Noise from trans or clutch or both?-video

[LeonV]

Drove the car around some today and your statement seems to hold true about fourth gear-it does get quiet. So where does that leave me as far as fixes? Since the car will be up for sale, I would think most prospective buyers would be leary of the noise-it is pretty loud. The trans seems to function just fine though.

Sounds like trying to find a replacement A trans will just be more of the same from what you guys are saying.

It also sounds like a rebuild won't fix this-really?

Countershaft bearing(s). You'll have to figure out if the cost/benefit is worth it. Before you delve deeper, have you replaced the transmission fluid?

[EuroDat]

If your trying to sell and worried about the noise you could try a bearing kit. If the shaft surfaces are reasonable it will reduce the noise. You will need a bearing puller and press or a shop that can do it for you. A kit would probably better the better solution than trying another transmission.

You will probably find more than one bearing on the way out, but one is making so much noise its drowning out the others.

A kit will cost you about $85

http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog/manual_transmission_overhaul_kits/nissan_f5w71_overhaul_kit.html#FS5W71A

Note the kit is actually for a FS5W71C which comes with the larger cluster shaft front bearing. The kit also doesnt have the reverse idler bearing.

Chas

Edited December 12, 2012 by EuroDat

[Zed Head]

You can also pick and choose the bearings you want to replace from CourtesyParts.

I would use carpartsmanual to compare the A and B style parts, then Courtesy or drivetrain.com to get what you want. Note that drivetrain.com has the A, B and C designations wrong, by model and year of car, on their web site, as EuroDat notes for the C kit. I've sent them messages and copies of the FSM, and received replies back, but they don't seem to care or couldn't comprehend.

Here's a trail to the countershaft bearing, for example -

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/PowerTrain/TransmissionGears/4Speed/ToAug71/tabid/1710/Default.aspx

http://www.courtesyparts.com/bearing-p-341410.html

[madkaw]

Not sure what you mean as far as cost/benefit. This is a really nice 71 with 85k miles, so i want it to sound as good as it drives. Looking to get top dollar and that won't happen with this trans. If it costs 500.00 to rebuild or quiet this tranny-- I would think that would surely offset the loss of final price from someone worried about buying a car with a bad trans .

One issue is that I will be paying someone to do this because I don't have the time or knowledge to mess with any transmission. I'm willing to pull it and plop it on someones workbench, which should save $$$

Countershaft bearing(s). You'll have to figure out if the cost/benefit is worth it. Before you delve deeper, have you replaced the transmission fluid?

[EuroDat]

If you pull the transmission out yourself it should cost less than $500 to install a bearing kit. If the shop finds something else that also need replacement, then you can decide to fix or get another transmission and use the kit for that.

[LeonV]

Not sure what you mean as far as cost/benefit. This is a really nice 71 with 85k miles, so i want it to sound as good as it drives. Looking to get top dollar and that won't happen with this trans. If it costs 500.00 to rebuild or quiet this tranny-- I would think that would surely offset the loss of final price from someone worried about buying a car with a bad trans .

One issue is that I will be paying someone to do this because I don't have the time or knowledge to mess with any transmission. I'm willing to pull it and plop it on someones workbench, which should save $$$

Cost/benefit: is it worth it?

Like others have said, it's hard to tell in the video, but the noise sounds similar to the typical noise a Z-transmission makes. We can't hear it in person, so we can't really tell how "bad" it is.

If you're really concerned and don't want to/can't do the work yourself, get a quote from a shop and go from there. I can't tell how loud the noise really is, so I'd try to sell it as is, and if someone was concerned then be up-front with them. It's probably typical noise, but it's going to cost $X from Y shop to replace the bearings if deemed necessary. The transmission will make some noise no matter what.

[madkaw]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Leon, I believe the gear oil was changed the first time I worked on this car-years ago. I'm willing to change the oil again, but haven't found much as far as additives or specialized gear oil for this issue. Any recommendations?

As far as the noise level, i know it's hard to decipher from the video, but it's abnormally loud. That coupled with the typical noisy diff, lack of insulation, makes for a distracting ride. I am a Z owner , so I know this is a 40+ year old car and can't expect new car quiet- and my concerns are with that perspective. The killer is that this car drives amazingly well with all new suspension bits, and is very quiet as far as rattles and squeaks and with all new weatherstripping.

[LeonV]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Leon, I believe the gear oil was changed the first time I worked on this car-years ago. I'm willing to change the oil again, but haven't found much as far as additives or specialized gear oil for this issue. Any recommendations?

As far as the noise level, i know it's hard to decipher from the video, but it's abnormally loud. That coupled with the typical noisy diff, lack of insulation, makes for a distracting ride. I am a Z owner , so I know this is a 40+ year old car and can't expect new car quiet- and my concerns are with that perspective. The killer is that this car drives amazingly well with all new suspension bits, and is very quiet as far as rattles and squeaks and with all new weatherstripping.

Well there's your problem, the car's too quiet! I bet the exhaust on your Z tends to drown out a lot of that noise. I was in heavy traffic on the commute home last week and shut off my Z when I was on a downhill (yes, don't try this at home...). I heard a strange clicking noise that sped up with the car that I'd never heard before because all the other noises mask it.

I'm sure a different, less worn, transmission or a bearing replacement will quiet it down but by how much I don't know.

I don't think new fluid will help much if it's topped up and has been replaced fairly recently. Is "years ago" a couple of years or 15 years?