My w56 transmission has the 3rd/5th gear whine. It's got 175k miles on it and I first noticed it about 3k ago. There's good oil in it.

This is a bad bearing or bearings, right?

What usually ends up happening in these cases?

I'm okay with driving it until it gets intolerably loud and won't stay in gear, but if it's likely to suddenly blow up one day and leave me stranded wherever I might be, that changes things a bit.

How long do I have, doc?

 

I lost fifth gear in an 86 W56 a few years back and drove around all summer till it wouldn't move at all. Then I bought a marlin transmission. Unless you have the money or capabilities to get a used and throw it in I would see how far you could take it in it's current condition.

 

Keep an eye on craigslist and pirate4x4, w56's are a dime a dozen. I have 2 with transfer cases that I picked up as spares and for building duals for under $150 each. One was even rebuilt 10k ago.

 

i had the same deal with mine. 94 4x4 pu. tried to drive it till i could save up enough money to fix it. i had no choice it was how i got to work. anyhoo, it decided to immediately give out while i was in the fast lane on the 405 in the middle of the night! scared the s out me. had to coast to all the way to the right side of the road which happened to be a conjuntion ramp with no safety lane. chp pushed me all the way over it so i wouldn't get plowed by oncoming traffic. STOP DRIVING IT AND RIDE A BIKE, TAKE THE BUS OR GET A RIDE FROM A FRIEND!

 

Have you had good luck with used ones? It seems like such a common problem. It would be such a pain to swap in a used only to have it be the same or even worse.

 

I have'nt bought a used transmission but I know plenty of people who have had good luck with them. Or just drive it till it blows, maybe put in some redline mt-90. I would think you could drive it for awhile with a little bearing whine as these trannies kind of whine anyways. If you can't afford to fix it, what have you got to lose right?