Is there signs of leakage, including caked on dirt?  Crawl under there and
feel it, is it hot? If so, lube it right away. A layer of dirt can be an
effective insulator.

-- Gnarlie

Entity David Shepherdson spoke thus:

> I would appreciate some feed back on this.  My 1990 Westy transmission
> is whining quite loudly, it started quite quickly about 5000 miles ago
> (500 miles after I purchased it!).  It whines in every gear when power
> is on and more or less goes away when you take your foot off the pedal.
> I assume it's the final drive pinion gear (?).  If I drive uphill at 70
> next to a concrete median divider with the window open its quite an
> earfull (reflected noise).  My question is how long is it likely to go
> before catostrophic failure (or other problems).  Can I wait a few
> thousand miles until it is convenient or should I do something now? Any
> thoughts?
> Thanks,
> David