[spectre996]

Well, I had my '93 coupe with 47,000 miles on it in the shop today to have the belts adjusted after my last service and my mechanic confirmed what I had been trying to ignore <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> :the all too familiar and overbearing turbine-like whine emanating from somewhere behind me. I have been hearing it for a couple of months now but have be in a state of denial ( <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> No, not a pinion bearing failure, not my car, etc.) Anyway, as I wait for my mechanic to get back to me on timeframe and price and as I come to bear with these terms, I was wondering are there any other known issues or things that should be addressed "while we're in there?" Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Ben

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[flash]

this would be the time to install LSD if you don't have it



don't be surprised if you need other bearings and such



make sure whoever you have do it knows how to set the preload - incorrect preload is what causes the problem, and if he merely replaces the bad part without resetting the correct preload, you will be back in there in about 10k miles - i've seen it happen



should be about a grand max to R&R the unit, and about 750 in labor to fix it - another 200 or so minimum in parts

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[94SilverCab]

Not to disagree, but I think the repair estimates we've seen previously are more in the $1,500 to $2,000 range.



JMO,



Jay

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[spectre996]

Thanks Flash. My mechanic mentioned another bearing he usually replaces while he's in there but I can't remember which one it was. And yes, I already have a LSD installed (option 220 I beleive.) He has done several of these before so I am pretty confident in his knowledge and abilities.

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[PorscheDude]

Maybe a good time to replace the syncro's whiles its apart.

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[flash]

jay - no worries - if you add up the numbers i listed, you will get to 1950 for a basic pinion bearing repair - i broke it down so as to delineate areas for potential savings



lol - but being an accountant, i know how complicated that can be for you when there are too many things to add up, so i apologize for giving out too much information

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[spectre996]

So, is there any certain time frame I'm looking at? Can this be delayed, and if so how long? Any major repercussions for driving it while I arrange my finances?

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[flash]

the longer you drive on it, the more likelihood of grenading and consequently requiring more parts



bicycle?

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[PorscheDude]

Feet, don't fail me now....

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[spectre996]

Got it. I understand.

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[jpk]

I put probably 1500 miles on mine from the time I bought it (knowing the bearing was bad) untill it got to the shop. I have no idea how long the bearing was making noise before I got the car. If yours just started making noise, you may have some time, but it is a bit of a gamble.

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[flash]

my concern is that all the while it is making noise, it is doing so because it is wearing down the metal of the bearing - that metal is then sent to fly around in the transaxle - those pieces then get into places they just don't want to be, damaging other components - no telling how big or how many - pretty big gamble at over $500 per gear



i had to buy 1300 in worn parts for mine, at only 25k miles, and i did not have a pinion bearing problem to begin with - i can't imagine it getting better with foreign objects in there



ron had to do the same thing - TWICE

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[spectre996]

I'm not too worried about it because I leave for Indiana in the morning and won't be driving the car for over two weeks. That should give me plenty of time to figure things out. The only downside is that once I get back my mechanics shop is 45 miles away, so I'll have a short drive to get there.

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[jpk]

Of course every case can be different, but there was not an extrordinary amount of metal bits in my transmission when he opened it up. My mechanic even made a comment about how he was expecting much more than what he found. When I told him I drove it from Boston to Toronto, then up to Kingston and back home (about 1200 miles total), plus another few hundered miles around here before he got it, he was pretty suprised.



I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn't get too worked up about driving it a few miles, just get it looked at as soon as you can.

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[spectre996]

That's the plan. I'm going to take it in once I get back, especially since I've been hearing the whine for a while now.

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[ds968]

my car was driven ( by the POs ) for several years, and around 20K miles + IIRC with the bad pinion.. when I had the job done and the "damaged " part came out there was a single PINPOINT pit in it, which was almost invisible to the naked eye, requiring a magnifying glass to make you realize there was actually something there. Yet, that's all that was needed to create all that friggin' jet whine sound. So there were no metal shavings, not even traces of specs / metal dust anywhere .. as others said here, each bearing problem could manifest itself differently and maybe degenerate faster than mine did with more serious consequences, but I think in most cases a few more miles here and there until you get it fixed are probably ok.

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[BigHat]

How do you know if you have a pinion bearing problem? Is it a really load noise? I just recently bought my 968 and listened fot the noise while on the test drive, but really - I don't know what I'm suppose to hear.



I am a little concerned with a some lifter noise on mine, but most of the 944's I've owned over the years all had a little bit of a clacking noise so I don't let it bother me too much.



Is the pinion noise VERY loud, or just a little whine?

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[spectre996]

There is a thread already on the forums with some sound recordings at start-up and different engine speeds. Search for pinion bearings and it should come up. I was going to link the thread but I can't get the search function to work right now.

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[Renalicious]

Yeah, from what I heard of those recordings, at 70MPH it will literally sound like you have a jet engine in the trunk. Or a really REALLY loud computer hard drive <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



So if you're doing 70 and all you hear is road noise, you should be fine. Oh and the pitch / volume is affected by vehicle speed, not engine speed from what I remember.

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[spectre996]

Now that the search is working for me, here is the other topic with the audio files



Pinion Bearing Audio



Mine is not as loud as some describe it, but it is definitely there and it is definitely noticable!

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