Transmission Whine

[Fizzer600]

Hello All,
I just bought a 2015 FiST with 33k miles. The car appeared to be babied by the original owner and got a clean bill of health from the pre-purchase inspection that I paid for.

While driving, I noticed a high-pitch noise "sounds like "ooooooooo") around 3k rpms onward particularly in gears 4-6. I initially thought nothing of it, assuming it was the turbo, or just normal noise considering the car was test-driven at the PPI and was given a good report.

After doing more research, I learned that there are a decent amount of reports of gear whine with these cars. The part this is bumming me out is that every case I read that were two results: 1) The entire transmission was replaced under warranty or 2) People lived with it and prayed it didn't get worse.

How big of an issue is this whine? It doesn't really bother me but it has me very concerned. I am swapping out the OEM transmission fluid for Ravenol MFT-2 in a week or so (from Blau: https://www.blauparts.com/ravenol-manual-transmission-fluid-mtf-2-75w-80-gl-4-1l.html Can anyone confirm that this is the right stuff? The bottle looks like a little different than the one on Amazon that a lot of people reference, most notably, this bottle says "Professional Line" whereas the one on Amazon does not).

Is this whine a sure sign the transmission will blow? Does anyone have any guesstimates as to how much a transmission replacement would be at an independent shop so I can budget for worse case scenario? Any reports of people getting a long life out of their transmission with the whine?

Whats my best option assuming the dealership won't help? Drive it until it blows up and replace with a used unit? It still drives nicely and the shifts still feel fine.

Thanks all.

 

[Questionable]

I had this problem 3 times. It would get worse for me, but I was doing a specific thing on race tracks to make it worse. It did not get worse on the street. I never lost a gear/blew up the trans. Usually the whine got loud enough that I couldn't stand it anymore and that was what would initiate getting it fixed.

New fluid might damp the sound enough for you, and I don't think you're on the verge of killing the trans.

I had two transmission replacements under warranty. That would fix the whine until I went back to the race track and forgot to not shift in that one turn. The third time I had put an LSD in, so I opted to rebuild the trans locally. I was billed 10 hours of labor to remove and reinstall the trans. It was about $1200 USD for the rebuild with all new parts. You should be able to find a used transmission for less. Maybe around $800 USD. So budget around $2k USD, depending on local labor rates and parts availability if you actually, somehow, blow up your transmission.

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[Intuit]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...224728713E6D2BA8FDFC224728713E6D&&FORM=VRDGAR
Man I used to love that sound in reverse with my previous manual transmissions. That video explains what's going on... and that it isn't harmful. In that case it's just the design aspect; noise caused by the gears un/meshing. My motorcycle has a sequential shift transmission (no indicator) and would often use the whine noise to denote when I've dropped to second gear. (dropping to first at anything other than crawl speed could damage trans)

How man-trans work...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...EB244666C1187DD7D85BEB244666C118&&FORM=VRDGAR
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...ED44CCD4751E7DA2160FED44CCD4751E&&FORM=VRDGAR

Gear ratios shown in an image attachment here...
https://www.fiestastforum.com/threa...ts-to-fist-through-the-years.9186/post-430003
...says that fourth is locking input to output shaft. So if there's still whine there I'm GUESSING you're hearing the counter shaft drive gear(s), which are constant-mesh.


Haven't had the noise but like you, have read about it. Never a report of failure that I recall. I like Castrol so swapped that fluid in and in the process, saw how watery the room-temp OEM fluid was. You have the right idea. Just swap the fluid and keep driving. You can look for shavings in the fluid and with a cheap USB bore cam, check the magnet(s) in the trans.

Don't think it has anything to do with the synchronizers or shift collars. Unless it gets obnoxiously loud, wouldn't worry about it.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?&view=detail&mid=680287579BDA45847114680287579BDA45847114&&FORM=VRDGAR
Much of this exactly mirrored my thoughts on operating a man trans. Never had any issues with brake seals or slave seals with my previous vehicle that rusted out >327k but he at least convinced me that it's good practice.

