transmission whine

[natsoundup]

Noticed upon acceleration a whine coming from the transmission.

No whine once it gets into the final gear.

Also whines in park or neutral when stepping on the gas. That suprised me.

Flushed 5k miles ago...

94Q 87k

[Q45tech]

Just like the J transmission many times the whine comes from a lower than normal ATF flow [the AT pump making noise] from air bubbles..........leaking around seals,etc.Change the filter and measure the AT flow thru the cooler/radiator lines at warm idle. The flow should be 4 quarts per minute............why I point out a good transmission should complete the 14 quart BG exchange process in 3.5 minutes.

Noisey worn pumps can take 4.5-5.0 minutes, really on the edge of collapse pumps take 6.0 minutes or longer.

What you did at 82k is great, but what other services did the 10 year old transmission get before then?

http://www.sonnaflow.com/parts/PDF/FM-01K(rb).pdf

Lexus requires a 3-4 quart pan drain every 30k. Infiniti is mute on the subject.My personal experience indicates a pan drain every year and a flush at least every other year to achieve the maximum life,,,,,,, but many 94Q seem to last with much less agressive servicing.

[elwesso]

Dennis.... What kind of life expectency would you have if you did a pan drain every 6000 miles, or every other oil change.. Would that reduce costs or prolong the maintenance schedule....?

[qship96]

good question wes,i have just flushed transmission,and thought about doing pan drains every 90 days along with oil changes,if done this way,would the car ever need another full flush?also,while we have q45tech on the subject,whats your thoughts on replacing the external can style atf filter on the 94-96?mine has never been done with 127000miles on it,only annual mobil 1 flushes and a internal filter and pan clean at 105,000 miles-pan,magnet,and filter looked spotless to me and Infiniti tech,he was very surprized? what will the tell tale signs of this external filter be when it is full?

[elwesso]

I have done some research on that, and when you add your transmission cooler you can just eliminate it (I think)... It doesnt really do anything, except help the heat exchanger from getting clogged...

My idea of doing 6000-8000 mile pan drains would include a 20kish pan drop and filter change.... However, it may be more cost efficient to just do it all at once.....

[qship96]

I was hoping,with 90 day pan drains,to avoid ever flushing or dropping the pan again,if this is effective.i replaced internal filter once at over 100,000 miles,and based on inspection of screen,pan,and magnet,never plan on doing again,unless i can be convinced otherwise!the external filter is what i am unsure about,tech says never needs replacing unless transmission fails?sounds like possible "catch 22"!

[elwesso]

I dont think the external filter needs ot be replaced. Its supposed to last 100k (life of transmission), and when you add the external cooler those dont clog as easily as the stock...

You wont, however, be able to cut corners on your filter... Its not that hard to replace, why not just replace it yourself... 1 hour tops after you let it drain overnight..... 30k is a long time to replace a $20 filter and one hour of labor...

Unless of course you like fresh trannies sooner...

So your saying that the pan was really clean at 127k at the first pan drop/filter....? I would bet it was done prior and you just didnt know about it...

[qship96]

wes,first filter change&pan drop was done at aprox 110,000 miles,127,000 on it now,everything was spotless,why i hesitate to ever do it again!bought the car from a physician with less than 22,000 miles on it,in 1998,full service records from infiniti,transmission never touched till my ownership,which has had mobil 1 flush annually since 98.will either continue with annual flush,or 90 day pan drop if proven as effective!plan on retiring car with original transmission in it at 250,000 miles,which should be in 4-5 years!

[elwesso]

THere will be more transmission wear after this one... I dare say it will look much worse next time you do it.... It was just getting broken in....!!!

Do what ever you want to do, but since you do a lot of highway driving you MIGHT be able to get away with it... I say dont risk it, especailly when you get into the higher miles......

[qship96]

wes,re-read my last post,first pan drop/filter change done at 110,000 miles-clean as a whistle!

[elwesso]

I read that... I was probably unlcear in what I meant, which hasnt been the first time thats happened....

Like I said, most of the wear is just now occuring.. Plus the internal/external filters have caught everything so nothing COULD get to the pan.... I think its normal, especially if the car wasnt driven hard...

I think that when you add your transmission cooler (and remove the external filter) youll wanna keep on the pan drop/filter change regiment.... Just because the pan is clean doesnt mean everything else is, it means that the filters are doing there jobs!