mista808

first started thursday morning. i heard something out of the ordinary. a whining noise that kept up with the engine rpms. went through the motions and concidered it to be a water pump, pulleys, tensioner, etc... but the sound is strounger from inside the cabin, not too bad from the front of the car, you can hear it more at higher rpms, like at 3000rpm. asked my instructor to check it out real quick, he ruled out anything from the front of the engine (not water pump, tensioners, etc). i also noticed that you can hear it a bit more if you listen form under the car. my instructor said it might be the trans... checked all fluids and all seems to be okay... trans fluid doenst smell burnt or look discolored. he told me since we cant tell for sure what it could be, i have to let it take its course and wait for it to get louder, or for the next clue to come up... has anyone had this problem, or know of what it might be. i searched and most of your whining problems came back to be a water pump, tensioner, power steering pump/fluid, pulleys...

im planning on flushing the trans out one of these days, new filter/fluids... maybe itll resolve this problem...

HKSC430

I had a similar problem 1 year ago.

It was heard more from inside the car.

Your mechanic is probably right.

Mine was the transmission/torqueconverter.

I replaced it with a rebuilt one from Japan.

Car running near perfect since then.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

IS it RPM related? Meaning does the whine seem to follow the same path as the engine?

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Check your alternater.

mista808

yeah i was afraid of that... it is rpm related. its not coming from the front of the engine so its not the alternator... started it up this morning, nothing apon start up. about 1 min later i heard that sound, stronger from under the car. as i shifted from park to drive the sound went with the rpms, then slowed down like it was turning in the trans. then drive to neutral, went back with rpms... it sounds like it got a bit louder, now it sounds like a stratching noise, like if you had a worn bearing or something... i will have to flush the trans first, new filter, and see if there is metal shavings in the pan. another one of my instructors used to own a transmission shop so ill ask him on monday, and another instructor specializes in toyota so ill see what they say, and if they can recommend me to a shop...

hey HKSC430. how were you able to come across a trans from japan? thanks in advance...

HKSC430

My transmission/torqueconverter was completely overhauled 2 years ago.

Toyota ATF all along, occasionally flushed/changed.

The car has 145,000km+, hills/city/highway driving mainly.

That lasted 1 year, with whining noise returning.

So, the mechanic put in a completely rebuilt one from Japan last year.

Good so far. Drives like a new car.

We are in Hong Kong, and can get parts easy from Japan.

91LS400vgb

Have you checked the power steering fluid level? My whining issue turned out to be low p/s fluid due to a leak in the high pressure hose. Could be some trapped air in the p/s, too.

mista808

solved the problem, my other trans instructor used to own a trans shop many years back for a long time. listened once and diagnosed it as a clogged filter. he said its having a problem pumping fluid causing a whinning noise, as for my shifting porblem its not getting the right line pressure-its building up and causing it to appear to slip. but i got a new filter and 3qurts of fluid. sometime this week ill flush the whole system out with new fluid for added assurance and peace of mind... change your trans filters guys!!