 

[JDG]

Hello All,
I just bought a 2015 FiST with 33k miles. The car appeared to be babied by the original owner and got a clean bill of health from the pre-purchase inspection that I paid for.

While driving, I noticed a high-pitch noise "sounds like "ooooooooo") around 3k rpms onward particularly in gears 4-6. I initially thought nothing of it, assuming it was the turbo, or just normal noise considering the car was test-driven at the PPI and was given a good report.

After doing more research, I learned that there are a decent amount of reports of gear whine with these cars. The part this is bumming me out is that every case I read that were two results: 1) The entire transmission was replaced under warranty or 2) People lived with it and prayed it didn't get worse.

How big of an issue is this whine? It doesn't really bother me but it has me very concerned. I am swapping out the OEM transmission fluid for Ravenol MFT-2 in a week or so (from Blau: https://www.blauparts.com/ravenol-manual-transmission-fluid-mtf-2-75w-80-gl-4-1l.html Can anyone confirm that this is the right stuff? The bottle looks like a little different than the one on Amazon that a lot of people reference, most notably, this bottle says "Professional Line" whereas the one on Amazon does not).

Is this whine a sure sign the transmission will blow? Does anyone have any guesstimates as to how much a transmission replacement would be at an independent shop so I can budget for worse case scenario? Any reports of people getting a long life out of their transmission with the whine?

Thanks all.

I would inquire with Ford ASAP to see if you still have the powertrain warranty. IIRC it is the input shaft bearing on it's way out in most cases.

 

[Fizzer600]

Unfortunately being that the car is a 2015, the warranty is expired.

 

[robbie_d]

Unfortunately being that the car is a 2015, the warranty is expired.

Powertrain coverage is 5 years / 60k miles and the date STARTS when a person initially buys the car. A 2015 purchased very late in the year or purchased in 2016 would still be under warranty.

 

[Intuit]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...&mid=368070EE58741E3AF800368070EE58741E3AF800

 

[haste]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...&mid=368070EE58741E3AF800368070EE58741E3AF800

I had this same exact noise in my original transmission for a long time. Probably 50k+ miles. I could make the noise disappear by disengaging the clutch. When I swapped my rebuilt trans, the original I pulled out definitely had input shaft play where my rebuilt one had none. I never really noticed a whine from the transmission during driving though.

 

[Intuit]

@haste - Yeah bearings typically squeal or rough/roaring noise. Rattle is typically slop between parts that ordinarily have no play. I thought it was the throw-out bearing rattling on the shaft but my prior car did for most of its 327k life before it was retired due to rust issues. In addition to the clack on clutch release, current car has been doing that for most of its life thus far. Meh, I'll let it go. BTW I see that you're heavily modded; I assume the rebuilt was just so that you could make a quick swap after LSD install?

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...84B425861CE1207BC5C184B425861CE1&&FORM=VRDGAR
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...4FCB3C44B0AAC726AC5C4FCB3C44B0AA&&FORM=VRDGAR
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...F2AB6B6CD4A8DF04DC49F2AB6B6CD4A8&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[haste]

@haste - Yeah bearings typically squeal. Rattle is typically slop between parts that ordinarily have no play. I thought it was the throw-out bearing rattling on the shaft but my prior car did for most of its 327k life before it was retired due to rust issues. In addition to the clack on clutch release, current car has been doing that for most of its life thus far. Meh, I'll let it go. BTW I see that you're heavily modded; I assume the rebuilt was just so that you could make a quick swap after LSD install?

Exactly. I bought a used transmission, replaced all the bearings and installed the final drive conversion along with the LSD. The original tranny has about 85K miles on it, so I plan on replacing all the bearings in it and inspecting all the components while it's apart. I don't think there is anything wrong with it other than the excessive input shaft play. It'll be nice to have a good spare just laying around.

 

[Fizzer600]

Unfortunately the warranty expired in February of 2020. What is my best option here? Drive it until it blows up and replace it with a used unit while budgeting $2k-$3k? The car still drives nicely and the shifts feel fine besides the turbo-charger-like whine in gears 4-6...

