TheSamba.com :: View topic - I think my trannys mad.Its GROWLING at me! "more i

Wed Aug 25, 2010 12:57 pm

Any ideas on this.When I take off in first or second my tranny almost makes a growling sound for a couple seconds until the rpms get up.It seems worse when under load or on a hill.It runs down the road fine with no poping out of gear or grinding.It has all new bearings in RGBs.It is a tunnel small nut tranny.Just bad bearings in it or something

Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:48 pm

Have you checked the gear oil level in the tranny?

Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:12 pm

Yes it is level with the hole

Wed Aug 25, 2010 5:44 pm

Have you changed the gear oil in the last 30,000 miles?

Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:25 pm

yes just this spring.

Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:53 pm

Do you hear the noise in neutral?

Does the noise go away when you depress the clutch?

Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:24 pm

No its just when you start going and are on the gas.If you are thinking throw out it was replaced 3000 miles ago or so.

Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:33 pm

Tim MacDonald wrote: No its just when you start going and are on the gas.If you are thinking throw out it was replaced 3000 miles ago or so.

No, I'm not thinking it's the TO bearing, which would sound off when the clutch is depressed.
Our box is similarly noisy and I'm pretty certain it's the mainshaft bearing. Hope it's not the pinion bearing.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 5:01 am

Is it a hard fix for the main shaft bearing? Why you hope its not a pinion bearing?

Thu Aug 26, 2010 5:44 am

i've been watching this thread cause i'm having similar issues. except mine is amplified through out my interiorless PANEL with solid front mount (tunnel trans in split case hole)

how bad is it for the mainshaft bearing to make noise?

is this something that can only be heard in gear with out the clutch pressed?

i notice mine does it around 50mph (on the speedo, lowered bus) and goes away just as original poster has described when not under a load or above about 55 (on the speedo)

i also did a little extra checking...while stuck in traffic yesterday, with the brakes fully depressed, if i just ease out the clutch it will make the noise too...definite signs of a mainshaft bearing???

based on this thread and what teh concensus was from a friend i guess this is the noise i'm hearing. just concerns me cause i don't recall it being so loud on the old motor, but the only difference in motors is flywheel (stock now was lightened)

Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:30 am

The differance with mine is it only does it in start off in first and second and only for a couple seconds until the rpms get up a bit

Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:27 am

Tim MacDonald wrote: Is it a hard fix for the main shaft bearing? Why you hope its not a pinion bearing?

It's possible to replace a bad mainshaft bearing without disassembling the box. A bad pinion bearing is an altogether different endeavor; it apparently requires taking the box apart and that's a process that we can't undertake- we don't have the proper tools and know-how.

Our trans makes the horrific growl in all gears, but is somewhat quieter after a drive. I'm guessing the bad bearing[s] are getting a bit of gear-oil splash [the mainshaft bearing sits above the 'waterline' of gear-oil]. The noise is also somewhat softer on deceleration.

A kind and helpful Samba member has offered to walk us through the mainshaft bearing replacement procedure which we'll begin as soon as the weather is reliably cooler here. We'll definitely document the job. Really hope I find an obviously lunched mainshaft bearing once I pull the nosecone.

It's damned difficult to get straight answers with regard to transmission issues. Some folks advise running the thing 'til it's broken; mostly the advice is to replace the unit entirely which for us is a nonstarter given the expense of a new box and/or the crapshoot involved in a used unit.

We're out in the sticks which means there's no educated opinion available as to what exactly is the problem, nor are there any used boxes to swap in. Also, our engine/trans are original to the vehicle so we'd very much like to repair it and keep the Bus intact in that area.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:50 pm

Sounds good.I am in the same type area.There is maybe a hand full of split buses in all the maritime provinces.As far as somebody knowing and being familiar with the tranny is NIL as far as I know.A thread with your tear down with lots of pics will be great.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:19 pm

FWIW, my old tranny before I got a nice rebuilt unit put in my bus, had a terrible growl. As a Band-Aid fix I changed the fluid and added a bottle of Lucas Transmission treatment, with a little in the RGBs too.
Made it a lot more tolerable to drive (quiet!) , and it slowed the leaks down too.
Stuff just looks like super thick tranny oil, probably not the best option, but to make it tolerable until you get a rebuilt unit worked for me.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:36 pm

Mine does not make any noise when I am driving just on take off but I have heard that stuff does work wonders

Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:57 pm

Have you ascertained that the noise on take off isn't from the shift rod hitting because of a broken front mount? Are both drum splines sound?

As far as people being able to troubleshoot a tranny sound on these threads I'd say it's harder because there are a lot of things to rule out. There are three motions to account for, input, output, and differential. Each gear has pilot bearings as well as the front and tail of each shaft. There are a myriad of rolling checks that can narrow the problem down but several have to be done. A long hill with no traffic and the engine off can tell you a lot. A quiet time spent with the bus on body stands will narrow it down also. The more info the better. Ask away, post away.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 3:18 pm

The front tranny mount is good on my bus and so are the splines on the drums.

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:25 pm

I had my bus jacked up today and found a couple things that might be my problem.What do you all think?right between the nose cone and shift coupler there seen to be alot of play and there is tranny fluid leaking there.Could this be due to a bad bearing or shift coupler?And also if I lift up on the passengers tire I can move it up and down a bit with ease and you can see the torsion arm move but passengers side I tried and it did not move.Could this be related to the clunking start up noise in first and second under load or on a hill?

Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:27 pm

Are the RGB to swing plate bolts tight??

Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:43 pm