Tranny Whine diagnosed and fixed! A MUST READ!
 

First i would like to thank Star Nissan Service and special thanks to Steve, Roger and Dominick (Master mechanic)!

As you all know I have had a "Whine" noise from my car since i picked it up. I never owned a manual tranny so i didnt know if i had the same prob as raceboy and i don't know if my fix will resolve your issues as well.

DIAGNOSIS: the backing plate behind my front passenger wheel housing was rubbing on the brake system. So whenever the car was in motion it sounded like a "whine" or a metallic fan scraping/turbine.

FIX: After driving Dominick around several blocks and him driving back, he had me accelerate while the car was on the lift to see if the noise was isolated to the rear wheel, which i told him I thought was where the noise was originating. As i accelerated I noticed that the noise was not audible. So dominick went to the front of the car and rolled the passenger front wheel by hand and he heard the noise. After 1 minute of inspection he saw that the backing plate was making contact with the brake system, thus the fan like whine noise. He simply took a flat head screwdriver and made some extra space between the plate and brake system.

CONCLUSION:
Problem is gone and all i hear now is the beautiful exhaust note! Now i don't have to hide in shame as i pull up to a stop light. :) Let the fun begin!

And i signed up Star Nissan Service as a registered member of this site and Steve, the svc manager will be roaming this site for your input on car/technical issues. Thanks again to Star Nissan Service. Steve actually woke up a Nissan tech in Cali to see if they have had sim probs, it was 6:20am Pacific time! And your new 80,000 sq ft facilitiy looks great! You did Nissan a real service when hiring Dominick.

If you guys are in tri state and want to give Dominick some of your business check out his own shop, "Future Auto & Diagnostics" on 161-16 46th Avenue, Flushing, NY. 11358. 718-886-9686.

Is this something that would be present in the Track models only due to the Brembos?

Okay, all you guys that think you have tranny whine
 

Go up to 20 mph in 1st and then let off the gas (don't step on the clutch), letting the engine slow you down. That is when tranny whine will be most pronounced.

Now do the same thing, except engage the clutch (that means push it down) and see if you hear exactly the same whine. If it's the same with the pressure off the gears then it ain't tranny whine--it's probably something rubbing.

Tranny whine is a very distinctive sound that once you've heard it, will be unmistakable. It's most pronounced when going on and off the gas in low gears without using the clutch, which causes a very distinctive pitch change. Try it and see what it sounds like.

Now I will be able to sleep better before my Z comes...

So drive shaft shield and whining noise fixed... there's hope!

Not at all. All brakes should have a backing plate. But i don't hear any other sounds other than the exhaust and engine after this fix. So i hope i dont experience other problems. but only time will tell with a new production car.

The backing plate on my car was black and looked metal or an alloy. The mechanic just used a screwdriver to pry some distance in between where the touchpoint was occuring.

My mechanic said you can start ruling out drivetrain whine causes by process of elimination. Once i drove him in the car he listened to when the sound was most audible. my sound was occuring when i was in gear or in neutral. and stopped with the same pace of me braking. So we both thought it was the new brembo brake calipers, since its Nissan's 1st try at brembos in the US. but it wasnt.

So if you guys take it to service please print this post and even refer to my service manager Steve at Star Nissan. Cuz he called cali to get some feedback before working on my car, i am sure he would return the favor to any nissan svc center.

good luck guys.

Hold on there. My prob wasnt directly related to the "Driveshaft shield" or the transmission. I assumed it was after reading several posts. Mine was a whine caused by the backing plate in the wheel assembly, but it's not for certain that raceboy and others who experience tranny whine can resolve their issues with my conclusion. I can't speak for everyone who has a whine noise.

I just wanted to post my resolution so that maybe others who dont know why they are getting a whine noise, can save this post as one resolution to a "WHINE" problem.

If i were you i would stay all over raceboy's next service visit on Monday.

Too bad we don't have "wine" problems.

Hey matt.. are you viet?

Nope. Korean American. I will assume you are viet :)

Ahahah yea man... I've yet to find another Asian in my town getting a Z. It'll be a cool feeling though.... my dad driving his black Z32 TT and me driving the Z33 - we gonna rule da streets!

Ahaha... i'll post pix once i get my car. I'm going to call it "Like Father, Like Son" because we have a very strong father and son bond. The difference is that he's a soccer player, and was already pimpin at 16.

Me? I'm 20, and at that was his age when my mom gave birth to me. Oh yea... I've yet to pimp - :-(

When you press on the clutch pedal of a manual transmission automobile, you are DISENGAGING the clutch...

Damn matt.. Everytime I see your pics I wish I got the Daytona Blue

Chrome silver aint too shabby either my man. Honestly i like the silver as much. But the most exotic is sunset. But coming from the sunburst yellow slk w/amg package, i wanted something more classy and less loud. So the blue was a great choice.

Godd luck with the car dude

Good Job!
 

Hey Matt,
Thanks for the info I will print this and save it for my dealer if need be. Enjoy your Z!

As for the same koreano-americano z owner, I love your car. I live in west coast so I dont think I'll ever see your car though. Rock on with your bad-self.

from: proud black performance 350z owner.

Don't be suprised if my crew and I just show up at an HIN event in cali one day for ImportLife.tv.

Thanks for the compliments!

tell me when.. I'll be there.
:D

You're right
 

My mind was DISENGAGED. I should proofread my posts before I post them. Thanks.