Whine / strange sound from engine bay, unaffected by RPM

[DilapidatedFluff]

I have a whine that has developed recently that starts quietly at around 15mph and gets "faster" or changes in tone the faster the car is moving, but is unaffected by RPM, if I take the car out of gear it is still doing it.

It seems to get quieter or go away for a minute or so after driving above 60 on the motorway, but that could just be my ears. It sounds completely centralised, but it's always difficult to work out where a sound is coming from in the cab.

It's really obvious and loud in person, I got my passenger to try and film it with my phone (Which took three attempts to get the bloody speedo in shot!) I can hear it in the video most obviously when I let go of the accelerator and the car slows down, the pitch of the whine drops, just to be clear this is really quite loud, the video doesn't do it justice! Aircon/fans are off.

As it's independent of engine RPM, could it be something to do with the wheels? It almost sounds like an air intake whooshing sound too. the garage thought it was brake pads on the rear wheels binding and had them stripped and cleaned but it still does it.

http://sendvid.com/u6844yx8 < video!

[puppet]

Could be a few things, like a dodgy wheel bearing, although I would have thought your garage would likely have suggested that.

The other thing that it could be, is the gearbox itself. Not sure exactly what model you have, but if there's a chance it has the M32 gearbox fitted, those are well known to have bearing issues, which sort of fits with your sound/noise description.

I'm not sure exactly what all models have the M32 'box, but through my own costly experiences, I know for sure the petrol 1.8VVT does.

[ilunn]

Try slipping it in to Neutral (or just press clutch down) when its at its loudest if it then goes away it would point to gearbox/transmission if it does NOT go away then consider wheel bearing.

[puppet]

Try slipping it in to Neutral (or just press clutch down) when its at its loudest if it then goes away it would point to gearbox/transmission if it does NOT go away then consider wheel bearing.

As I understand it, whether or not the noise would go away by putting into neutral/pressing the clutch depends on the particular bearing that's noisy in the gearbox.

In some cases yes, the noise might go away, however if it's the pinion bearing (think that's the right term) then it makes no difference whether you are in neutral etc. If the car is moving, then the pinion bearing is turning.

Have a look here:

http://www.wgmotorworks.co.uk/repairs/transmission/m32-gearbox/

"It is also quite common to get a constant whine in all gears from 20-30mph onwards, regardless of whether the clutch is engaged or disengaged, and which intensifies with speed. Often misdiagnosed as differential bearings, this is caused by pitted pinion bearings which can be seen on inner and outer races below."

However, we've not even established that the OP has an M32 box!

[Mr Wullie]

Could be tyre noise/drone.
what condition are the tyres in tread depth etc?

[DilapidatedFluff]

Could be tyre noise/drone.
what condition are the tyres in tread depth etc?

Hi, just to answer some questions,

All four tyres are about three months old and in good condition

As per original post, the sound is consistent irrespective of gear or if it’s in neutral, the gear box feels fine there is no movement where/when there shouldn’t be, etc


Because it seems purely based on speed of the vehicle I am leaning towards wheel bearings - but I jacked the vehicle up and there isn’t any play on the wheels so I am still at a bit of a loss.

Also yes I believe it is an m32, it’s an 1.8 SRi so I’m assuming it is the m32

[puppet]

Hi, just to answer some questions,

All four tyres are about three months old and in good condition

As per original post, the sound is consistent irrespective of gear or if it’s in neutral, the gear box feels fine there is no movement where/when there shouldn’t be, etc


Because it seems purely based on speed of the vehicle I am leaning towards wheel bearings - but I jacked the vehicle up and there isn’t any play on the wheels so I am still at a bit of a loss.

Also yes I believe it is an m32, it’s an 1.8 SRi so I’m assuming it is the m32

Will be the dreaded M32 unfortunately, yes.

When the bearings went in my own M32, there was absolutely no issue with the 'box at all, other than the whining that started to be noticeable at approx 40mph. No odd movement in the stick, no difficulty selecting gears etc.

