[mazdman]

Hi,

I've had my STI for about three weeks & 950 miles & now that the
weather has finally broken into the high 70's & low 80's, I've become
aware of a new noise coming from the clutch/tranny area. I would
describe it is a rattly sounding throw-out or pilot bearing. Let me
start by saying I did not abuse the car during break-in & also have
lots of experience with hi-po cars. I also have a 320 HP 1995 Eclipse GSX
& a 360 HP 1994 RX-7.

The noise is most evident when downshifting from 5th to 4th with the revs around 4000-4500 rpm. But I've also heard the noise in other gears as well. Since I've got the only STI in this area, there's no way to compare
it to another one & the Suby techs haven't even gone to training on the
STI yet. I'm a mechanical engineer with 20 years experience & a car
fanatic, so part of me is saying "This noise is abnormal. Oh crap, they'll
tear my baby apart & it'll never be right!" & the other half is saying "The
increased thermal expansion due to the warmer clime is causing the noise."

Fearing the worse;a roached tranny bearing; I drained & inspected the tranny fluid last night looking for lots of metallic particles & the fluid came out like new & the clutch side magnetic plug had a very small amount of
particulates that I would consider very normal for a new tranny.

Any one with an STI and/or experience with the JDM 6MT, please help!

 

[4MLA1FN]

manuals

where are you located?? i've got ~700 and have a rattling kind of noise in the tranny (or diff; dunno). for me, i hear it when the car is coasting in gear; i.e. foot off the gas and coasting/slowing down in gear without the clutch in. if i take it out of gear, the sound goes away. i need to double check if the sound goes away merely by engaging the clutch.

anyway, i dunno what to think. it is a "performance" drivetrain and there very little noise dampening materials in the car, so i'm hesitant to think it's abnormal.

 

[mazdman]

where are you located?? i've got ~700 and have a rattling kind of noise in the tranny (or diff; dunno). for me, i hear it when the car is coasting in gear; i.e. foot off the gas and coasting/slowing down in gear without the clutch in. if i take it out of gear, the sound goes away. i need to double check if the sound goes away merely by engaging the clutch.

anyway, i dunno what to think. it is a "performance" drivetrain and there very little noise dampening materials in the car, so i'm hesitant to think it's abnormal.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Yeah, that's the noise I'm talking about & I
just became aware of it in the warmer weather now. The tranny shifts
great & there is no grinding or anything. I'm located in NW PA.

 

[CloNeGTS]

I get a sound similar to what you are talking about in my Celica under engine braking. It has always been there....I figure it's just the transmission winding the other way, loading the gears differently.

 

[4MLA1FN]

ah "engine braking"! that's the term i was fishing for. like you, i've had similar sounds in other cars, but it's very prominent in the sti.

 

[Guest]

I get that also in my corolla, and here I thought it was just old.

 

[vnordan3]

My car does the same thing here in Raleigh,NC (warm weather now). From what I understand a big factor is very little dampening and 300 ft/lbs of torque probably does load up the transmission for a little extra noise.

 

[CoreySTi04]

Chicago Area?

I had the same exact noise on my WRX and now on the STi. I helped my boss install the JDM 6MT in his WRX and it makes the same noise. He is an AWD junkie with an Audi A4 quatro as well. His Audi makes the same noise. The Audi tech told him it was normal for and AWD car when he asked. I have taken it as normal as well.

Long story short it would appear to be a normal gear mesh noise from the differentials / tranny.

That's my $0.02

CoreySTi04

 

[4MLA1FN]

Re: Debadged in less than 500 miles.......... =(

good post coreysti04. that settles it in my mind. now i just need to find someone i trust to drive the car by me so i can hear how loud it is outside the car.