[jbarclay]

It looks (or sounds) like my 94 has developed the pinion bearing whine. It's a high mileage car, about to turn 195k. I've done a little research here, and it seems to be consistant with what others have experienced. Although it's not terribly loud, it's quite noticeable. It's only effected by road speed. Loudest at 40-50 mph under load, increases when getting off the gas. No change in the sound with the transmission in or out of gear, or the clutch in or out.



Now what do I do? Do I sink possibly $3000 in a car that's worth (maybe) $6000, or drive it until it pops, then get whatever I can out of it? As I stated in my introduction, the car is not trashed, but well worn. If I thought the repair would get me by for another couple years, I'd do it in a heartbeat. However, with this kind of mileage, I realize another major problem could be right down the road.



The engine is still strong, a couple small leaks, but virtually no oil consumption.



Will the whine get louder as the bearing gets worse, or is it likely to just let go one day without notice?



Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.



Joey

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[gbarrier]

Be sure it's not tire nose before you get all down in the mouth.

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[Chris Vais]

I concur with Gbarrier, my rears are worn down to the wear indicators and the results in a howl from the rear end that sounds very bearing like. The pinion bearing is a high pitched whine. With time the noise will sound is if you have a jet engine running in the cargo area. Makes for really short drives unless you're completely deaf.



I'd change it continue to run the car. You won't find anything else that is as much fun for the money. If you pay attention to engine lubrication and are religious about the timing belt changes there is no reason why the car won't go 250K - 300K before you need an engine overhaul. The 944 I had before the 968 went 300K before the head gasket failed. The person I sold the car to still has it and he has 100K on the rebuild.

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[Cloud9...68]

I agree with Chris. These cars are very durable; you just have to keep after the maintenance, but that's true with any car.

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[nissanite]

Please check your rear wheel bearings. Same thing happend to me & I thought the same thing.

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[SILVY968]

If the noise goes away as you swerve left and right while driving forward, it is a rear wheel bearing. The load change will make the noise stop.

The pinion whine sound like a bearing as well, but will not go away unless you slow down to 20-30 mph.

If in doubt, check with a PM to be sure it is NOT the pinion bearing. If left alone and the bearing lets go, you will spend thousands replacing a trans axle. Do not tempt fate.

Brian

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[jbarclay]

Thanks for the help guys. I've been trying to reply for a few days now, but for some reason it hasn't gone thru. So here goes one more time.



I thought it might be a tire when I first heard it a few months ago. It was a lower pitched moan then. Now it's become more of a high pitched gear type whine. As for a wheel bearing, it doesn't sound like any wheel bearing I've ever heard going out. There's none of the whomp whomp (for lack of a better term) sound that I normally associate with a bad wheel bearing. Also, the sound doesn't change when steering back and forth. Although I can still hope for one of those two.



It's quite noticeable, but not terribly loud. I can drown it out with the radio on medium volume, or the ac on high.



First things first tho. Power steering issue developed last weekend. Scheduled to get that fixed next week.



I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell or trade it when the power steering gets fixed. Looking at possibly a Roush mustang. (I can hear the groans now) After 12 years I'm ready to try something different. Given the issues, more than likely it will be a trade. Here's hoping they'll only drive it around the lot.

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[smshirk]

The guys the dealers have evaluating trades don't miss a whole lot. It cost me $1800 to replace the pinion bearing 2 years ago and that included replacing several other parts while he had it apart. I didn't need a clutch or flywheel as they had less than 10k miles on them. I've made decisions like you're contemplating before a long time ago, and regretted it later. You'll get diddly for your 968 as a trade, pay way more for the Roush than it's worth, and probably pick up a car payment when you could get out of your pinion bearing troubles for a couple thou. You can drive it a long time before you have to replace it. It sounds like it isn't too bad yet if you can drown it out with the AC. It will get way worse than that before it breaks. Make yourself a car payment for 6 months then get it replaced. Just some friendly advice from an old codger who's been there.

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[jbarclay]

[quote name='smshirk' timestamp='1315093487' post='114947']

The guys the dealers have evaluating trades don't miss a whole lot. It cost me $1800 to replace the pinion bearing 2 years ago and that included replacing several other parts while he had it apart. I didn't need a clutch or flywheel as they had less than 10k miles on them. I've made decisions like you're contemplating before a long time ago, and regretted it later. You'll get diddly for your 968 as a trade, pay way more for the Roush than it's worth, and probably pick up a car payment when you could get out of your pinion bearing troubles for a couple thou. You can drive it a long time before you have to replace it. It sounds like it isn't too bad yet if you can drown it out with the AC. It will get way worse than that before it breaks. Make yourself a car payment for 6 months then get it replaced. Just some friendly advice from an old codger who's been there.

[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. I do agree with almost every point you made. My only difference is the Roush being more than it's worth. I bought a 2010 427R about a month ago, and I feel it's a lot of car for the money. Quite satisfied with the purchase, at least so far.



As far as the 968 goes, it's still in my possession. Been driving it once or twice a week, just to keep her old bones from getting too stiff. I've got a buddy that works in a tire/front end shop, he's going to check it out to make sure it's not a tire, before I make a decision on what to do with it.



Thanks again for the advice everyone.



Joey

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[Ryan]

Hey Joey,



I was just down your way 2 weeks ago. Stayed on Ky Lake with a bunch of buds. I rode down in a Cayman S though and not the 968.



So you have a 427R and are thinking of getting the Roush as well? You would be totally Stanged out if you got that.

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[rxter]

Get a Boss - sounds like a mustang that handles like a porsche (or at least not like a pig). I'm dieing to test drive one, but I don't imagine that they'll be too many of those on lots.



Back on topic, I'd be pretty happy with 200K out of a car - any car. Maybe time to move on...

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[rxter]

Found one right up the street. I know what I'm doing tomorrow <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[jbarclay]

Ryan, the KY/Barkley lakes area is a great area. For some reason I haven't spent much time there in the last few years. i need to change that in the future. The 427R is the Roush I was looking for...and got.



rxter, I chose the Roush over the Boss because I prefered the Roush styling ever so slightly. A Shelby was my other option, but from what I had read, their handling is similar to a stock mustang. Not upgraded to the point of a Roush or Boss. I've been shocked at the handling of the 427R. It out handles the 968. Of course, this is not exactly fair to the 968, as I'm comparing a 17 year old car with 195k miles to a 2 year old car with 10k miles.

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