There must be something in the banana peel idea. I was talking to a mechanic who hangs out behind a used car dealer about my whining gearbox and the dealer overheard the conversation and said "try putting a banana skin in it, HA HA HA HA"

That only lasts for a couple of test drives, and not in a mini's sump/gearbox

My sister had an old celica, said it ran fine but complained about a "hot gearstick" - checked it out & the box was dry. Refilled it, 2 weeks later - same thing (rear seal RS).

So I chopped up a pair of nylon pantyhose & fed it into the gearbox
- PROBLEM SOLVED

One of my mates bought this car & drove it for years.
Definately works, but I would not like to try & rebuild that box

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Your problem is probly mismatched gears. If the box has been reco'ed the crown wheel will be mismatched. It is part of a married set when made. If the box has been reco'ed and not matched with experienced and expertise you will have a whine in the box. That is one of many things that will cause a whine but mismatched gears are a usual cause.

steve

Seriously though I spoke to a mini 'specialist' about the whine and he doesn't think it's the diff. He thinks it could be the idler gear bearing but can't be sure until he takes a look inside, it could cost anywhere from a couple of hundred to $1000. He also said it would be a 4 syncro box if its the original.

Just offering a possible as I haven't seen heard the car good luck with your expert and box.

steve

Sorry Steve,

Your post slipped in before mine. Thanks for the advise he too mention the possibility of miiss matched gears. I guess if I take the engine out and remove the gearbox it won't cost too much to find out exactly what's wrong.

The labour is the killer, If the box was reco'ed there really is any number of issues it may have. The problem is most people believe they can build one but not being mechanics or engineers pay little attention to what is important or are simplly unaware of impotant crucial points.

steve

Yeh, I wouldn't attempt to fix something like the gearbox, this guy said there are some very important things (tricks of the trade) to do when bolting the repaired gearbox back to the engine.

I suggest taking a big tub of vasaline and taking it back to the people who rebuilt the gearbox and asking them where you would like it parked so they can fix it free of charge, if its not there fault then you will pay for labour only if it is tell them you will let them off this time but next time you will park it where the sun dont shine and vasaline would be a luxury.

I get peeved at things like this but hey mistakes can happen they must just own up to them. sounds like a diff hassle, drop gears rattle or squeal if not set correctly.

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GEEZ
I think you may have misinterpreted this thread, I haven't had the gearbox fixed yet but thanks for the advice anyway. At least I know what to do if he gets it wrong!

ok but glad i could point you in the right dirction.

I hope he come right with it as a gearbox form the factory shouldnt wine as much as you said, someone must have had it apart and put the right bits in the wrong way.
or the wrong bits in the right way or just screwed it up.
oh well, good luck let us know how it goes

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www.minicranks.com add me to your watch list and come back again soon, under construction.

my gearbox has a similar high-pitched whine - doesn't seem to be the diff either as its more related to revs than road-speed. On the freeway (or at any speed really) its clearly audible over the noise of the weber & engine.

The previous owner told me he reco-ed the box and I was told it was in pretty good condition (visually) when it was off for my engine rebuild.
is there any harm in ignoring whines or is there potential danger in not getting it fixed???

Geoff