20 replies to this topic

[flwbyu]

Greetings,

There has been a lot of discussion about the pinion bearing noise but no audio samples. Since my 94 968 recently developed the pinion bearing noise, I decided to record some audio samples. I have put the various audio samples below -

• Engine startup
• Start/stop 01
• Start/stop 02
• Start/stop 03
• Coming to a stop
• Highway/75mph

[flash]

nice going - hopefully that will help those who can't figure out if it is this or not

[sguy]

What is your mileage on your car? It sounds very 'turbine like' as it has been described. I understand now why it can't be ignored.

Cheers,

[RPM]

Yup, that is the sound.

Great Post!

Should link these audio files permanently into to the DIY forum.

[Chris Vais]

That is the sound, just as if you had a rear mounted J-79 turbofan running at full throttle rather than an engine up front. Mine got so bad before I had it repaired that I couldn't drive the car for more than an hour at a time without getting REALLY AGITATED.

[ds968]

lol, my son did not want me to do the repair because he thought having the car sound like it has a jet engine was cool

good, very helpful sound clips !

[Renalicious]

Yay! Thanks for the audio! Now I know that my pinion is still fine I guess what I hear at high speed is just your regular 'ol gear whine.

Now if we could only get audio recordings of the various exhausts *hint hint*

[Darryl]

Yay! Thanks for the audio! Now I know that my pinion is still fine I guess what I hear at high speed is just your regular 'ol gear whine.

Now if we could only get audio recordings of the various exhausts *hint hint*

Ren,
I haven't forgot about that...just not timed right to have recording gear and cars and people in sync. Cosimo has B&B and Mark has RSBarn, so I think I can get this done soon.

Thanks Flybyu for these clips...now I too know that mine is fine!

- Darryl

[flash]

yeah - i know how that goes - i had a great opportunity at the paso robles run, but time ended up being short again and no chance was really there

[JWahlsten]

Good stuff.

This is a good reference and should be pinned.

[flwbyu]

[quote]What is your mileage on your car? It sounds very 'turbine like' as it has been described. I understand now why it can't be ignored.[/quote]
Stephen G. I am just about to roll over 100,000 miles.

[quote]Should link these audio files permanently into to the DIY forum.[/quote]
RPM. I agree. Does anyone know how to do this?

[quote]lol, my son did not want me to do the repair because he thought having the car sound like it has a jet engine was cool.[/quote]
Dan. That's funny. Just the other day I had an older gentleman in a Mercedes pull up next to me and ask "do you have one of those new hybrid kind of Porschee's? It sounds so unusual." Luckily for me the light changed because I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was a pinion bearing failure.

Thanks everyone! My 968's transmission is currently being repaired by Chris Cervelli. He was previously in AZ with Technodyne Racing and is currently living in CO from what I understand. So, I anxiously await the pocketbook drain and news of any other potential issues. However, I know that it is in good hands between Chris and my mechanic/tuner Exotic Motorwerks. ;-P

[Vaino]

Thank You you for this excellent post. I've been wondering if my "noisier" transmission was a candiadate for the infamous Pinion issue. The noise in mine is very constant "gear" noise, and not turbine like at all. Fully speed depend, and independent of clutch engagement. The minimal sound isolation in the truck has amplified the sound. A couple of other ex-968 drivers have told me it's "normal". The 968 trans is a bit noisier than the 5-speed on the 944's.

These recordings are an excellent reference for all of us.

[unknown4u]

Maybe a wheelbearing or a constant velocityjoint??

[Cloud9...68]

Thanks, this is really helpful, especially the 75 mph cruise. I definitely don't have it, and my car has almost exactly the same mileage as yours. Sorry yours went. I can see how driving the car with that noise got very annoying.

[BigL2U]

Thanks for a great post. I had no idea it was that loud.

[Cloud9...68]

I have heard some express the opinion that pinion bearing failure is inevitable in all 968's, yet I know many (including myself) haven't had the problem. So, I was wondering who has the most miles on their 968 without having had the pinion bearing noise? I'll start, but I know my mark will be obliterated very quickly:

'92, 98,000 miles, no bearing noise.

[flash]

yeah - that's just crying wolf

factoring in all of the cars over all of the years, the reality is that it's closer to maybe as many as 10% of the cars - that's really high for a failure of a component in a car, but if you think about it, at this age and mileage, it's not any higher than DMF failure

the whole reason this came up as in issue at all is that it was occurring very early on a much higher number of cars than it should have - they determined it to be an installation problem, and therefor a lot of hullaballoo was generated

there is no rhyme or reason - as you will find out later on in this thread as people respond, there are those who have gone a LOT of miles without it failing, those who have had it happen early on, and those who have had it happen it twice

lol - i guess if you could get the car to go enough miles, you might eventually have it, but you are going to have a lot of other far more expensive repairs first (like a complete engine rebuild)

drive the car and don't worry about it - if it happens it happens

[Cloud9...68]

Agreed. This definitely doesn't cause me to lose any sleep at night. It's amazing how anecdotal information can really stir things up. But I'm still curious as to how far people have gone without the problem. Wonder if I should start a new thread...

[Karrera Coupe]

I know this is a very old thread but I am desperate. I am struggling with a droning noise in my 968. The noise starts at around 40mph and disappears (or gets drowned out by windnoise) around 55 to 60mph.

I have tried all kinds of tests to identify the source and have pretty much eliminated all possible sources except for the new rear tires that i recently fitted .

I came across this thread during one of my Google searches for possible causes of my droning noise.

Unfortunately the links to the audio recording files that this thread originator posted, are no longer valid.

If any participants in this thread retained copies to the original audio recordings I will appreciate it very much if you can re-post them or send them to me. They may help me identify or eliminate transmission pinion bearing failure as a source of my droning noise.

Thanks in advance.

[94SilverCab]

Your issue does not sound like pinion bearing....the test is to drive to 85 miles an hour and let off the gas, should sound like an airplane engine on decel.

 

How many miles on your car? More likely is rear wheel bearings.

 

JMHO,

 

Jay