Might be a suggestion to change the oil in the gearbox, and look closely at the old stuff for any evidence of metal fragments/particles. If you catch it as you drain it, then strain it through a clean white cloth or similar, you should be able to see if there is anything there. If there's not, then great, and it's well worth keeping on top of oil changes on the M32 'box anyway.

I also note that you look to have a 2011 car, which will have the original design of end casing on the gearbox. The later M32s had a revised end casing fitted to them, which was designed to hold bigger/stronger bearings, and also improve oil flow to the ones most prone to failing.

[Sharp]

Hi my 1.8 2013 has started to whine as above ,I believe it to be the pinion bearing ,is it likely to collapse and destroy the box and also has anybody had this bearing replaced or is it an exchange gearbox,

[Sharp]

Anyway took it to a gearbox specialists he originally thought wheel bearing ,put on lifter confirmed gearbox noise ,£700 to remove rebuild and refit ,then rang today ,play in dmf and recommends clutch change ,said he won't charge labour as box off already £1400 in total I think this is the last Vauxhall I will buy ,had a Toyota avensis before and didn't have one issue in all the years I had it,also Mrs has had a Yaris for 4 years again only servicing and tyres

[exclusiv.]

Anyway took it to a gearbox specialists he originally thought wheel bearing ,put on lifter confirmed gearbox noise ,£700 to remove rebuild and refit ,then rang today ,play in dmf and recommends clutch change ,said he won't charge labour as box off already £1400 in total I think this is the last Vauxhall I will buy ,had a Toyota avensis before and didn't have one issue in all the years I had it,also Mrs has had a Yaris for 4 years again only servicing and tyres

so gearbox bearings, clutches and dmf only fail in insignias ?

[Mr Wullie]

Out of interest how much play in the dmf?

[kentishbloke]

Hi my 1.8 2013 has started to whine as above ,I believe it to be the pinion bearing ,is it likely to collapse and destroy the box and also has anybody had this bearing replaced or is it an exchange gearbox,

Anyway took it to a gearbox specialists he originally thought wheel bearing ,put on lifter confirmed gearbox noise ,£700 to remove rebuild and refit ,then rang today ,play in dmf and recommends clutch change ,said he won't charge labour as box off already £1400 in total I think this is the last Vauxhall I will buy ,had a Toyota avensis before and didn't have one issue in all the years I had it,also Mrs has had a Yaris for 4 years again only servicing and tyres

I've got the dreaded 'whine' from my gearbox, I have a 1.8 Elite, with 96,000 mile on the clock, had it since 30,000 miles.

I'm very fortunate to live within walking distance of WGMotorworks mentioned above. I've got mine booked in for next week to have the bearings replaced. Should take 2-3 hours & cost £599, hopefully that'll be the only cost & be the end to the whine, finally!

[Sharp]

No I think clutches dmf gearboxes fail in lots of cars as all manufactures use the same suppliers but maybe different designs,dependant on if it's a supplier designed part of an OEM design part , my point is I had a Vectra when I bought it ,it had 7000 miles on ,30000 miles dmf went £700 ,next car I had was an avensis 2.2 diesel t180 bought with 85000 miles on ran to 130000 miles not a single issue in 4 years insignia 56000 miles gear box clutch dmf £1400 I was looking at buying an astra estate next but my experience of vauxhalls has put me off , this is my 6th Vauxhall by the way

[Sharp]

Play in dmf is around 15 degrees , I was going to chance it ,but I've had a few issue where I believe the clutch hasn't disengaged and was worried that it would fail and leave me stranded when I went to view it there was chattering marks inside the bell housing ,when I asked what they were the mechanic says it's been caused by clutch fragments

[Sharp]

Kentishbloke looks like yours is going to be done in place which I believe is the 5th and 6th gear bearings which involves removing the end casing .mine was box fully out and all bearings changed ,he also said he had to dress the gears as some of the fragments from the bearings had damaged the teeth , my bearings were the ones on the output shafts near the bell housing he wanted it 3 days ,1 day each for remove /replace box and1 day to strip and rebuild the box £700 for all that , I don't think was so expensive a job ,it's just the clutch and dmf that's added the extra cost

Good luck with yours and I hope it solves your issues