turboguzzi Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Noise from the 5MT box is never a fun thing to sort, but this weekend I had some time to do some pocking on my GF’s 99 forester (120K miles). It is a light to medium grind/rumble/whine, very similar to an old rear drive car with a worn rear diff, but comes from gearbox / center of car. It is cyclic, not steady, sort of wa-wa-wa. I can hear it also in while in neutral, goes away if I press the clutch pedal. Then, while driving, whine gets louder but not excessively and is present in all gears, from 1st to 5th. I drained the oil so to check for stuff attached to the magnetic plug. Was half expecting to find quite a bit of shavings, but actually there was very little of stuff that could come from a failed gear, BUT, there was on the other hand, a shiny broken piece which on the external face is spherical, and on the internal side , looks like broken off form somewhere due to fatigue. Was suspecting it was coming from a ball in a bearing, but too big…. About 1/4 “ long, and also the radius is too big. Any ideas? So something is amiss with the box I’d say, just trying to decide how much I can wait, and if try to find a used G/B and do a quick-ish swap or try to open it and fix, no idea what I will find inside… I’m an expert motorcycle mechanic, can do top to bottom overhauls on anything wiht two wheels, but not sure I have the means to handle a huge gearbox repair (got no press) and the time to stop the car for long while DIYng the box. Your opinions are welcome…. Tnxs Edited February 3, 2020 by turboguzzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 could be unrelated as the noise symptom, with change when clutch is used, might be an input shaft bearing. others may have a better idea, but, you could check car-part.com for used trans prices...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Probably a bearing issue. Does it ever slip out of gear when crushing? Is there a gear that’s hard to get into? Was the oil dirty looking? And how much came out roughly? Loads of oil can remain in the gearbox after it’s drained. My guess is that it’s an upper shaft bearing. The wa-wa-wa noise you’re hearing could be the bearing rotating or a particular gear rotating. I’m guessing it changes with revs too. This to me points to a bearing issue for sure. That piece you found looks to be cast. The only things I can think that are cast inside the gearbox is the front diff (open), lower shaft rear bearing plate, the gear selector shaft, selector fork shafts and possibly the centre diff. Still, I can’t pin point exactly where it came from. Replacement box is probably best for least amount of downtime on the vehicle. Splitting the box has the most educational value And don’t worry, if you can work on everything motorcycle, you’ll be right with the “big” (but small by comparison to other) gearboxes! Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboguzzi Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Tnxs for the info guys. As for your questions: All gears slip in nicely, no slip out of gear, oil was clean and nice, most of the 4 liters that go into an 5MT went out, collected about 3.5 Can add that while driving in all gears, noise only present when pressing the on the gas, no noise when coasting. The cyclic thing sounds to me too like a bearing From previous experience, is damage usually limited to just the bearing? or likely i need to change some gears too if i decide to open the box? cheers back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboguzzi Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Hei Texan, checked out that car-part.com site, serves only north america, USA, CA, MX, not Italy Will gonna drop by my trusted mech thursday, but preparing myself mentally for a "gearbox gone" verdict..... Is there a way to tell from outside the front diff ratio? im pretty sure this is same as mine as in italy there was really just one version of the non turbo 1st gen sold. wonder if the white label (red area in pic) can say which ratio is in there.... https://www.subito.it/accessori-auto/subaru-forester-cambio-usato-subaru-ej20-bologna-312421015.htm?from=areariservata Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboguzzi Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 ok, trusted mech verdict after a test drive is bearing or bearings gone on the input shaft, quoted two full days of work to drop trans out, open it and put back together + parts ( can vary) and i could be spending a nice 800 -1K add to this a kit clutch which at this point would be stupid not to do while trns is out and it swells even more. think im going to give this 250$ trans a chance and try to DIY it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I like your style @turboguzzi Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Good luck with it. Any experience with Ducati singles ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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