Whine from transmission - normal?

I've got a whine from the transmission that I only hear when decelerating in gear, mostly in 2nd. It's not loud, but I'm used to modern transmissions being about silent in forward gears. Normal? Haven't checked oil but it's not leaking.

hard to diagnose a "whining sound" over the internet... i doubt you have a real issue but i would definitely check the fluid level because doing so is easy and free.

if you dont do your own oil changes, some oil change places check trans fluid when they change oil to up-sell a trans fluid service, so you could just ask the lube tech to check it for you... he's gonna be right there anyway.

i would also say to change it or have it changed at your convenience if you don't know when it was changed last. its not something like a t-belt that fails epicly if you neglect it but it changing it is good peace of mind and it only costs about as much as an oil change.

Well, do either of yours ever whine? If someone with a Getrag 420G told me theirs whined, I'd tell them they have a problem, as those boxes are supposed to be silent. But if someone with a Toyota L52 told me the same thing, I'd say it's normal and not worth worrying about. And if someone with a NP435 told me that it was *merely* whining, I'd tell them they were deaf

I'm a mechanic and yes, I do my own oil changes. Hesitant to change trans oil preventatively, because my experience has been that half the time it does nothing but make the synchros stiffer.

What did you use for gear oil last time?

moroza said:

I'm a mechanic and yes, I do my own oil changes. Hesitant to change trans oil preventatively, because my experience has been that half the time it does nothing but make the synchros stiffer.

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was not trying to talk down on you or anything, i have no way of knowing your mechanical aptitude so i mentioned DIY and alternatively asking lube tech to look at fluid. I wouldnt shy away from changing it but i might shy away from using non-VW stuff in it. You have to admit that describing car sounds with text can be kind of vague though.

I would say to look into the type of gear oil in there, as abacus said. People on here have used all sorts of stuff from ATF to the OE VW stuff. Some are smoother than others, some handle cold weather better than others etc etc. ive noticed the VW (g70 i think) oil that was in there before seems to shift better than the sycromesh i put in recently... but my linkage sucks too so maybe the VW oil just hid the clunkiness of the linkage better.

I wouldnt really describe mine as a whining on decel but with all the various clunks, vibrations and noises that my rust bucket makes, its hard to say.

Yeah, I replaced gear oil with Redline (MT90?) in one case and Royal Purple Synchromax in another, both of which came with rave reviews from forum members but actually made shifting harder (both Getrag boxes in BMWs that called for Dexron ATF and claim to be "lifetime"). Same thing with Valvoline Synpower in my Toyota's box. So if I do change the oil on this B4, I'm going with the *exact* same stuff VAG filled it with back in late '95, and even then there's gonna be some hard stares at the parts counter. My shift linkage has more slop than a pig farm but the synchros feel fine.

Abacus said:

What did you use for gear oil last time?

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In this car? I haven't done it yet, and based on its mileage and previous owners, I believe it has never been changed.

So... does anyone else's A3/B4 trans whine ever? Come to think of it, I don't recall ever driving a FWD transaxle that made any noise at all (except reverse), but most of my cars have been RWD and the remainder FWD automatics. This is my first FWD manual and my first VW, so I don't want to jump to conclusions.

Redline MT90 = Ugh - especially in a B4. Most commonly I hear that those that "love" it also mention that it's "a little bit notchy." Say goodbye to your synchros!
Royal Purple = More ugh

The fluid should be changed every 50k miles. My bet is that you are low on fluid and your 5th gear is soon to go out on you.

Provided that you have a black end cover on your transmission, stick with any of the following:

OEM VW G060
OEM VW G070
OEM VW G052
Lubromoly 20012 (G050)

YMMV,
-BB