You know that sound that most cars make when you accelerate in reverse? Kinda like winding up a whinning Cat sound. Recently my car started making this in 1st gear - all other gears it is normal.

any ideas? The tranny seems fine - very smooth shifts - no grinds - just this annoying sound.

fyi: manual transmission

 

the only thing i can think of is the syncro is starting to go out of first gear.. which ive never heard of in these cars.

 

anyone have any ideas? besides synchro? I really don't think thats it.

 

Try changing the tranny fluid. The least that'll happen is you'll be shifting smoother.

 

I get a whine too but its not a bad type of sound and its not loud at all, it almost sounds like a supercar type of deceleration lol. Its hard to explain.

I heard because in normal manual transmissions, the first and reverse gears are are on the same "short shaft" IIRC its still called that.

Hence the reason why when you're already moving, lets say 5mph, and you're out of gear, its hard to go in 1st/reverse. Because they are on the same shaft.

But nowadays, its all complex with the way transmissions and clutches work.

 

interesting - and that makes sense - but why does this happen all the sudden? it never did this for 2 years. I'll try changing tranny fluid.

 

pilot bearing possibly, mine whines 1st through 3rd and stops in 4th which leads to a failed input shaft bearing if im correct cause the 4th gear is a 1 to 1 ratio. yours sounds like similiar to mine, it makes the car sound supercharged lol. sounds like a bearing in the tranny though.

 

Yea, I normally use amsoil synthetic Severe Gear Oil... works wonders.

 

Mine started doing it too. My fluid isn't that old. Doesn't bother me as long as it still goes. haha

 

It's not the pilot bearing, because that will only make noise when the clutch is disengaged.

A whine (where one never existed before) usually means mis-aligned gears or a wear problem with the gears, or not enough lube to wet them. Mis-aligned gears usually happens when a bearing on one of the related gear shafts is going out. I had that big-time on an old Triumph TR-4 that I owned.

 

I would go the extra step and remove the bottom cover of the trans after you have drained the oil. You can then inspect the gears for any unusual wear, feel for to much play, etc. You can also clean on the stuff stuck to magnet inside.

Another thing to try is to listen for any unusual noises when you let off the gas without using the clutch. (i.e. the transition from engine braking to acceleration and back again).

At the prices mazda wants for new trans parts, you should start looking for a good used transmission.

 

That is what it was on my tranny when it started making those types of noises. It has now been rebuilt.

 

1st and reverse....... not paired together. Gears are paired on each side of a hub that has a collar that moves to one gear or the other depending on which notch of the "H" pattern you are in. Fun fact; the output shaft gears are all on needle bearings, not at all connected to the output shaft.

1st and 2nd
3rd and 4th
5th and reverse

There are only three shafts in a manual transmission (no association whatsoever with the 3 pairings of gears). Your whine is probably from the gears themselves: change your fluid to a high quality synthetic. 1st and reverse will whine the most due to them being the shortest ratio.

If the whine happens all the time, then you probably have a bearing issue.

The synchros don't spin nor do they ride on bearings. They won't make any sort of noise. Their only purpose is to align the notches of the collar to the teeth of the hub section of the applicable gear.

 

Had the same issue and got worse and worse, but shifted fine so i think it was a bearing. I just replaced it with a low mile jspec trans and now no noise and shifts better.

 

I have the same issue but I will be changing my trans very soon so Im not worried about it.