how much whine is normal from a 5mt?

[94.GT.Wagon]

The only 5mt Subaru I have ever driven is mine, so i don't have much of a frame of reference. Mine has a not obnoxious but noticeable whining noise, particularly in 4th and 5th (under load). Anybody got 2 cents?

[BAC5.2]

None...

[94.GT.Wagon]

Hmmm.... So should I be concerned? I do have 175,000 miles on it by the way.

[93forestpearl]

From what I've gathered and witnessed, whining is often times associated with the front ring and pinion about to grenade.

[94.GT.Wagon]

So for a guy who has never been inside a trans of any kind but is super competent when it comes to mechanical work, what kind of job is it to replace the ring and pinion?

[Legacy777]

Probably not something you want to do, due to backlashes and other tight tolerences.

My impreza tranny has been whining for a couple months. Just drive it till it dies. Which may not be for a long time.....

[94SS_Canada]

Just dont drive too far and get a back-up tranny ready to go.

[94.GT.Wagon]

So it sounds like a used tranny is more practical than replacing parts? Bummer. I was moments away from putting a new clutch in it too. Looks like that could be a waste of time. Is the 4.11 ratio pretty common for a manual?

[BAC5.2]

From what I've gathered and witnessed, whining is often times associated with the front ring and pinion about to grenade.

Or transfer gear bearings.

In fact, that is something YOU need to watch out for. At the FIRST sign of a whine, the rear transfer bearing is about to let go. Either replace it yourself, or have someone replace it.

I've seen 6-speeds die from that.

[93forestpearl]

^ That's directed towards me? If so, good to know. I've had no such whine, but I'll have an ear out for it now.

[94.GT.Wagon]

Anybody have an exploded view of these transaxles they could share?

My whine comes and goes with load. In other words if I'm cruising down the highway and let off the gas, whine goes away, get on the gas, whine comes back. In my experience that is more likely to indicate worn gears than a bad bearing. Seems like a bearing would be constant noise (depending on speed of course). Am I wrong?

[93forestpearl]

You have a good assumption. Like we talked about, you front diff is probably hurting, and the other possibility is the transfer gear bearing. A bearing could in theory make more noise with load too.

This is all I have for you to look at.

[94.GT.Wagon]

Nice picture, thanks!

I'm kind of thinking that in the end it really doesn't matter which part is making the noise, a used gear box is probably the way to go. I see these puppies all the time in my local u-wrench salvage yard with way less miles than the 175k I'm sporting.

As far as fit is concerned, can I grab just any properly geared 5mt with a cable pull clutch regardless of year or am I looking for something more specific? Probably some id numbers I need to locate and match?

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

[93forestpearl]

You can get a properly geared one, or get one and grab the matching rear end. But yes, a cable tranny is an easy swap.



If it is an N/A manual, that will be a lot easier to find than a turbo tranny, as they are different.

[94.GT.Wagon]

Yep, N/A manual...

Thanks again.