Whining wheels / brakes - turned out to be gearbox bearing ...

21472 Views 112 Replies 24 Participants Last post by Russ, Aug 11, 2016

George Jetson

Discussion Starter · Sep 16, 2014

Last couple of days the brakes appear to be whining quite loudly as reduce speed - almost like a circular saw sound !!
It happens with the brakes applied but also when I let go of the accelerator which I assume means the regen brake is kicking in. When I accelerate again it stops........

Booked into the dealer anyway.

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donald

· #101 · Aug 9, 2016

Not yet. I guess someone will try, eventually, but most people's experience is of 'early life' failures. Few are high mileage failures.

I'm not keen on any transmission work being done in a regular garage environment. Really needs to be spotless conditions. But Vauxhall/GM are fixing this in a 'regular garage' scenario. I am not keen, but removing the whole transmission is a nightmare, this is a 'quick fix' of a job they basically 'discovered' they could do. (Originally, the bearing wasn't even available as a separate part, only as part of the motor rotor assembly.)

A removal/press tool has been devised to assist with this. Remove the wheel, suspension and drive-shaft, remove the outer casing, and the bearing is just there.

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Russ

· #102 · Aug 9, 2016

Lee Howard said:
but given that it's really only a 2-hour repair job, plus the parts... I'm not convinced that it would be a terribly expensive repair, either.

donald said:
The bearing and parts are actually listed as a sub £100 part and is a couple of hours labour.

I hadn't realised that it was apparently easier to replace the bearing than a Corsa cam belt. As @donald says, it is almost cheaper as they are a service item every few years.
BTW, how is the interval measured with the ICE belt on the Volt/Ampera as mileage is not accurate enough.

With enough info, I would be happy to try a DIY replacement if out of warranty as long as the alignment tool was available.

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Russ

· #103 · Aug 9, 2016

Volt Whine or Whistle Noise while Driving

First time I've seen a picture of where the bearing is.

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donald

· #104 · Aug 9, 2016

Russ said:
BTW, how is the interval measured with the ICE belt on the Volt/Ampera as mileage is not accurate enough.

It is a 150,000 mile chain.

Whether you view that as 150k miles or 150k ICE miles is up to you - it will be well beyond warranty either way. I'm not expecting to change mine, ever.

The water pump belt is interesting though - yes, how annoying, there is a water pump belt. There is also an electric pump which, I suspect, will do half a job circulating the engine coolant too, but who knows. The belt has to be cut off and the water pump removed, then the belt is refitted on the water pump, and then brought up to be remounted. There is no tensioning. This is meant to be a 6 year job. Is anyone seriously going to replace it until it fails? I suppose you could but I doubt whoever does it will ever have any experience of doing that job before!

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Russ

· #105 · Aug 9, 2016 (Edited)

@donald silly me! My son had a Corsa and I remember it had a chain! Recommended replacement mileage was quite low I think.
As chains are only subject to operational wear unlike belts which deteriorate, I doubt any Volt/Ampera's will get replaced.
Certainly not mine!

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Fionn

· #106 · Aug 10, 2016

Thanks Donald, it seems a pretty easy job.
I would have been a little concerned about taking one on as a long term 2nd hand car if it looked very expensive / difficult.
Hopefully the repair guide will come out into the public domain at some stage.

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AndyG

· #107 · Aug 10, 2016

Fionn said:
Any guides out there for a DIY repair?

My understanding (from talking to Chevy) is that the job requires specialist kit to do the job, the whole problem with the bearing is because of bad alignment so I don't think DIY would be a practice solution.

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Fionn

· #108 · Aug 10, 2016

Hi Andy, well the link that Russ posted above lists a "DT-22928–B seal installer"
It seems that this is all that's required in addition to a rubber mallet to install the new bearing.

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Russ

· #109 · Aug 10, 2016

AndyG said:
My understanding (from talking to Chevy) is that the job requires specialist kit to do the job, the whole problem with the bearing is because of bad alignment so I don't think DIY would be a practice solution.

From what I have read the "specialist tools" are a bearing puller and another to push the bearing back on to its seat and probably just a sleeve that is used to tap the inner bearing race on to an interference fit ground bed on the shaft.

@donald is correct in saying that there is a better chance of the problem being caused by machining tolerances on the cover which supports the outer race of the bearing.
It would be very difficult to know if you have caused a side load on the bearing when replacing the cover which I assume has a blind end where the bearing is located.

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Russ

· #110 · Aug 10, 2016

Page 2 is more interesting as I personally would use a hide mallet.

Whine, Scrape, Whistle Type Noise While Driving – 2011-2015 Chevrolet Cadillac Opel | gm.oemdtc.com

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volt69

· #111 · Aug 10, 2016

Fionn said:
Thanks Donald, it seems a pretty easy job.
I would have been a little concerned about taking one on as a long term 2nd hand car if it looked very expensive / difficult.
Hopefully the repair guide will come out into the public domain at some stage.

We bought our 2nd hand Volt as a long term 2nd hand car. But we timed it right by buying a 2012 model in 2014 for £17k with a six year loan, taking us to 2020 when the Voltec warranty expires. We also bought it with 15k on the clock and the wife does 12-14k p/a so we should also just about reach the 100k cut off by 2020 too!

TBH a main driver for buying the Volt vs a good ICE diesel car was the 100k / 8 year Voltec warranty and how much of the drivetrain it actually covers. You try and find an ICE car with an 8 year / 100k warranty that covers the engine / gearbox and drivetrain as standard. Impossible.

Done right with the correct maths and buying the right mileage at the right price if should be still be possible to balance your ownership and finance payments within the 8 year / 100k Voltec warranty so that when you have finished paying for it, it owes you nothing when the warranty expires and you can sell it or run it until it dies for no extra cost.

M

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donald

· #112 · Aug 10, 2016

The work sheet now is to replace the transmission end cover at the same time as the bearing, the theory being that if the tolerance is wrong then its probably the end cover that caused it.

This end cover replacement used to be done if the bearing failed a second time. Now it is done routinely.

So in actual fact, to perform the repair per the new technical bulletin, you also have to cost in a new end cover.

However ...... I am yet to be convinced this makes much of a difference. I think they started doing it just to 'jump' the second fitment stage, were it to occur. Easier just to swap the cover once it is off. Then if it fails a second time the bulletin says to replace the transmission.

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Russ

· #113 · Aug 11, 2016

donald said:
The work sheet now is to replace the transmission end cover at the same time as the bearing, the theory being that if the tolerance is wrong then its probably the end cover that caused it.

This end cover replacement used to be done if the bearing failed a second time. Now it is done routinely.

So in actual fact, to perform the repair per the new technical bulletin, you also have to cost in a new end cover.

However ...... I am yet to be convinced this makes much of a difference. I think they started doing it just to 'jump' the second fitment stage, were it to occur. Easier just to swap the cover once it is off. Then if it fails a second time the bulletin says to replace the transmission.

Definitely has to be the reason that the Voltec was re-deigned for MkII.

It looks as though the designer(s) overlooked basic design principles with the support bearings for the main drive motor.

When you consider the relative complexity of the rest of the drive unit with a second motor/generator and hydraulic clutches etc., it is a shame that there is such a basic fault.

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