Transmission/Transfer Case Whine (3 Viewers)

[wood47]

While driving, there's a very pronounced whine/whirring sound coming from underneath the transmission hump.

Having never driven a 40 prior to owning the one I have, I don't know if this sound is within the realm of " normal". It's definitely not road noise and it seems to be something other than just straight cut gears as I read in other threads.

Any idea what this could be? You can really start to hear it around the 22 second mark in the attached video.

 

[Tezmac]

Sounds a bit loud, but not terrible (just my opinion). Have you checked your transmission and transfer case fluid levels? Do you have a bypass hose running between the drain of the transfer case and fill of the transmission?

 

[FF LC FREAK]

Agree. A little loud, but not unusual. One piece cases are louder than the split cases. It doesn't whine like a case low on oil. When you get low on oil, you'll know. The whine gets much higher pitched and louder.

 

[wood47]

Ok, thank you. Adds to the charm of the vehicle I suppose. Admittedly I haven't checked the fluid levels, I've been meaning to change them both during a planned tune-up (after I figure out the rusty gas tank).

I'll do a search but is it recommended to have the hose you mentioned? What are the benefits?

 

[Tezmac]

Lots of people run one. As I understand it, it's basically for when the seal between the transfer case and transmission starts to fail or the output shaft has too much wear. When this happens, you can potentially pump the fluid in transfer case into the transmission. The bypass hose relieves the high transfer case pressure and allows the fluid to drain back down. I just rebuilt my transmission and transfer case, so I have fresh a fresh seal, but I run the hose anyway just in case.

 

[JoAnn]

How do I check my transmission fluid level.?

 

[David70FJ40]

Remove the fill plug and stick your little finger in. If you get grease on the finger tip just at or slightly below the fill hole, you are okay. Anything less, fill with clean grease.

The bypass hose is good/cheap insurance. My version, made by a local high pressure hose shop. The outer covering is a heat shield to protect the hose from hot exhaust pipes.

 

[Pin_Head]

In my experience, the most common cause of whining that changes pitch when you go from drive to coast is wear on transfer case idler gear shaft and bearings.

 

[houstonfj40]

Had a whine, thought it was a TC for sure, ended up being pinion bearing. The noise was running thru the driveshaft into the case and trans.

 

[sggoat]

Just as a trouble shooting point(mine has whine too) did the whine change any when the engine was disengaged(clutch in)?{my whine seems to go completely away in this instance}
Sounds like Pin_Head's analysis I think in my case-

 

[70fj40]

Mine has a whine when I get off the gas and go into a coast. I always assumed mine was TC wear. However mine is not a high pitch.

 

[BGlynn19]

@wood47 Did you ever figure out exactly what was causing this sound?

 

[wood47]

Regrettably, no. I took a detour just to get it running reliably and will be deploying soon so it'll have to wait.

 

[David70FJ40]

@wood47 Senior Chief?

 

[Downey]

The Landcruiser transfer-case is a "side thruster", i.e. power enters the transfer-case, then has to make an immediate 90 degree turn towards the center idler gear. This design not only makes the transfer-case want to spin around in a circle behind the tranny, but it multiplies gear noise/whine, even with helical gears.

 

[cult45]

Mine whines twice as much as that. And that's after I topped it up with 20% Lucas Oil Stabiliser. When @catskinner and I pulled the J30, we inspected the H41 before it went in. Everything looked great. Then three days later I drove the truck 600 mi. in a day with no issues. It still drives good now, just whiney af.

 

[gator25]

In my experience, the most common cause of whining that changes pitch when you go from drive to coast is wear on transfer case idler gear shaft and bearings.

I have only worked on 2 LCs, FJ60 split case and our 75 40 one piece, both transfers made noise. Both had wore out idler gear bearings.

 

[wood47]

Indeed!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

In my experience, the most common cause of whining that changes pitch when you go from drive to coast is wear on transfer case idler gear shaft and bearings.

Just as a trouble shooting point(mine has whine too) did the whine change any when the engine was disengaged(clutch in)?{my whine seems to go completely away in this instance}
Sounds like Pin_Head's analysis I think in my case-

Mine has a whine when I get off the gas and go into a coast. I always assumed mine was TC wear. However mine is not a high pitch.

I definitely don't get that much whining in all gears, but at higher speeds in fourth, mine matches what the quotes above describe. My whining starts at about 27 seconds in the video below (I point at the shifter). As you can hear, the whining lets up when I let off the gas, or step on the clutch.

It's loud, but that's likely due to the fact that I have no transmission covers and a massive gash cut in the tranny hump

 

[David70FJ40]

Indeed!

Nukes?