the following:-

1. check the rear diff oil. probably not the problem, but costs nothing to look and cheaper to fix than a box if it turns out to be the problem.
2. record the sound and put it on youtube n post the link here. wait n see if anyone else has had the same sound n what their problem was.
3. if no one on here recognises the noise, then you gotta decide if you want to risk potentialy replacing the box when/if it finaly goes, or if you wanna bite the bullet n pay somene to pull your box out, have a look, n rectify any problems found

djwrx

cheers guys..the chap at subaru says nothing worry about but it okay when it not his..my mate at his garage said perhaps go too gearbox specialist but im bit dubious taking one a1 gearbox services so too speak...perhaps that an option tho for piece of mind.just a pisser that the cars had been maintained by subaru from new..you know you spend mega bucks on service etc and something still may potentailay go wrong with an internal componet

djwrx

just quick update..took too a local gearbox specialist.very nice 50ish man who even rang me on a sun after i contacted his company by email with my symptoms.well he took the car for spin with me in it and straight away said the whine is normal due too the type of gears etc and being slighly noiser isnt a problem etc.said car drives fab and the gear changes are spot on etc and not too worry about it basicaly.he told me bit about the gearbox in subaru cars and seemed very genuine .so i had 3 people now who told me not too worry and im not going too.i guess he could of turned round and said "yer it terminal etc" but he didnt and was very honest.so going leave as it is now

andy-m

iTrader: (1)

keep that guys contact details! decent honest trustworthy mechanics are hard to find, which i think is stupid ! if all mechanics were honest like that, they would get repeat business off customers.

djwrx

yer i got his cards and he give me cards for his sons recovery service and also a guy who does bodywork who he said spot on.very nice chap actualy