That whining is probably a bearing about to fail.
If the bearing clearance opens up, the gear tooth mesh can become unstable
and kill your gearset or ring and pinion, depending on the bearing.

There may be other less destructive reasons for whine; Daryl will hopefully
ring in and offer some better info.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Steve Williams
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 11:47 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Should I replace my transmission?

A few hundred miles after GoWesty installed the 2.3L engine in my '84
Westy, its standard transmission started whining.  There was no
apparent cause.  It just started one day and hasn't gotten better or
worse.  That was in June.  I've driven about 13,000 miles since.  The
van has 127K miles total.

Now I'm struggling with the question of whether to install a rebuilt
transmission.  I'd appreciate your thoughts.

I'm told the whining transmission might last another zillion
miles.  But I worry about it constantly!  It really kills my buzz
whenever I'm driving, and that's a big deal for me right now.

I can handle the cost, but of course the cost worries me.  I think
it's a good investment, given how much I rely on my Westy.  But
should I economize, and just live with the whine?  Other options?

Here are the details:

The whine goes up in pitch with wheel speed, whatever gear I'm
in.  It's louder than the engine, so sometimes I forget I'm in third
gear!  The whine is audible only when the engine is driving the
wheels.  Coasting or going downhill, there's no whine at all, even
when the wheels are driving the engine.

When it started, I had the transmission oil checked: It was full, and
there was no obvious metal floating around.

A GoWesty drove it a few weeks ago and was confident the whine was
coming from the "main bearing" (my words).

The quote from GoWesty:

  Overhauled transmission: $1,400
  Gear Oil: $42
  Labor R&R: $380
  Tax: $119

  Total: $1,941

http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=4283

There's also a $750 core charge.

http://www.gowesty.com/view_page.php?name=Tranny_Core_Sheet

That seems pretty reasonable, and GoWesty has done a good job for me
up to this point, even if they're not the least expensive.  Right
now, I'm in the S.F. Bay Area, but I enjoy the drive down to Los Osos.

They say they can do the swap in one day.  I've got an appointment
for November 16.

I don't expect other costs to crop up.  My clutch feels
fine.  GoWesty inspected the clutch at the engine swap and reported
it was fine.  (Their clutch kit is $180.)  They also replaced a bunch
of shifter bits when the engine was done.

Thanks for your advice!