Gear whine

mikez · September 22, 2005

Hey guys I have a 2005 GMC Sierra crew cab, 4wd Z71 w/ 4.10 gears. If any of you have this same combo are you getting any gear whine from your truck? As of right now I'm thinking that a little bit of gear whining might be normal with the 4.10. Let me know if you guys think that this is normal. Thanks

monstermudder78 · September 22, 2005

I have an '05 Chev ext cab, Z71, w/ 4.10s. I do have a fair amount of whine in 4-low, but nothing that sounds like it is coming from the rear end. Something in the guage cluster,possibly the speedo, does make a bit of a whining or whirring noise that you can usually hear most of the time.

mikez · September 23, 2005

I have an '05 Chev ext cab, Z71, w/ 4.10s. I do have a fair amount of whine in 4-low, but nothing that sounds like it is coming from the rear end. Something in the guage cluster,possibly the speedo, does make a bit of a whining or whirring noise that you can usually hear most of the time.

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The whine that I am hearing is while in 2wd and is most noticeable while I'm accelerating.

Supercop8100 · September 24, 2005

I had the whine, and it was from the 4.10 gear and locker combo. Thats what the stealer told me anyway. The tolerances from the factory are different for every truck and it sounds like yours is a littel tighter. Thats not a bad thing.

vhato · September 25, 2005

I had the whine, and it was from the 4.10 gear and locker combo. Thats what the stealer told me anyway. The tolerances from the factory are different for every truck and it sounds like yours is a littel tighter. Thats not a bad thing.

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Hmmm,

The new gear pitch is *supposed* to reduce gear whine in 10-bolt axles. I have gear whine in my truck between 55-62 MPH, but I have a 14-Bolt with the old style gear pitch, so it is gonna whine a little. Your maybe close to 60-70 MPH. I guess there is nothing that can be done with low ratio axles. BTW, Congrats on getting 4.10's in an '05.

Elwood 2000 · September 26, 2005

My Suburban has a whine in reverse and first and second gear. It may be there on third and fourth gear, but I am going fast enough I don't hear it. I was thinking transmission whine.

????????

pm26 · February 16, 2006

My Suburban has a whine in reverse and first and second gear. It may be there on third and fourth gear, but I am going fast enough I don't hear it. I was thinking transmission whine.

????????

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I hear faint whine at very low speeds in 1st and 2nd gears on my '06 crew cab Z71. it sounds like transmission or transfer case whine. It pretty much disappears at higher speeds.

Is this normal or something I should worry about?

vhato · February 16, 2006

A low speed whine usually isn't anything to be worried about. A whine all the time varying by speed is!

mmmikkke · February 16, 2006

A low speed whine usually isn't anything to be worried about. A whine all the time varying by speed is!

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Back in December I got talked into pulling an overloaded gooseneck trailer about 200 miles with my '05 2500HD. The trailer had a lot of tongue weight which put a lot of weight on my rear axle.

Ever since then the rear axle has a definite whine, and it whines at all speeds.

I changed the gear oil and that seemed to help some, but I still hear it. Is this going to whine for good now?

Anybody know how much it could cost to rebuild it?

pm26 · February 16, 2006

A low speed whine usually isn't anything to be worried about. A whine all the time varying by speed is!

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Back in December I got talked into pulling an overloaded gooseneck trailer about 200 miles with my '05 2500HD. The trailer had a lot of tongue weight which put a lot of weight on my rear axle.

Ever since then the rear axle has a definite whine, and it whines at all speeds.

I changed the gear oil and that seemed to help some, but I still hear it. Is this going to whine for good now?

Anybody know how much it could cost to rebuild it?

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I have driven trucks that had rear axle whine under different conditons: some whined only when the differential was loaded (as in accelerating or cruising), some whined only during coasting (foot off the gas pedal). The whine was heard only in a narrow speed range, typically between 45-55 MPH. This noise was supposedly caused by slightly excessive gear backlash.

This condition is supposedly not detrimental and filling the differential with heavier weight oil like 80W140 will quiet the differential somewhat.

In your case you may have overloaded the differential or axle bearings, which could be causing the noise. I would have a professional inspect your differential and find out what may be the problem. Replacing the bearings should not be that expensive.

I would check to see if you possibly have a bent axle. Just jack up the truck at the differential, place jackstands under the axles, then start up the truck and place in drive. Then carefully watch the rear wheels for any up and down movement, which could indicate a bent axle, or heavily damaged axle bearing.

mikez · February 17, 2006

Guys,

I ended up taking it to the dealership and they determined the whine was definately abnormal. They replaced the carrier and pinion bearings and then reset the ring and pinion lash. It is smoother than it ever was since brand new and no more whine at all. At first I thought it might be normal as I have always heard that with lower gears they generally do whine, but if any of you are experiencing gear whine with one of these new trucks it is not normal.

pm26 · February 17, 2006

The whine on my truck does not seem to be coming from the rear axle. I am familiar with the axle whine. It sounds different and does not happen at very low speeds, but usually in 45-55 MPH range. This noise appears to be coming from the transmission torque converter, and increases in frequency as the engine speed increases. It is most noticeable when I first start moving and is heard up to 20-30 MPH.

Does anybody else have this particular whine?

pm26 · February 17, 2006

Well, I am getting more confused. There was no whine there this morning, with the engine cold or hot. However, I noticed a strange correlation: Most of the time the whining noise is heard at night when all lights are on and alternator is fully charging. When the alternator is not charging (voltage gauge at 12 volts) there is no noise. Could it be that I have a noisy alternator? The whining noise is definitely RPM related, and it happens when transmission is in park too.

mikez · February 17, 2006

Well, I am getting more confused. There was no whine there this morning, with the engine cold or hot. However, I noticed a strange correlation: Most of the time the whining noise is heard at night when all lights are on and alternator is fully charging. When the alternator is not charging (voltage gauge at 12 volts) there is no noise. Could it be that I have a noisy alternator? The whining noise is definitely RPM related, and it happens when transmission is in park too.

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sounds like the alternator

pm26 · February 18, 2006

Well, it did not whine this evening, and the alternator was charging. I am perplexed. It is not eh A/C compressor either becuase turning A/C on and of did not amke any difference.

Is there a transmission component whose intermittent malfunction could cause whine at low speeds that comes and goes?