Very very frustrating that this appears to be a common issue after my initial research told me that the FiST was a reliable car.

 

[JDG]

Unfortunately the warranty expired in February of 2020. What is my best option here? Drive it until it blows up and replace it with a used unit while budgeting $2k-$3k? The car still drives nicely and the shifts feel fine besides the turbo-charger-like whine in gears 4-6...

Very very frustrating that this appears to be a common issue after my initial research told me that the FiST was a reliable car.

First step is to call Ford customer service and explain the situation. They may be willing to talk and offer a potential solution especially since this is a semi-common problem. If that fails, here are you options:

Are you mechanically inclined? If so, keep your eyes out on car-part.com for a lightly used (< 30k miles) fiesta st transmission from a 2016+ vehicle (budget: $750-1500). Swap the transmission yourself.

Are you not, find a shop willing to do the swap if you provide the transmission.

Get quotes to rebuild transmission, this will likely be the most expensive.

Edit: I would get that fluid changed asap. When draining, use a paper filter to look for metal debris. It's likely never been changed and at 5 years old, is probably beat to hell.

 

[Ford ST]

Definitely contact Ford customer care and see what happens. Now if Ford does nothing I would change the fluid out and keep driving it until there's a problem. I've been reading about transmission noise on these cars for several years there are people who have a hundred thousand miles on them and the transmission still functions, and there are a few cases where it gets severe.
The video I posted is what happens when it becomes severe. This individual replaced the input shaft bearings in his transmission.

View: https://youtu.be/5OvNhWPgdhA


I have had my car for 3 years I'm about to hit 14,000 miles and I have had a very light transmission whine since 9,000 mi. I didn't actually notice this until I upgraded my rear motor mount, and it's also gear 4 through 6 very light. You can't hear it if the windows are down you can only hear it if the radio is turned down and windows are up.

My powertrain warranty doesn't expire till June of 2022 so I'm going to keep driving it because the noise is so slight I really don't think a dealership would even take it seriously.

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[Fizzer600]

@JDG - Yes, Ravenol MFT-2 is going in this week. I am not mechanically inclined, but I have been going to an awesome shop near me for years and I think they would do the swap.

@Ford ST - thank you for answering a follow-up I had. I was wondering if I should continue to drive it and only consider swapping in a used unit once there is a big problem. I just drove it 150 miles this morning and it drives and shifts fine. Like your FiST, you can only hear it with the windows up and radio very low or off.

 

[XR650R]

@JDG - Yes, Ravenol MFT-2 is going in this week.

That's the stuff!

 

[Fizzer600]

Welp, I did give Ford Customer Care a call and they said they are unable to offer any assistance because I am out of warranty despite the low mileage on the car. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

 

[Intuit]

............... Drive it until it blows up ..............

Unless you plan on significantly boosting torque or shifting like a jerk, wouldn't sweat it. As mentioned, just change the fluid, look for shavings and check the magnet. Post photos if there are questions. Absent prior circumstances, haven't read of anyone "blow it up".

 

[vivix]

Mine whined since about 2k miles and was hard to get into 3rd at WOT. twice ford said that was normal. at 12k miles it did not want to go into 3rd, until it did, then it ripped the mounting ear for the lower trans mount right off the case. Its apart right now at ford, getting replaced under warranty (and a mfactory LSD installed at the same time). Fingers crossed its normal when i get it back. Have had stick cars for the last 15 years btw so I dont think it was me. Heads up: everything internal is on backorder!

 

[briandee]

Not seen it mentioned, but fill with 2 liters when you replace the fluid. I have heard the manual specs something like 1.69qts. The problem is that is not quite enough to reach the bearing on the input shaft. No data to back this up, but can't hurt!

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[XR650R]

Not seen it mentioned, but fill with 2 liters when you replace the fluid. I have heard the manual specs something like 1.69qts. The problem is that is not quite enough to reach the bearing on the input shaft. No data to back this up, but can't hurt!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

When I did mine, the original fill had 1.8 liters (1.9 quarts), and I put the same back in. Next change, I'm going for the full 2 liters. Others have done that, and had no problems, so why not?