Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Slight trans whine in 5spd - problem?

[M Campbell]

Hi all, just a question about the slight whine I'm hearing from my 5spd when I put it into 5th. It started making the noise at about 38k miles, and is now at 41k. You can just hear it with the windows up and no radio... It goes away when I let off of the go pedal. Don't know if it is related, but for the last 15k or so I also get a bit of a jump in the shift lever when going from accel to decel or vise versa... just a slight movement in the shifter and you can feel a faint jump if you have your hand on it.



I just changed the fluid (Castrol Syntorq) last night and added the Fuller trans filter. There was no change in the noise today. Which reminds me, I've lost the intructions for the filter... on the inner plate (closest to trans), does the "bent" lip go to the filter or the trans side? I put it in to the filter side, thinking the stamped "TOP" should indicate it was to go facing out.



Thanks for any input you can give.



Mike

'99 QC 4x4 5sp SB, VA/PS

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Sorry to tell you this but the lip should be towards the transmission side. The gears sling the oil towards the filter housing and that lip grabs some of it and allows it to flow through the filter. The "top" is only to say that that side should be to the top of the transmission. It won't hurt your transmission at all having it installed backwards but you won't be filtering any of the oil. I've never noticed a whine in my transmission in 5th so I don't know what to tell you on that one. But my shifter does move around some and always has, if you have someone sit in your truck, open the hood, and have someone rev the engine in neutral you'll see how much the engine moves even without the driveline added - that's normal. The transmission is bolted directly to the engine and both are mounted to rubber engine mounts so it has to move some.

 

[John Berger]

Mike, does it make the noise constantly in 5th or just when you first put it into 5th? If it's constantly doing it, are you sure it's not the infamous exhaust drone? The drone could be confused for a whining sound. I first noticed the drone on my truck around 20K miles. It's still droning on.

 

[M Campbell]

Thanks for the replies guys.



Steve, the shifter softly 'pops' forward and back when I'm accel decelling in third, not side to side from engine torque. Thanks for the info on the plate... guess I'll just run with it like it is and feel good about the added capacity... makes me mad about the stamping of the text though... that is a no-no in my field.



John, it does it constantly and is load dependendent... if there is any forward load on the gears it whines, but as soon as the load is relieved by slacking off on the throttle it goes away. It gets slightly louder with speed and load. I read in the manual a bit and it says slight noise is normal (saw that in the NV3500 section, so hope it applies to the 4500 too) so I'll not worry about it for the moment (of course it could be that my 5th gear is backing off, right?).



Thanks!

Mike

 

[John Berger]

Mike, from what I understand that 5th gear nut just goes. Mine has not yet, so others who have had the problem could comment on any warning noises they may have noticed.