grinding noise

[badvibes314]

I just got an 03 vibe gt yesterday. Seemed fine when I test drove it, but as I drove it more I heard this kinda grinding noise coming from the front end. It is a manual transmission and the noise seems to occur when you are coasting or deccelarating in gear. I am really worried about the transmission bearings, as I just had to have those replaced on my last car and would hate to go through that again. Any ideas???

[star_deceiver]

Have you checked the brakes/rotors? Does it do it in all gears and what speed? Does it go away or get louder when you gently apply the brakes?

[badvibes314]

Haven't checked the brakes, but they seem fine. It happens in the first four gears, can't really notice if it does or not in top two. I've noticed it at lower speeds with the windows down, so once you speed up it's hard to hear over wind noise. Applying the breaks doesn't seem to affect the noise either way.

[star_deceiver]

Change the tranny fluid and put in something heavier, 85w-140 gearoil or higher and see what happens... but starting to shop for a new transmission and clutch might not be a bad idea.

[badvibes314]

Had a guy at the local transmission shop drive my vibe and he said it sounded like the final drive bearing. He said that continuing to drive it wouldn't make it more expensive to fix later and that I shouldn't worry about it til the noise gets really loud. Any truth to this?? I talked to a friend that does trannys for honda and he said to just change the fluid and keep listening to see if it gets worse.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by badvibes314 » He said that continuing to drive it wouldn't make it more expensive to fix later and that I shouldn't worry about it til the noise gets really loud. Pretty much, just remember that if the cage fails you'll be grinding to a halt pretty quickly!