rasco Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Transmission whine.mp3 Hey all, Had my Z for a few months now, and love it. It has always had a bit of a noisy transmission, but I think it's louder now than when I bought it. I've searched the forum for gearbox/transmission issues and can see a lot about idle rattle, synchro issues etc, but I have no problem selecting gear (apart from 2nd when cold), no crunching and nothing else out of the ordinary except this whine. I've attached a sound file with a snippet of a recording I've taken - with some time before the whine, then the whine appears at 23 seconds in (it's louder in reality than it appears in the recording). My car is modified, which could be making the symptoms worse. Amongst other things, it has a Quaife ATB LSD fitted, polybushed all round, whiteline ARBs, coilovers etc. So everything is more rigid, which could mean vibrations are transferred more easily...? It's most noticeable between 58-70mph in both 5th and 6th gear (which is what is recorded in the sound file), though I think it happens at a lot of other speed/gear combinations (20-30 in 3rd) but it's much quieter then. It's only really when I accelerate gently - if I put the clutch down, the whine stops, if I come off the accelerator, the whine is barely noticeable. Not sure on hard acceleration as the exhaust is much louder and I've got the turbo going then (HKS Single turbo ) Is this usual for the 350z? I've read it has a noisy gearbox, but not sure if this is one of the noises thought of as "ok".... Cheers in advance for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Meant to say it's a DE (not uprev) so won't be the cda009 gearbox. .. Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggalo Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Can't really hear a whine in that mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Ah sorry it's probably all the background noise. Not listened to it through speakers, just through headphones (turned up quite loud) the whine / whistle starts roughly 23 seconds in Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 "So everything is more rigid, which could mean vibrations are transferred more easily...?" This ^^^, I would suspect. Someone like Bennett on here would be one who is best likely to advise - http://www.350z-uk.c.../10799-gt4-zed/ . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks for your reply Colin, I've sent him a message. Yeah I'm hoping it's just that, but it's gotten louder since I've had it..... it was on 104k miles when I bought it, I've only driven it 2k miles so would hope I've not managed to ruin it in such a short space of time!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks Colin for the vote 😎. Hi glen, The sound you are alluding to is barely perceptible in the sound clip but because I know what you mean I can hear it and I've got that sound. It's well described on threads in my350x U.S. So I expected this unlike you. It's a medium pitched "whoooooo" hum/whine and it actually comes from your diff.tather GB and as you rightly said the culprit is the polybushes. Especially on the rear subframe and diff. They transmit this whine that you would not otherwise hear with std rubber OEM bushes which isolate everything. Now if you also have solid GB and engine mounts with all the polybushes replaced with solid bushes like I did and now I'm fully stripped with no sound deadening left means these sound/whines/ hums/clicks have multiplied/amplified and now come from the engine and gearbox on top of the diff and are all echoed in the cabin which is acts as a megaphone. It's all part of the race car experience I guess.and I love itðŸ‘. The key is that everything works as it should. Just enjoy it and if we meet up someday I'll take you for a spin and you will see you have no complains as mine is like living inside a machine/engine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks Bennett, that is hugely reassuring I don't really get why it's louder now than it was when I bought it, but yes everything works as it should so I'll stop worrying now - glad I'm not the only one to have it! And yes, if we ever meet I'd defo take you up on your offer - your car sounds like quite the machine too - must be awesome Sadly I'm down south though...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Anxiety amplifies things you know😇!! Also what was your sequence of mods? This impacts on your where your focus is. My diff whine is less when I change fluids so maybe you ought to change the fluid. I find that 3000-4000k is about right for my clutch type LSD and it likes mineral oil rather than synthetic. The ATB is a gear type diff but make like frequent oil changes too. Not sure which oil is recommended for it but Quaife should have guided you in the instruction manual. I use motul 90PA (75w90)diff oil which is 2L for under £20 and the diff has been golden unlike when I had fully synthetic 75w90 gulf competition or redline oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 all the mods were done before I bought the car. The diff hasn't been on for long though, fitted Nov 2014 along with all the poly bushing. Apparently