Hi all,

So lately I'm hearing a whining noise, either from my front right wheel bearing, or its coming from the trans. I'm having a hard time narrowing down where the noise is originating. I just had the front right wheel bearing replaced last summer, and it only has about 4000 miles on it, so unless that part is defective, which is highly unlikely, I think the noise is coming from the trans. The car is a 98 Type R, has 246K miles on it. Trans is all original. From my intense google research, I'm leaning towards a bad main shaft bearing.

You can hearing the whine on acceleration, but its so damn loud in my car, you can best hear it at about 50-52 mph, with a light throttle pressure. The whine changes in pitch instantly with throttle and release of throttle which leads me to believe its something in the trans and not the front right wheel bearing. Im not knowledgeable about transmissions at all, and I will not tackle this project if it is a trans issue. I get sick to my stomach thinking if I had to take apart the casing and deal with those shafts and gears...no thanks! lol!

Any help or insight to what the problem might be is appreciated! Thanks!

EDIT: Also if anyone has a recommendation for a Honda transmission shop that is trustworthy and does great work, please mention in your post. Thanks!

 

If you are experiencing gear noise or whine in one gear position only, it is likely a gear mesh or wear issue. This could be caused by a bad bearing on a shaft, but all other gear would normally produce a same or similar sound, since they are on the same shaft. Input bearing noise is most apparent at idle when the clutch is pressed in and out, and is barely audible at higher vehicle speeds.

If the sound is still there in 3rd, 4th and 5th gear (provided your exhaust is not load as hell), I would lean towards a loose differential bearing, or a worn ring and pinion assembly. As a general rule, gear noises that are prevalent in all gear positions points towards the differential as the problem.

1st and second gear have a high pitch cut, and may produce more "whirring" or whine during high load situations.

Wheel bearing noise is usually a groaning/whining sound, and tends to change pitch as the vehicle is slalomed left to right. Sometimes the noise will disappear completely during this test.

Any history of this unit? Was it repaired before? Was it installed in another car before?

 

Thanks for the response it was very informative, and sorry for the late reply. Since I wasn't getting any action in this section, I posted my question in the Type R section. I feel like I can hear different noises in all gears that are not normal. History on my Type R....a few months after I bought it (bought brand new back in 98), I damaged 2nd and 3 gear synchros (my noob butt was power shifting cuz I thought it was cool to chirp the tires in a 1-2 shift). Dealer supposedly fixed it, went out racing the following weekend 3rd gear grind was still there, tried to get the dealer to fix it again (even though after all was said and done, the dealer didn't fix it right the first time I brought it to them), they refused to cover it under warranty and said they could tell I was driving the car hard, and the clutch had hot spots on it. Anyway, I had a buddy of mine (Honda technician for many many years) fix it. He opened up the trans and he said bits and pieces were falling out, and he could tell the dealer did a terrible job and did not do a proper repair. So I could remember correctly I had 2nd gear and its synchro replaced as well as 3rd gear and its synchro replaced, and it has ran fine since then. That was 18 years ago... The trans has only been on my car and never put on another vehicle.

I hear the whine in 5th gear at about 50-52 mph, I also hear a "rattle" type noise when accelerating in every gear, very hard to hear b/c of the engine noise and my stupid hard race engine mounts producing a lot of chassis drone.

I also hear a quick "whale moan" (sorry im having a hard time thinking of a way to describe this noise), and now I am forgetting, its either when I am depressing the clutch pedal or letting off the clutch pedal. I think its when I am letting off the clutch pedal, and I only hear it when I'm waiting at a red light, and I am just pressing and releasing the clutch pedal. It might be making the quick "whale moan" while I am drving but its just too loud in the car while its in motion to hear it.
Thanks for your help, its much appreciated!

 

Time for the transmission to be opened again. Sounds like you at least have a bad bearing somewhere in it.