Evo 8 RS first gear whistle
 

Hello, I'm looking to buy an Evo 8 RS from 2004 with approx. 26,665 miles. The car's making a whistle sound in first gear, then the whistle goes away with higher gears/speed.

Someone I know told me to stay away from the car if it whistles in first gear. I've sent him the video, too and waiting for his opinion as well.

What's your take? I really like the car and I'm ready to buy it, plus that it's Apex Silver - my color of choice, together with Graphite Gray.

Thanks for your thoughts!

P.S. Once the video is uploaded on youtube I'll post the link so you can hear the car.

almost any manual transmission is going to have a slight whine in first gear. The whine that most evo owners worry about happens at about 30 - 40 mph in 2nd or 3rd or in higher gears also but at higher speeds. It should be loudest around 30 or 40 and this is indicative of the transfer case going out (ring gear). If your worried have a mechanic check it out or a well informed evo owner (maybe), no one here can tell you what is wrong from the description of whistle......

I recommend finding someone in your local area that knows alot about these cars and have them look they would/should know right away. Having a mechanic check your t-case is going to be expensive and unless you own the car probably won't happen.

Thanks for the info - the whistle is present only in the first gear. Video upload is complete, you can watch & hear it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdaSioJTTXE

I've already talked with someone who's in the tuning business, knows Evos and tunes them, has an Evo 9. He's the one who told me to stay away from the car if it whistles. I'm waiting for him to see the videos, too. It's just he really busy, I'm having troubles catching him on the phone.

sounds OK to me. Evos whine in 1st gear straight off the showroom floor.

How many miles did you get on it so far?

my EVO never sounded or sounds like that and I own her since January of 05.
sounds like a problem to me

As heard in your vid man. 100% normal my car has made that noise since I bought it over 120k ago. Don't think I've ever been in an EVO that didn't have first gear noise including as stated "off the showroom floor"

You have no problem enjoy {thumbup}

What about this post?

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ttle-prob.html

I'm trying to figure out whether to buy it or not. I don't want to get a car w/ problems.

What about it? :confused:

As others told you, the sound in the video is normal. The whine folks talk about happens at higher speeds in higher gears. First gear sounds like that, and second to a degree, due to the cut of the gears, themselves.

Evo 8/9's have a straight cut first gear (like reverse) that's what the whine is. It's normal, and every Evo I've driven or rode in has had it.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that as making the point of what others said in this thread.

As you can hear, the whine isn't there in the higher gears. 1st gear only. I just wanted to hear some thoughts before I take the plunge and buy the car.

THANKS!

Forgot to mention that the owner offered to swap the gearbox with 6-speed one, from Evo 9. He's a rally driver in my country. My buddy said to go for the 6-speed g/b without hesitation. I'm not sure yet...

I just purchased an 04 RS and it has this. I emailed Cheps and was informed this was very common and that if they did rebuild it after a few launches it would come back. Is this true or is this them trying to just put a band aid on my tranny. A local guy here says its the input shaft. Car will whine only in 1st gear. All other gears do not have this issue.

first gear has a less helical cut on it and is sort of a semi straight cut gear, therefore its noisy. its normal.

I can't say if the noise is good or bad. My car is a 2003, I bought it new and in a 100,00 miles plus it has never made that sound.