Noise in 1st Gear

[wlivesey]

Hi Guys
Looking for some direction here, or maybe some educated guesses as to what this problem might be. I have what seems to be a growl in first gear. I don't know how else to describe the sound. It is only in 1st. It is there when the clutch is in or out. The transmission was rebuilt about 500 miles ago but this noise is a recent development. Any suggestions on how I might diagnosis this problem? Thanks, Bill L

 

[Keoke]

HI Wlivesey, generally when this problem is encountered it is the first gear on the lay gear,its bearings and shaft that are chipped and worn.Diagnosis requires that the tranny be taken to bits---Fwiw---Keoke

 

[Dave Russell]

[ QUOTE ]
It is only in 1st. It is there when the clutch is in or out. Bill L

[/ QUOTE ]
This is the part that I don't understand. There should be nothing turning in the gear box with the clutch disengaged.
D

 

[bighly]

A side out exhaust just below the drivers door will make the noise go away.

No seriously, Dave is correct, nothing should be spinning inside the tranny when the clutch is depressed.

1st gear will whine and howl in most gearboxes more than the higher gears.

 

[wlivesey]

I thought I would give the forum one more try before i do something drastic - like pay someone else to fix it. I think I have already surpassed my purchase price in maintenance, rebuilds, etc. Although as I say this, I don't suppose there is any sympathy out there...

Any way, more to the point. I have this noise (see thread above)that sounds like the transmission - but I am not 100% sure
It happens in 1st gear or reverse only
It happens with the clutch in or out
Early this spring the tranny was rebuilt and a new clutch kit was installed.

Any ideas on how I mightb begin to diagnosis this??
Thanks
Bill L
BT7

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Bill,
It has not been clear to me if the car is moving or stopped when the noise happens. At first, I assumed that the noise happened when the car was stopped. -- IF it only happens when the car is moving, the noise is likely to be the first & reverse idler gear bearing & or shaft. Or as Keoke says, the lay gear or it's bearings may be bad. First & reverse are straight cut gears & always make some noise. Yours is apparently excessive, since it only started making this noise recently. Driving it in this condition will lead to disaster. Better not to break any more bits.

In any case, as Keoke said, it has to be "taken to bits".
D

 

[tahoe healey]

Since you are looking at a rebuild anyway, remove the big brass plug and check for gear pieces in the filter.

 

[Dave Richards]

If he just had a tranny rebuild 500 miles ago, shouldn't he be looking for some redress from whomever did the rebuild?

 

[Dave Russell]

Possibly so - Not sure if I would want the same shop working on it again though. Doubt if the first shop would pay to have another shop work on it. These situations are hard to decide.
D

 

[wlivesey]

I have a transmission problem which I thought I had fixed this past August. I took the tranny back to the shop who did the original work. A new cluster gear and a new 1st gear was installed.
At first the fixed tranny seemed OK, no noise. Now, less than 90 days later, the same problem has returned!
- The transmission growls in first gear (much louder than normal)
- It growls with the clutch in or out
- Pops out of first gear
- It happens when the car is moving
Any suggestions???
Thanks
Bill L

 

[Keoke]

Yes, You still have Cluster gear,First/Reverse Gear and Lay shaft/ bearing problems. If your tranny is a late model the Cluster gear is a rebuilt one and sometimes the teeth on the First gear addon are skewed just a bit.---Fwiw---Keoke

 

[zblu]

growl is continous drone, or up and down in volume/pitch?
mebbe cogs are not mated, ie one is old and one is new or both are old and not meshing as new would

 

[wlivesey]

Thanks for the help
Keoke - the car is a 1960 - I am not sure if the Cluster gear was reconditioned or not - my receipt does not say reconditioned. Although the previous cluster was reconditioned
Zblu - it seems like the growl is a continuous drone

The confusing thing is that the cluster gear and first gear have both been replaced twice and have resulted in the same symptoms noted above

THanks guys,
Bill

 

[Richard3000]

The earlier side lever gearboxes have a very weak layshaft. I've replaced mine twice and have now learnt not to accelerate fast (hardly at all, that is) in first or reverse gears. Basically the layshaft bends which causes the car to jump out of 1st gear under load ever after. The opposite seems to occur for reverse where it digs in under load and with some clutch drag you can no longer get it out of reverse. This can be embarrassing when you have backed up against a wall or another car, (speaking from experience here). With a bent shaft the teeth can get damaged or at least mesh strangely which causes the noise.

The solution maybe to get it fixed again and then don't use 1st gear hard. I don't think this is really a problem with a Healey where the first gear is more suited to climbing the side of a house anyway. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif