What causes a transmission to whine severely??

Kdubslugga · May 25, 2011

I have a question. I have a z-code t5 in my car with like 3000 miles on it. Now granted I know this tranny is shot because it sounds god awful, the thing is ive never once power shifted I hardly ever drag race, and I figured all my power, "510" rwhp would break something not wear something out excessivley fast. Tranny shifts very smooth, doesnt grind, but like I said, whines extremely loud. Is the only thing that causes whinning worn out gears? Like I said, im not trying to fix the whine, tranny is getting replaced, just trying to learn something.

wythors · May 25, 2011

Kdubslugga said:
What causes a transmission to whine severly??

It's female and not getting it's way?

Sorry, I have nothing constructive here.

Kdubslugga · May 25, 2011

lol, awesome!!

Chrome_Rust · May 25, 2011

fluid.... yup

Might be low, take 15 minutes and pull it out and tear it down to see inside of it.

Mustang5L5 · May 25, 2011

Lack of fluid, incorrect fluid, or low fluid causing the bearings to scpre and become damaged are two leaking causes.

93project · May 25, 2011

wythors said:
It's female and not getting it's way?

Sorry, I have nothing constructive here.

lmfao! PERFECT!!!

tannerc91gt · May 26, 2011

Like stated, not enough fluid or the wrong fluid. Might be able to get away with just
changing it for now, but if you've damaged the bearings and possibly the synchros (they tend to burn up and the grooves wear out with low/wrong fluid) you might be better off just fixing it now

Gearbanger 101 · May 26, 2011

Refresh my memory....I know the Z-Spec T5 was stronger…but why? What type of gears does it run? If to strengthen them they went to a strait cut gear set over the standard helical cut gear set, then that's probably the source of your whine?

For the life of me though, I can't remember if that's how they designed the gear sets in the Z-spec, or if they also used the helical cut gears, but made them slightly thicker, with different alloys to improve the strength?

Does it whine in every gear, or just certain gears?

Mustang5L5 · May 26, 2011

Gearbanger 101 said:
Refresh my memory....I know the Z-Spec T5 was stronger…but why? What type of gears does it run? If to strengthen them they went to a strait cut gear set over the standard helical cut gear set, then that's probably the source of your whine?

For the life of me though, I can't remember if that's how they designed the gear sets in the Z-spec, or if they also used the helical cut gears, but made them slightly thicker, with different alloys to improve the strength?

Does it whine in every gear, or just certain gears?

It's helical gearing.

The strenght increase is due to reducing the gear ratios slightly. The materials are the same as the 90+ T-5, but the different torque rating is due to the taller gear resulting in lesser torque multiplication. Also, the pocket bearing was redesigned to allow for less flex of the mainshaft which prevents 3rd gear spread. When gears spread, the load transfers to the thinner part of the gear, which shears easier

It's why the 4-bangers have a lower rating...they have steeper gears, so it allows for more torque multiplication which is when you get in the tooth shearing zone.

cammed89lx · May 26, 2011

Plus arent t5's notorious for whining overly loud?

Rick 91GT · May 26, 2011

The front bearing in the t5s starve for fluid, if they go bad and explode it does a lot of damage. Like others, check the fluid level first.

Mustang5L5 · May 26, 2011

cammed89lx said:
Plus arent t5's notorious for whining overly loud?

Doesn't mean it's "right". The one I just rebuilt for my car with new bearings and gears is completely silent.

Whining t-5s (other than shifter noise) are usually starved bearings.

Check your fluid level frequently.

MadRed92GT · Jun 5, 2011

Might be a dumb question, but how do you check the fluid? My whine sound seem to come from the rear end.

Mustang5L5 · Jun 6, 2011

Passenger side of trans. There are two plugs that a 3/8" drive rachet fits into. Top is fill, bottom is drain.

With car level, remove the top plug. Fluid should be right at the plug level. If you can stick a finger in and not feel the fluid level, you are low

DO NOT remove the big torx-style plug on the driver's side of the transmission. This holds the 5-R linkage. If you unscrew this, big problem. The fill/drain plugs are on the PASSENGER side

ID89GT · Jun 6, 2011

What usually needs replaced to fix this whine problem? Mine does it as well, and I know it was low on fluid. Just wondering if its cheaper to replace the parts that need fixed or to buy a whole other tranny

Mustang5L5 · Jun 6, 2011

Depends on which parts are scored up.

I had a trans that whined. The 15 roller bearings between input shaft and mainshaft were scored...as well as tip of mainshaft.

Got a good used mainshaft for $75, and a new set of roller bearings for $15 or so...swapped them in and good as new.

If the trans whines in every gear BUT 4th, that's a scored mainshaft. Factor in that shaft as the main replacement part.

Other bearings do fail as well

MadRed92GT · Jun 6, 2011

Never had to do this before, so what type fluid & can you but it at O'rielly or Autozone? You can do this without dropping the trans. out right?

Mustang5L5 · Jun 6, 2011

Non-synthetic ATF is recommended fill....fill capacity is 2.8 quarts (so get 3)

No need to drop trans. Just get it up and level. All you need is a 3/8" drive rachet. Drain from bottom plug into a pan. You can remove the shifter and fill there, but it's quicket to just buy the pump that screws onto the top of a quart bottle and pump the fluid nto the top hole. Will take 3 mins...vs 20 mins removing the shifter.

ID89GT · Jun 6, 2011

Mine whines in 1st through 3rd I believe. It shifts fine and all, just has the annoying whine

MadRed92GT · Jun 6, 2011

Thanks Mustang5L5, needed that. You know if low fluid makes the rear end whine, I think that is where my whine is coming from.

What causes a transmission to whine severely??

Kdubslugga

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wythors

Get off my lawn!!!

Kdubslugga

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Chrome_Rust

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Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

93project

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tannerc91gt

This last 25% is foreign territory at this point

Gearbanger 101

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Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

cammed89lx

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Rick 91GT

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Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

MadRed92GT

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

ID89GT

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

MadRed92GT

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

ID89GT

MadRed92GT

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What causes a transmission to whine severely??

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