Manual transmission whine?

Hi everyone, I just upgraded my tacoma from an ol '02 to a new (for me) '12 trd sport v6 manual. I searched the forum and didn't find anything directly related, so here we go:

The transmission whine in my '12. At least I think that's what it is. I come to you all for help since two mechanics (both my local guy and the dealer) have told me that it's "normal" -- and I just don't think that's right because I've had 2 manual cars, and now 2 manual trucks and I've never had this before. My 02 tacoma with manual does not have this issue. Neither did either of my Honda's before my trucks.

It's a whining noise coming from what I think is the transmission. Does not happen in neutral, does not happen when coasting in gear. Also in 5th it seems to disappear! In 1st and 2nd it's too faint to hear really, but then you can barely start hearing it in 3rd, and 4th it becomes very noticeable, then in 5th it disappears, and then in 6th it's LOUD. Like I can hear it over the stereo and normal engine noise / road noise. Again, it only happens when I'm actively accelerating, and not touching the clutch.

Which makes me think it has to be a transmission gear issue right? Especially since it goes away in 5th and only happens under acceleration?

Not sure, wanted to see if you all could help me out...

 

Have you checked your fluid level in your transmission? I have the same transmission, mine doesn't seem to whine... at least not audibly.

 

It's normal. You should hear mine, it's super loud in 6th. I have Core/Hurst shift kit and it just amplifies the noise.

 

You can try changing your fluid to Redline MT-90. That smoothed mine out a little.

 

I have a manual as well. It's a whiney tranny in every gear at ~2,500 RPM but I'm guessing that's not what you're talking about.

 

When I bought it I had my mechanic check and change everything fluid wise, so yes it was checked.

And wow, really, that's normal? I guess I didn't notice it before I bought it but it's not like other tranny's I've owned!

And okay, any negatives for switching to that fluid? Do I just ask my mechanic to put that in next time I'm in for service?

Thanks for the replies.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it. This is the whiniest manual tranny I've ever owned. Not terrible, but louder than the others.

 

Yes, I've been using MT-90 since I first bought my truck new. No negatives to it.

 

Okay, then I'll do that next time I'm in for service. Thanks for the suggestions.

I suppose I'll just try my hardest not to focus on it. I love everything else about this truck.

 

Your truck probably has enough milage to need a tranny fluid change anyway.

 

The reason it goes away in 5th it that gear is 1:1 ratio. In other words the input and output shaft are essentially splined together all the gear teeth are just coasting not transmitting toque in 5th. It is also why you should try to tow in 5th, less strain on the parts that way. The Hurst / Core shifter highlighted the noise to me. In fact 6th gear was so loud with the Core shifter my wife made me remove it and go back to stock. And yes the MT-90 did help some but on long trips when the oil was warm it was pretty annoying, stock shifter is much quieter.

 

I never noticed any gear whine in my 08 or my 15, nothing abnormal at least.

 

I am a little surprised your '12 truck transmission is louder than your '02 was. My '03 manual is very noisy especially compared to other manuals I have owned. I don't have many miles on my '14 six speed, so it may eventually develop a whine... but time will tell.

For all the guys using MT-90... Is this a straight 90 weight oil?

 

No the Redline MT-90 oil is a 75W90 weight high quality synthetic gear oil. http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=46

 

My 11 transmission is quiet in all six gears all the time.

 

In another marquee that I flogged pretty hard, one with a known notchy 1st gear downshift, and one that also required GL4 in a 75-90, I tried both Royal Purple and Redline MT 90. Both were pretty good, a bit better than OE fluid, but not the feel I wanted.

Like lots of folks running the same model in my class (race class, not school), I decided to try

$33 Ford XT-M5-QS Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid - 1 Quart , black

Ford XT-M5-QS. It worked wonderfully.

You can get it at a Ford dealer, but be sure they are handing you the correct number. Don't take substitutes!

It's not cheap, but it's very stable, good for 50k changes. And that shows a lot of headroom left via lab testing.

 

Hi all,

I have a very similar situation going on with my 2012 V6 manual going on. Virtually everything is identical to the OP's story.

You all seem to settle on it being normal, and report success with Redline MT-90. However, I am getting a different response on my thread (below) with folks saying that it should be covered under the powertrain warranty and that this is NOT normal (this is what I am leaning towards).

My thread

As I detailed in my thread, I have taken my trusted local mechanic on a ride and he concluded that it is the transmission, but that it is nothing to worry about and maybe a fluid change could help but it wasn't anything urgent.

So, I basically have two different sides here and I am conflicted.

Please help me out with the following-

-Is this normal and should I not worry about it? but consider doing the fluid change down the road.

-Is this not normal and should be covered under the powertrain warranty?
Note-I did speak briefly with one of my local service center reps, and from her initial computer search it sounds like this would NOT be covered under the power train warranty.
Given this, I fully expect push back from them- if I decide to go this route.

Thanks in advance for any help, is much appreciated
C

-

 

At least 10 people have told you it's normal and that their trannies also whine.

If you're concerned swap it with synthetic like motul or redline. The condition of the existing oil will tell you a lot. It's not expensive and your truck will need a fluid change soon anyways.

Toyota is unlikely to do anything unless the truck breaks down.

 

I bought my truck with 42K on the clock and as part of the baselining I changed all the fluids. I ran MT90 in the old truck, which had (well, still has, the truck is still going with a new owner) a W56 with roughly 300K on it when I sold. I ran the Redline for the last 150K of those miles in my ownership.

The transmissions in both trucks had a gear whine but nothing offensive. I wouldn't say MT90 made them quiet as a mouse but it did help and definitely made them shift better.

Never had any reason to tear open the W56 so no idea on wear inside but Toyota recommended GL4 in it and MT90 was about the only option for that, most others now are GL5 which is believed to be hard on yellow metals in gearboxes not designed for it. Our RA60 is OK with either GL4 or GL5, so that's not an issue.

 

UPDATE: I decided that a good first step would be to have my local mechanic check the fluid level.

Upon inspection, we found that the fluid fill plug was COMPLETELY GONE and thus the fluid level was low.

The old fluid did have metal in it.

We took the old fluid out, put new in and hoped that would fix the issue.

It didn't, it still makes the noise.

At some point, someone clearly forgot to put the transmission fluid fill plug back in.

I know that my local mechanic had never checked the fluid level when he did an oil change, and the only other places I've taken it to have been the dealer for the first oil change (after I bought it used) and oil can henry's.

I am currently trying to get info from the dealer about if they ever checked the fluid level (trying to determine responsibility)

Any other suggestions for actions?