Whining Bearing in clutch or gearbox.

Hello!

My '99 Jimny has developed a whining noise that sounds like a bearing in either the clutch or gearbox. The noise is only audible when going over about 65km/h and stops when i press the clutch pedal down. The noise doesnt appear to be gear specific and can be heard in 3rd, 4th and 5th but gets louder the faster i go.

At first i thought it was the thrust bearing in the clutch but after digging through the forums im starting to think it may be a gearbox bearing.

Has anyone else had a similar issue or got any advise as to what it may be? any help would be appreciated!

Cheers.

Hi, i have the same noise/symptons on my 2008 . It was like it when i bought it nearly 3 years ago and has not got any worse over 20,000 miles. I know i will have to get the gearbox rebuilt eventually but until funds allow will put up with it, lol

I changed the bearings in my gearbox when I did the clutch, as I had a roaring in neutral, that went away with the clutch pressed, so it was likely the input shaft bearing or needle roller.

Was about £105 for the "complete" kit from gearboxpartsonline.com (all the ball races, the input needle roller, both oilseals, a tube of instant gasket, a little notepad and a pen to note anything down, Doesn't include the split needle rollers from inside the gears on the mainshaft, these don't wear much I suppose)

You need a good bearing puller and a press to change them, fairly straightforward (I only made 2 mistakes, I put the bearing on the layshaft before I fitted it to the gearbox and had to take it off again, and spent about 10 minutes wondering why reverse gear wouldn't mesh until I found where I'd put the idler gear)

The worst part is getting the gearbox out, took me two days to get all the bolts undone, then I needed help to get the gearbox down (you have to take the clutch off) and to get it back in (you have to lift the engine off its mounts and move it forwards a couple of inches and it will go back with the clutch on)

And you will need a new gearbox rear mounting.

You can get a second hand gearbox, but they are all "good" and "quiet" until you have spent 3 days fitting it.

Thanks for the replies!

Splitting the gearbox is some pretty major surgery! Ill consider it when the sound gets worse i suppose (and when my funds allow it). In Australia we have to do a lot of highway driving to get to any decent camping areas and its a pretty annoying/mildly scary noise to listen to for hours on end at 100km/h so catastrophic failure is also an issue at speed!

Im still hoping its just a clutch noise (car has only done 120000km and im guessing its on its original clutch) but from what Ive read the thrust bearing in the clutch makes noise when the pedal is depressed rather that when the car is in motion/in gear (i have a droning hum at speed that stops when pedal is pressed in). Now Im starting to think it is coming from the gearbox. 'sad face'.

Apart from removing the gearbox do you have any tips on how to identify whether i have clutch or gearbox noise?

Is the rear gearbox mount prone to perishing/wearing out?

Thanks again!

Whining is usually a bearing. You won't tell where it is from inside as sound travels so.

You can try getting the car in the air and have someone "drive" it then go around underneath with a sounding stick or a stethoscope to try to locate the noise. (Obviously this is a bit risky if you don't want to be run over, or mangled up in one of the rotating shafts)

The rear gearbox mount delaminates, looks perfect, but allows the back of the gearbox to move up & down causing a vibration when you pull away. If it is above 3 or 4 years old it will have gone, you will find out when you take the gearbox out.

There is also a slight possibility that you have contact between the gearbox or transfer box and the body of the car, this allows noise that would normally be isolated by the rubber mounts to travel into the cabin.

Taking the gearbox out is one of those Big Jobs that should have been really easy, made difficult by the small clearances around the gearbox.

Hi,

Sorry the resurrect a dead thread but i thought i would let people know the outcome for future reference if you have similar noises.

I pulled the gearbox out which was fine. The clutch however was knackered, nearly down to the rivets and the thrust bearing was where the noise was coming from. Im guessing it was the original clutch. So i put in an exedy clutch, thrust bearing and I also replaced the spigot bearing which wasn't sounding/spinning too good either, now the jimny is much quieter.

I have renewed appreciation for these cars and how simple they are, i love them. No power steering, no unnecessary electric bits, just the essentials... a real drivers car.

I used the 'clutch replacement' guide from this website which i believe Martin wrote(?), so thank you for the info!

However i didn't have to remove the transfer case, wasn't even close to being in the way for the G13BB motor.
Rear engine mount was thoroughly perished but not broken, i replaced this anyway.

My only gripe was the lack of room Suzuki allowed for dropping the gearbox down and out. I had slide the gearbox back and remove the clutch first, then it came out with some wiggling and bad language. They really could have given us an extra couple of inches to work with (thats what she said).

So thanks for the guide and peoples suggestions!

Regards.