the Quaife LSD is "fit and forget" - no oil changes required - ever! :S It could well be anxiety amplifying it - though the wife also agrees it's louder now (though admittedly only after asking her) - but not a change in the type of sound. My way to work is on rather bumpy (and potholed) A/B roads, so maybe it's just sitting slightly differently? or is that wishful thinking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I would be very concerned by the no oil service required for the Quaife! I research the ATB when looking at diffs and remember they have life long warranty being a helical gear design but I don't think it means you don't need to service the diff with oil me thinks!!! The VLSD is different as the oil is sealed within the diff with the plates (the oil gets thicker with load creating friction between the plates and therefore locking action) and so you can't change it. But that special oil does deteriorate overtime and the VLSD locking gets weaker and weaker with age. FWIW when you service your OEM diff you are just changing the oil bathing the crown/pinion and stub axles gears but not the diff oil. So unless the ATB oil is also sealed and therefore cannot be changed you will still require to service the oil as per OEM but at a longer interval or depending on use. I used to do yearly changes when I had the VLSD because fresh oil always offers better protection and let's be honest 1.4l of diff oil is not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. Just make sure you read the literature correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Its like the noises you hear driving along a closed in country road in any car, that seem to amplify things or even make you hear noises that you normally don't and after a while paranoia can set in that something is wrong, until the road widens out and all is well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Hah! too true. I've found a video of a car that makes a similar noise (completely different car & parts though, but that's the whine I get), though for me it happens 3rd/4th around 30mph, 5th/6th between 55mph and 70mph now, the rest of the time no noise. Worth changing gearbox and diff fluids for peace of mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 bit of an update, changed the oil in both the gearbox and diff. gearbox oil was absolutely fine, but diff oil was slightly dark and there was some swarf on the magnetic plug (not a worrying or unusual amount, I'm told). Reading about whines at specific speed ranges, it apparently points to the ring and pinion (which are the Nissan originals) being worn. This, together with the findings from changing the fluids, would agree with Bennett's suggestion of the diff being the problem. Plus after re-reading some info from the previous owner, I've got whiteline diff bushes installed, as well as the rest of the car being polybushed (superpro bushes). I guess maybe if the volume of the whine has increased during my ownership of the car, the wear to the ring & pinion may have gotten worse. New fluids have not changed the sound at all. From what I've read, the only way to remove the sound would be a new ring & pinion (or change back to stock bushes!). Bennett, before you moved to solid bushes, was your whine speed dependant? Just want to check that I can leave ring & pinion as it is without risking damage to other parts at a later date (in case your whine is constant and therefore due to other reasons). I can live with the noise, but not with a potential risk to further parts (for example I've read that if it was a bearing whine, this could cause further damage if it failed completely??)..... Ta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Dude you are still worrying with this😳! Every moving part will wear over time but unless something catastrophic happened the wear is even and minimal so never an issue. I never had any whine until I put urethane bushes all round. The solid bushes just amplified every noise that's there. Even the diff on my M3 whines and groans and it's a known complaint. BMW advices adding a friction modifier to the diff oil to get rid off get it. Changing the crown/pinion is just too extreme unless you can prove significant wear. Like I said before if everything works you are just worrying for nowt. Edited July 29, 2015 by GT4 Zed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasco Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Dude you are still worrying with thisí ½í¸³! Every moving part will wear over time but unless something catastrophic happened the wear is even and minimal so never an issue. I never had any whine until I put urethane bushes all round. The solid bushes just amplified every noise that's there. Even the diff on my M3 whines and groans and it's a known complaint. BMW advices adding a friction modifier to the diff oil to get rid off get it. Changing the crown/pinion is just too extreme unless you can prove significant wear. Like I said before if everything works you are just worrying for nowt. too true - I should drop this! hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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