Another whiney 6 speed!

[DeviouS15]

Hi everyone, ever since i picked up my S15 which was 50,000ks ago it had a slight whine coming from the gearbox. Over the years it got louder and louder, so recently i took it to a mechanic and got all the bearings in the box replaced as well as a Xtreme heavy duty clutch and flywheel kit installed.
I got it back today and the clutch feels great, pedal feels exactly like stock and its nice and quiet too.
The gearbox on the other hand is anything but quiet, if anything the whine is now a bit louder than before. The box has 2.2L of fresh Redline Shockproof Lightweight in it, so that should be fine.
Ive done quite a bit of research on the whine, on here and other sites and this statement keeps popping up... "The problem has been identified as the front two constant mesh gears. The input shaft and the lay shaft's both have a fixed gear that like to become noisy in the teeth over time."
So what i would like to know is, has anybody on here replaced these parts with success? If so, was it worth the money just to get rid of the whine? Car is at Stage 1 but will soon be taken to Stage 2, and id prefer to hold on to the 6 speed rather than do a conversion of any type.
Cheers in advance fellas!

 

[spoonman]

putting a beefer clutch in is only going increase loading of the gearbox and cause more transmission of vibration and noise, so the fact that the noise got worse after putting in a better clutch is to be expected, but i have to ask..... if you had the gearbox pulled apart to replace the bearings and you identified the problem.. why did you not replace the gears causing the problem while you were there???

 

[DeviouS15]

Na i didn't know about the problem with the gears until I did a bit of research last night. I suppose we'll just have to pull the box apart again and replace them. Would be good to get some confirmation that the gears are definitely the problem.

 

[spoonman]

it might be cheaper to just buy a second hand 6mt, parts will be prob $200 and cost to strip and replace will be $500 - $600. guessing it just cost you about that to replace the bearings?

 

[spoonman]

did the guy who replaced the bearings not inspect the clearances and wear marks and all that guff when the box was apart?

 

[DeviouS15]

Bearing kit was $450 and labour around $600 all plus gst... So it was pretty pricey. Well I would have thought the guy would have checked everything... But maybe not. I'll get hold of them again and find out.

 

[spoonman]

nar he wouldn't of mate, otherwise he would of said to you, such and such does not look good, do you want me to sort that before i assemble the box.......

 

[DeviouS15]

Had a chat with the guy not long ago and he said they did notice that there was a little bit of movement (dunno which direction the movement was in) in one gear but they didnt think it would be an issue at the time. So its going back in on Monday and they'll be checking that out. Would've been great if they let me know this before they put it back together.

 

[Auss15]

Probably 4th gear...I solved it....Nismo cross 6 speed gear box... :nod:

 

[DeviouS15]

Haha id have to sell the mrs' car to buy the nismo box, and that wouldnt go down too well. When you say "probably 4th gear" are you referring to the circlip issue or something else?

 

[Auss15]

Yes, it will cause the 4th gear float... You might be able to pick up the Nismo gearset which is cheaper then the box...I know a couple of guys who have gone down that path

 

[DeviouS15]

Oh ok, from what ive read online when that circlip goes it means instant destruction... but my box still feels fine, its easy to get into all the gears and only a little bit notchty when cold. Just has that whining noise when in neutral when the foot is off the clutch.

 

[Auss15]

They have always been a "whinny" box and I remember when they first came out, Motor writers would always complain about the gearbox noise from new S15's.I think I still have some of those motor reviews.

 

[pegliobaglio]

Did he replace the clutch release bearing ? Might be that making the noise when off the clutch pedal buddy

 

[DeviouS15]

Yeah the clutch and flywheel kit came with a new release bearing, plus im pretty sure that cant make any noise when the clutch is not pressed.... ive been wrong once before though lol. And to Auss, yep i dont mind a little bit of noise but not the amount that i have now. Car is going back to the mechanic on Monday, then im shooting over to Brisbane for two weeks so ill find out how things went when i return.

 

[spoonman]

when mine gives up, im just gonna splash out on a R33/Z32 or Z33 6mt box, adapter, shaft, final drive ratio and just be done with it for any future power increase mods. All the money it cost to sort these piddly little boxes out..... not worth it in the long run

 

[Auss15]

Make sure you get a good one, especially the R33/Z32 box's as they are a lot older than S15 box's and heavier. The Z33 box is a beast you'll have to modify the tunnel to get it to fit properly

 

[ichi-go]

Didn't know the nismo gearset are still for sale? I thought they only sell the box by itself now... definitely can't see nismo listing the gearset in their catalogue

 

[mattybyrne2008]

anyone else think this guys problem is the spiggot bearing?

 

[S15_SAM]

Highly unlikely, its only a little copper ring. If it was missing or badly damaged then maybe but its also always engaged onto the input shaft so it would be noisy no matter if clutch was in or out.

Most likely release bearing or internal shaft bearings.