Gearbox bearing rattly after rebuild?

[dwarfmarine]

hey fellas, got my car back this arvo after having a new clutch put in, and a gearbox rebuild (full new bearing set)
i've done 50Kms since getting it, plus whatever km's they did testing it.

however, for the past 30 kms or so, there seems to be a rattly noise coming from the left front of the car(definately sounds like its comign from the gearbox)
I had it done by the guys at MEEK, so i seriously doubt they have screwed up, but it seems to appear whenever i go above 60km/h
i've obeyed everything they told me before i left:

-dont go over 80km/h.
-dont sit on one speed for prolonged periods of time
-avoid highway driving.
-dont engine brake.
-dont rev it too much.
-dont put too much load on the gearbox.
-use a higher gear, lower revs, rather than low gear high revs

Which i'm supposed to do for the next 1000kms. would this rattly sound just be the bearings settling themselves and bedding in, or should i take it back to MEEK and see whats up?
it sounds like a weird mix between a slightly noisey bearing, and the AYC 'squawking', its not overly loud, but still noticeable if you're listening for it.
​

 

[Fully]

Take it back, and tell them about it, see what they have to say.

Its not your clutch springs making the noise?

 

[dwarfmarine]

possibly, im not sure.. It starts over 60km/H, but it goes away with the clutch depressed..
MEEK are closed over the long weekend, so itll have to wait til wednesday to go back. it did have a Heavy Duty clutch fitted, which they did say will increase some noises, but im not 100%, i dont know much about gearboxs and clutches..

 

[smitty]

Define "prolonged"

Take it back man, just in case.

 

[naughtika]

rebuilds shouldn't be rattly.. it should be smooth..

if you head over to FTO Australia and look at Bennoz' turbo thread.. you'll see that his gearbox crapped itself.. so have a good read on it..

 

[godzilla]

Why the hell do you have to baby the gearboox after its had bearings replaced? Since when does bearing need 1000ks to bed in?

 

[Fully]

Yeah that's a new one on me, either it works (seizes) or doesnt.

 

[fieldy107]

I would take it back and let them hear the rattle, even the best mechanics can make mistakes.

 

[Kenneth]

When I did my bearings, using the standard input shaft bearing set (part numbers from ASA) I also get input shaft rattle. All my preloads are within spec and the bearings 100% new.

My understanding is that this is a common issue with the bearings that mitsi use. From what I understand, the front (engine side) input shaft bearing is often swapped out for a non OE bearing (one much like the bearing on the other end which has seals on it) which makes it much quieter.

It will still pay to at least talk to the place that did the rebuild. If they say it is ok, then at least you have their re-assurance and should be able to get anything fixed on warranty if required.

 

[dwarfmarine]

no worries guys, ill take her back first chance i get next week..

by 'prolonged' they mean sitting at a constant speed/rpm for a long period of time(such as highway) which is kind of a hard one to abide by...


yeah i've had mixed answers from everyone about 'babying' the gearbox/clutch

Some have said
"drive it the way you would normally, even if it means giving it a caining", so for me, thats thrashing it
other have said give it 500-1000kms to settle the clutch and bearings..
MEK themselves said go atleast 500kms for the clutch and 1000 for the bearings

 

[Nitephyre]

It'll be the input shaft/thrust bearing. Mine has done it ever since I've owned it. Noisy and annoying... but if you've just had a rebuild it really shouldn't do it. Go back definitely

 

[dwarfmarine]

it seems to have gone away :S
but ill ring and make sure anyway..

It's weird because i had a whole new bearing set put in because the input shaft bearing had completely demolished itself (the cage had completely disintegrated)

 

[Nitephyre]

Ouch.... I don't like the sound of that

 

[naughtika]

I'd say drop the oil after 500kms and see how much metal you see attached to the sump plug

 

[dwarfmarine]

Just though i'd give you guys an update

the noise went away after a couple of hundred Kms or so..
but ive now passed 1200kms since the rebuild and it decided to rear its noisey head again the other night so i thought, well, ill take it back to MEEK this time to be safe..

turns out that they just forgot to clip my wheel arch liner back where it belongs and the wind force above 60km/h was enough to push it back so it rubbed against the tyre, making the rattly/squeely noise.

thats all it was.. but the guys at MEEK did appreciate that i went straight back to them to be sure it wasnt internals

 

[naughtika]

glad to know its nothing major..

 

[dwarfmarine]

needless to say we all breathed a sign of releif after we worked out what it was...

 

[lathiat]

hah yeah i had that a wheel liner rubbing took me a little to figure that one out.