516593812

yes- when i push the clutch in it's all gone (whether the truck is moving or not) when the clutch is not pushed in, there's a chattering/ whining/ whirring noice. It's most pronounced when it's in gear & accelerating/ decelerating, doesnt sound terrible like anything's breaking or grinding up- you wouldnt even know it was "a noise" untill you pressed in the clutch & heard how quiet the truck really is. I've left it alone & it's fine.So what would lead you to determine that it’s the pilot bearing & not the input shaft? Was your truck making the noise under the same conditions that I listed? I’ve heard both- that it could be the input shaft, or the pilot bearing. In either case, what are the consequences of leaving it alone until my next clutch job?

PismoJoe

Did you notice this noise with your old transmission? if you can link the same noise to both transmissions, then its the pilot bearing.

My truck currently makes this noise, though it doesn't sound as bad as yours. Clutch depressed and its quiet. Im at 130k with the stock clutch and it works fine, so I'm waiting for the clutch to go before I dig in there.

I don't know if this helps, but I have seen far more pilot bearings go than input shaft bearings. Did you look at the seal for the input shaft cover? if its leaking and allowed dirt to get in, it could have killed your bearing over time.

IMHO, it sounds like the pilot bearing. I think that the noise would continue for a few seconds longer if it was the input shaft bearing. IE...you depress the clutch, it stops right then because the pilot bearing stops spinning right then, the input shaft would continue to spin until is loses momentum causing the noise 'hang around' until it the shaft stops spinning.

Wilshire had some good info, both NSK and Nachi bearings are OEM. $5 for a pilot bearing...but you have to drop the tranny again to get to it

yayfortrees

It's not the pilot bearing. Mine is brand new, feels perfectly smooth, and my transmission was making this exact same noise.

Wilshire, I just picked up my transmission parts today. In looking at the bearings from inside the case, the input shaft bearing was a little loose, but not too bad. It definately isn't considered good, but the bearing that was the worst was the countershaft bearing, right underneath the input shaft bearing. It has a LOT of play! Since I didn't take it apart, I'm not sure if it can be replaced as easily as the input shaft bearing, although it looks like it. After seeing how sloppy it is, I think that could have been the source of the sound.

You never answered my question about the gear oil. Have you looked at it yet? My old transmission had gotten water in it, and I'm sure that didn't help it's condition any at all. If you haven't already done so, I would be making sure that oil isn't milky looking.

To the individual that asked what could happen if you keep on running like that: Eventually, that bearing is going to seize or come apart or both. When that happens, you *could* destroy the case, shaft(s), gears, forks, pretty much everything. How long it takes before that happens is anybody's guess. It could be much less expensive to overhaul it before all of that happens. My suggestion, don't turn your transmission into the world's heaviest paper weight.

yayfortrees

Wilshire, interesting turn of events on my end that you might find interesting.

My swapper transmission didn't bolt up, even though the VIN plate said it was a W55, just like mine. I guess Toyota messed up on the sticker, or they call anything they want a W55.

Anyway, I had to put my transmission back together to re-install, as it was. No new bearings, circlips, nothing. I even reused one of the gaskets, and used gasket maker for two other places. I did grease the splines more than last time, and I of course had to put new gear oil in. Guess what. No whirring noise!

So now my question is: Is it the fresh gear oil as opposed to the old milky junk that was in it before, or did greasing the splines actually help, or a little bit of both?

The only thing that is different than before is that I took the shifter bushing out of the swapper transmission to use on mine. That has helped the shifter feel, but shouldn't have any effect on the whirring noise.

I still want to swap out transmissions at some point, but that will have to wait for more funds.

Hope this helps you out in some way. Maybe you can try changing the gear oil, then if that doesn't help, pull the transmission back far enough to grease the splines. More than likely, the gear oil will help, and if it doesn't, it's probably not worthwhile to do that much work just for a little bit of greasing.

Let me know what you do and how it turns out.

PismoJoe

Ok, well I got to the bottom of this issue on my truck. yayfortrees, I like your enthusiam but don't rule out anything 100% sight unseen, or be ready to believe the dealer when they take apart your transmission (and your wallet)

It turns out that this noise was coming from my clutch fork and release bearing. That sound is from the clutch fork sort of "dancing" in its assembly. There are 3 contact points that require lubricant on the clutch fork: the 2 points that make contact with the release bearing, and the point where the fork clips in and pivots off of.

