Rear-end Whine

So since I've owned my car ('00 C2, 57k to 68k miles) it's had a pretty distinctive whine. It's a medium pitch whir to high pitch whine that varies in pitch with engine speed, and volume with acceleration (there on decel but no change in volume). It is not present just revving the engine, and is still there when I clutch in or put it in neutral at speed, just quieter since there's no load. I can't say for sure if it has changed at all since I've owned the car so I can't tell if it's getting worse or not. It's pretty obvious it's something in the transmission, just seeing if anyone else has had a similar sound/experience, and what it took to get it fixed. --I haven't tried playing with it to see if it's a wheel bearing, but I've had wheel bearings go before and this doesn't sound like that.

Dave, is it louder when you are coasting than under throttle? You can pretty well tell if it is the differential/transmission cause it is like a"right there" sound at your right side of the driver seat. Generally speaking, a whine from there is a bearing related issue and i went through this late last year and had the repair done this spring.. In my case, the differential ring and pinion were also badly worn so we ended up buying another used transmission from scrap yard and changed out the gears for the diff. and then bought new bearings and synchro's. $3000.00 total approx. good luck Pete

OK- coasting with the car in nuetral = still there? its a little confusing because you said it changes with engine speed, but not when you rev the motor - This could be as simple as a tire issue. I had a tire that was going bad and it made noise....one day it made the road really bumpy (tire separated finally) - new tires are quiet. That said I pulled the front wheel off the suburban last night and I will be buying a new front spindle bearing and housing assy today - its toast ! GL

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Yep, that's it. If I lean to the right and tilt my head back it almost sounds like it's coming from inside my head. So in your case what bearing was failing, or did you just replace all the bearings while you had it open? And that $3000, was that just parts and you did the work or was that the final bill from the shop? Edit: More importantly, where you can find part numbers for all the itty bitty transmission bits and where can you order them from?

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The parts are available at most any of the major parts suppliers. Just pop the part #'s into google. Some of the major bearings are: 996 302 808 00 is the Pinion Shaft Bearing (Primary) (most likely culprit and know for failure) 996 301 806 00 Pinion Shaft Bearing 996 302 807 00 Main Shaft Input Bearing (Primary) Just some examples that my trans needed. Yours may not need all of them.

Great, I appreciate it. Now to bug someone with a nicely equipped garage and offer the holy 6-pack and pizza bribe. Edit: Hello there Pinion Shaft Bearing, I see you've brought your friend "The Porsche Tax" along with you, how nice. $500 bearing. I don't understand that, but whatever I suppose.

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If you get into the transaxle, you might want to take some of the advice on the link below for the bearings. Like the IMS bearing, Porsche used sealed bearings in the transaxle too, and after time the grease leaks out, and no oil can enter because of the seals. The bearing then have no lube and die premature deaths. Unsealed bearings are recommended. I work with about 30 mechanical engineers (I'm an electrical) and they're all wondering why Porsche did what they did. Seems foolish, but they must have had their reasons... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxV4XRTLBKY

Yeah the sealed bearings I don't really get (Mech. Eng. myself), though I would assume they did that because they wanted a very specific lubrication in there and not just the gear oil. You could get away with this pretty easily if it were an easy to change wear piece, but for longevity not really. I guess they really never tested it for long-life under varying conditions, which is really bizarre. I'll have to call those guys and see if I can buy those bearings from them--didn't see anything about buying parts from their site--or their suppliers. The upside to this is that my company is forcing everyone to use all the time-off they've accrued this year by New Year's, so I'll have about two weeks to go through this carefully. Edit: Was just thinking about this, and if I'm going to have a good bit of time off and I'll already have the transmission out I should consider doing the LN Engineering IMS bearing upgrade. At that point it won't be much more work for me and I'll be able to sleep more soundly at night. I'll be sure to take pictures of everything I do to make you folks happy, just have to set the time to do it.

The bearings are pressed onto the shaft. Takes a 100ton press to get them off. I wouldn't consider it a DIY.

Well I'd better start working out then. Alternately I suppose I could tear it down, rush order some parts and then take it to a shop to have them replace the bearings.

I have a similar whine but only after depressing the clutch in while shifting????

Sounds like a throw-out bearing.

Mine whines like a banshee under load. Can hear it some off load but not near as bad. Have a gnarly/monster 100+ton press available at work so am gonna tackle it in the next few weeks. Going to definately remove seals from bearings. Seems retarded they put them there in the first place. All the syncros etc. on my car are flawless. Been told by several "in-the-know" types that I trust that if you keep driving the beasty with the noise you could wreck the whole tranny if a bearing chunks.

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How many ton???

that is a lot of tons !

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I believe he meant 10 ton.

Dave, $3000.00 included labor. Changed out ring and pinion from other used tranny cause looked better shape than mine. Then pinion shaft bearings and all synchros. I believe that it was a 30 ton press that was used. Pete

10-30-100. Its all just numbers to me LOL

...ahh you must be a finance guy then!

For Semi-Closure: It was the main pinion bearing, shop is tearing the transmission down now to inspect the other bits and pieces for wear. I'll edit this once the final tally comes in.

Dave, Do you need the bearings? They are special order and take a bit to come to the US. Aaron over at Suncoast has them in stock at the moment. PM me.

I noticed my GF's Boxster was making a whining noise this weekend. Sounded like it was coming from right behind my right ear. But, it was happening under load (cruising or acceleration). It got quiet when I lifted throttle. I figured it was coming from the transmission or transaxle. Does that still sound like a bearing to you guys? She just had a left rear wheel bearing replaced so I know what that sounds like and this recent noise isn't the same.

For future people searching the forum: Main pinion (output shaft) bearing was pitted and the race was worn, unit replaced. Rest of the transmission inspected and looking good. Blackness, I'd say it's probably a transmission bearing. Take it to a couple of indy shops and ask for a mech. to ride along with you, it's a very distinct noise and immediately identifiable to someone who's heard it a few times.

Dave, Where did you get the work done? Was it local and did they have any of the special Porsche tools? Just wondering as I would like to do it myself.

I had it done at a dealership, they were the only ones locally who had the tools necessary. You also need a big-*** press to do it. The most you can do yourself is to drop the transmission and bring it to a shop, you can't do it at home.

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No, he didn't mean "10 ton" he really did mean 100 ton. Porsche does not use a splinned mainshaft; the gears are all pressed on with an interference fit. Yes, all that engine torque makes it way thru the gears onto the mainshaft and to the wheels with nothing but a friction fit between the gears and mainshaft. I heard it was actually an 80 ton press that's needed, but doesn't matter: 80 or 100ton, it's not a common sized press, and is a crap load of force needed to (properly!!) rebuild a P transaxle.

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my 2000 C2 Tip whines at different speeds, different gears and in different tones,, the lowest tone (the drone) happens from 40-45MPH on 5th,, also, same whine from 45-50MPH on 4th,, can it be similar to your case?

I understand that the consensus is that the trans/bearings are failing but this is my experience: I too became aware of a similar noise and drove the car immediately to my local Porsche dealership. The foreman came out and gave me a "the failing bearing" diagnosis. At the time they were out of loaner cars but he told me that the bearing would hold up. Took off and drove the car for maybe 25 miles. The noise never increased and there was no distinctive change in performance, but when I looked out the window of the building I was in....A huge puddle of coolant was pooring from the rear! At first I though RMS!!! But no, it was the pump which failed and exploded. If anything I would check first before you start ordering parts bc the pump retails for $325 at the dealership vs the $1000s you are faced with otherwise. Best of luck.