[callum133]

Hi,
I have a 2009 1.4 Tubro 155
for a little while I have been hearing a whining noise coming from the left hand side of the car, I took it to my local Alfa specialist they said its coming from the gearbox. The whine is noticeable in all gears, you can hear it from around 20mph+ however you can also hear it when coasting in neutral. The gear stick doesn't shake and the box feels silky smooth.

Also last week my front left spring snapped, once I got that replaced the whining completely stopped for around 5 days then kicked back in again! This just confused me and made me think is it the gear box?

Can anybody shed some light on this please!!

 

[Skaffen]

Have a read of this thread:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-mito/944553-mito-engine-whine.html

This clip from a vauxhall with the M32 box has a whine identical to the one my gearbox was making (I linked to it in the above thread):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzibDbAPnPQ

And this clip which LaMito posted in the above thread very clearly shows a similar whine (which is also believed to be gearbox):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HASgcGyNtw4

My gear stick didn't shake, changes were smooth, and I heard the noise in all gears regardless of clutch/gear selection (including neutral). But the noise in my case was the gearbox - most of the bearings were found to have damage (pitting on the race I think). There are bearings on the two output shafts and also on the diff - the output shafts and the diff always turn when the car wheels are turning, so depending on which bearing has damage you can get whine in all gears. In mine the noise sounded like it was coming sort of from the left when I was in the driver's seat - when I was in the passenger seat (when mechanics were test driving) it sounded more in front of me. I think the gearbox is on the left side of the car?

That's not to say that conclusively means it is the gearbox in your case - a few people I spoke to were cautious about the risk of misidentifying wheel bearing noise or even tyre whine as gearbox noise. It does sound a bit odd that the whining stopped when your left spring was replaced - presumably the car was raised so load was taken off the wheels (which would have lead to the drive shaft angles changing as well). Does your Alfa specialist have any view on why that happened? Does the noise sound like the one in the two youtube clips?

 

[Durty dog]

Strange one :thinking:

I'm also thinking why the noise disappeared after the front spring was changed. As Skaffen mentioned it could be something to do with the load coming of the front during the spring change which could be wheel bearing :thinking:

 

[callum133]

Have a read of this thread:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-mito/944553-mito-engine-whine.html

This clip from a vauxhall with the M32 box has a whine identical to the one my gearbox was making (I linked to it in the above thread):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzibDbAPnPQ

And this clip which LaMito posted in the above thread very clearly shows a similar whine (which is also believed to be gearbox):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HASgcGyNtw4

My gear stick didn't shake, changes were smooth, and I heard the noise in all gears regardless of clutch/gear selection (including neutral). But the noise in my case was the gearbox - most of the bearings were found to have damage (pitting on the race I think). There are bearings on the two output shafts and also on the diff - the output shafts and the diff always turn when the car wheels are turning, so depending on which bearing has damage you can get whine in all gears. In mine the noise sounded like it was coming sort of from the left when I was in the driver's seat - when I was in the passenger seat (when mechanics were test driving) it sounded more in front of me. I think the gearbox is on the left side of the car?

That's not to say that conclusively means it is the gearbox in your case - a few people I spoke to were cautious about the risk of misidentifying wheel bearing noise or even tyre whine as gearbox noise. It does sound a bit odd that the whining stopped when your left spring was replaced - presumably the car was raised so load was taken off the wheels (which would have lead to the drive shaft angles changing as well). Does your Alfa specialist have any view on why that happened? Does the noise sound like the one in the two youtube clips?

The noise does sound pretty similar to the MiTo clip, I thought it was strange that it stopped after the spring was replaced, I got my hopes up then it came back! .The Alfa specialist did identify it coming from the left hand side which is where the gear box is located, they replaced the gear oil and put in an additive too prolong life of the bearings. They seem pretty certain its the box. I'll get the wheel bearings checked first hopefully its them!

 

[Durty dog]

Thats a bit of a gamble, new gearbox oil and additive to prolong a gearbox thats now whining.