If you peel back the boot thats on the outside of your transmission (it goes over the clutch fork arm) peek in there and spray a silicone, high temp lube on the 3 contact points on the fork. Any moly based lube will work fine.

The reason the noise stops when you push in the clutch is because it locks the clutch fork in place, causing the "dancing" to stop. If it is properly lubricated, you will not hear this noise.

I think that toyota messed up on the bell housing assembly. They should have made it at least somewhat water tight, because over time and use, the lube wears off on these contact points. Guaranteed this is your problem. Hope this helps!

wilshire

Thanks for the update. It sounds like I'll be putting fresh gear oil in it and making sure all the clutch components that should be lubed are lubed.

Then if that doesn't work, I'll try the input shaft bearing. I don't want to mess with that if it isn't the problem.

I'm going to be quite a pro at swapping transmissions by the time I get this sorted out.

yayfortrees

Pismo, good point on the fork arm. I hadn't yet thought of that, but it makes a lot of sense.

When I inspected the transmission parts, I found the countershaft bearing felt really loose. I'm not experienced enough with auto transmissions to know what good synchros are supposed to look like, but I did see a lot of teeth missing. The question is whether they are supposed to be missing or not? Why can't they make them like motorcycle or ATV transmissions? I would actually understand them completely then.

I wish I was a pro at swapping the transmissions already. That thing fought me pretty hard going back in the last time, even though I was so careful to make sure the clutch plate was aligned perfectly.

Right now, I'm looking into fabbing up a custom bell housing out of the two bell housings, to be able to run the swapper transmission I have. I figured out it's a R150, and have read it's much stronger than the W series that I have in it now. Not that I need a stronger transmission for the stock 4 banger, but I hope I won't have to pull it again for many, many years.

This decision isn't final yet, but I've seen where other people have done it and ran 400 HP motors with them, or used them for wheeling and rock crawling. I just need it to hold up to my stock 22RE for daily driving, so I think it will be ok. I just talked to a guy that is set up to weld aluminum a little while ago, so he's going to look into it more and let me know if it's a good idea or not.

wilshire

The only part I've found that's actually difficult for me is getting it to slide back into place. Pulling the starter is no problem. Getting to the two bolts at the top of the bellhousing... I could do that with my eyes closed now. But getting the transmission itself to slide back in when it's time... that's tough.

I made some alignment pins out of M12x1.25 and M10x1.25 bolts I got at the hardware store. I cut the heads off. They get screwed into the back of the block. I have no idea how I could do it without them.

Also, my crossmember bolts (the 8 big ones) are trashed and so are the holes they go in. 20 years of salty roads I guess. They all came out but only 4 went back in. Gonna need a tap and some new bolts for that I guess.

I sure hope the problem is something that's been suggested. If it's the countershaft bearings, that's beyond me.

If water got in the transmission, couldn't that cause rusting inside, no? That can't be good...

I did put in a new release bearing for the new transmission, and hosed out the bellhousing really well with brake cleaner. I thought I put any needed grease back as required, but it's possible I didn't. I'll check out that angle.

yayfortrees

Yeah, water in the transmission can wear things out quickly. That's what I found in mine. To buy myself some more time, I now have a shift boot (the small one on top of the shift plate) made from duct tape and a couple of zip ties to hold the ends. Anything but fancy or correct, but it should keep any more water from getting in there.

That's a really good idea about the alignment pins! I think I may have some bolts that will work great for just that! That is the hardest part for me as well, just getting everything aligned perfectly in order to slide it back in.

After I picked up the transmission from the shop, I found out it's not really any big deal. All of the gears will stay in place on the shafts, along with bearings and everything. They all come out still assembled, and goes back in the same way. The only parts that you need to separate are the shifter seat (1 bolt); (I don't know the proper names of these parts), shifter arm; the front bearing cover, the circlips, and the case halves. I was scared to pull the transmission apart, but after seeing it apart and putting it back together (and not being the person that pulled it apart), I feel foolish taking it to a shop now.

You would have no problem taking it apart to replace bearings, as long as you have a way to pull the bearings, and drive the new ones on. Oh, and circlip pliers are pretty much a must have in order to do it right. I managed without them, but I was cussing a lot and throwing everything in sight.