Gear Box surprise!!
 

Pretty new to AGT and have been doing bits and pieces on my '95 BA I4 Astina.
When I first got the car the clutch was not operating, as the previous owner was having trouble bleeding the system. It turned out to be a cross threaded push rod for the master not letting the pedal/master work properly. Only have done a hundred or so k's since, I gave it an engine service and only checked level and condition of gearbox oil.

A persistent whine/noise has continued and today I wanted to change the gearbox oil. The oil 'glugged' out rather that just run out, so I put my pinky up the drain hole and felt something that moved....quite large and I can't really displace it. I grabbed a mirror and the camera and got these shots:
http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/.../GB-drain2.jpg

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/.../GB-Drain1.jpg

The oil that came out was really clean and I didn't really see anything metallic. The piece seems to have a smooth curved side and the face towards the plug seems to be rough.

I am thinking this is not good...and seems to be part of a housing?...I am guessing final gear...Any thoughts.

Cheers,
Paul

I think its not very good mate........
Thats my 2c worth exhausted
Option A - fix it - $$$, peace of mind
Option B - leave it - free!, but who knows what might happen.....

I'm a fan of option B myself, and if this gearbox dies, I still rekon a whole box swap will probably cost you couple hundy more then just fixing it.

The thing you felt with your pinky is a magnet, purposly put in place near the drain hole to collect metal shavings.

If your lucky the whine might just be due to the condition of the oil that was in it. I would puts some new oil in and see if it improved before reco'ing or replacing.

Well with two for stickin' more oil in..I may just do that and see what develops.

Thanks for the input.
Paul

I refilled the box with 75-90 and this evening the family and I went down to Movieworld for the white Christmas thingie.

Noise is the same as before..no real change...it feels like a whirring...in or out of gear the same feel. I do not think it is tyre noise (as it only come from the front, all 4 tyres same pattern). The noise is not overly loud or 'bad' sounding..but for my missus to pick it up means that it is definitely noticeable. This all leads me to think that the diff is on its way out...anyone have had the same symptoms?
Cheers,
Paul

before tackling the gearbox, put it on stands, secure it, turn it on and put it in to gear, then go and see if it really is the gearbox or your wheel bearing.. if its a constant whine it might be bearing in the box rather than the gear, cus for the gear to make a constant noise, it means that all the teeth are fcuked, otherwise there would be a break in the noise making it more like a grinding noise (if that makes any sense)

As said above.

All gearbox's have some minor whine in them but you might find it's more likley a wheel bearing

but also check your Cv's are locked up tight. I recently saw on the books a BJ astina 1.6L it was in becasue other merchanics could not work out the whine/grind noise.

took it for spin. left front - then found the nut had gone back abnout 1/8th of a turn and it was not locked in correctly. Yeah a new nut is best but just a decent chiseling into it did the job. It's actually not too uncomon sometimes.

Ok, finally got around to doing some more investigations. Definitely front left noise.
While the nut on the left front axle was still locked in place it was not tight at all. So I have tightened it properly and relocked the nut. The noise has diminished greatly...but I reckon the bearing will still need doing shortly.
Will give it a bit of a run over the next few days and see how it goes.

Thanks for all the input guys...cheers and happy new year!!

if it was loose for long time - then the bearing might be damaged

agreed. but i'd change the "might" to "will".

is the noise constant or kick in at say 40/60/80kph? or kick in at same speed all the time?

I have just changed the front left wheel bearing. Made things much better..I will do the right one shortly.

Cheers,
Paul