4.11 Gear Whine!!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 341
Likes: 1
From: Cave Creek AZ
4.11 Gear Whine!!
Just had a set of 4.11 gears installed in my Dana 44. Crusin around 60 - 70 mph under slight acceleration I get a pretty good (bad) gaer whine. Anyone else experience this? The installer said that it's the nature of these steeper gears. They are Dana gears. The box the gears came in has printed on the side "Dana ICA HD 4.11 Thick R&P". Any suggestions??? :(
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (lead_foot)
They should not be very loud. However you are going to hear a slight whine with that gear, it just the nature of the beast. Looks like its time for you to just buy some loud exhaust.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 12,263
Likes: 86
From: O'Fallon Missouri
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (lead_foot)
Something sounds wrong. I am running Dana OEM 4.10's in my 94 and there is zero whine, they are quieter than the factory 3.45's.
Also, I have never heard of Dana 4.11's for a Corvette, where did you buy them, and did they have a sleeve welded to the pinion?
Also, I have never heard of Dana 4.11's for a Corvette, where did you buy them, and did they have a sleeve welded to the pinion?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 341
Likes: 1
From: Cave Creek AZ
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (STL94LT1)
I never actually saw the gears so I can't answer you question. What's the significance of the "welded sleeve"? The place is a local Corvette shop here in Phoenix. I had them order the parts and do the install. I assumed that they knew their way around Corvettes since that's their business. Think I'll give them a call and see if they're willing to address the situation.
Anything I should be asking them about? :(
Anything I should be asking them about? :(
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (Zora)
Gear whine is not always a set-up problem. By the way I am sure he used the Viper gears, they make the 4.10 gear for the 44. If the gears have a good pattern and they are still whining the only way to fix it is to increase the backlash some. By doing this though you risk breaking the gear. You should never go more the ten thousands. I like to set them at 6 for that particular gear. If it whines loud then it was a manufacture problem when they lapped the gear. If it is barely noticable that is just fine. Chevrolet says to even expect a little whine on the stock units. You also need to make sure it is the rear, even difference in tire pressures can cause a sound similar to a gear whine.
Justin
Justin
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 4,623
Likes: 2
From: Ohio
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (lead_foot)
My opinion is that you A) have the "Viper" ring and pinion set, and B) the set up is incorrect. This is based on having the old style, small pinion .373's installed incorrectly. Guy blamed it on the fact that they were run on another car for ~ 1,000 miles. Knew the car and driver well. (Never whined before.) The mechanic said that they were originally set up too deep. Sounded plausible. Got another set from DTS in Detroit. Also spoke to someone who KNEW how to set up C4 Dana 44's. Said there was a common error many installers make, basing their installation setup on standard live axle cars. Tried to 'splain it to me. Had the mechanic talk to him. He did set them up a bit differently the second time. No noise.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 135
Likes: 0
From: Slidell Louisiana
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (lead_foot)
I've been around the track with this myself - went from 2.59's to 3.54's (Randy's Gears). Shortly after installation, i noticed a gear whine when the radio was off (stock exhaust). Gear installation was done by a local corvette shop told that installation/backlash set up correctly. I found (1) the thicker gear you are referring to is actually a custom ring/pinion set devised for a rear end that was never actually meant to have that particular gear ratio installed - however, the thicker gear works!, (2) that when I changed the rear end fluid after gear break-in to GM synthetic - the whine got louder and (3) it seems that the majority of folks who change gears experience some whine. For those blessed few who do not - I'm jealous!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 341
Likes: 1
From: Cave Creek AZ
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (champ)
ttt
As I mentioned in my original post the box has 4.11 printed right on it. Since I didn't actually see the gears I never had a chance to count the number of teeth. But I have to assume the marking on the box is correct.
If I let the car coast the whine goes away. When I apply just enough throttle to maintain speed then the whine occurs. It's fairly loud even with the radio on an B&B exhausts.
Is someone knowledgeable enough to take a guess at the possible setup problem from my whine under slight load situation?
I'm a little concerned that everyone seems to think that 4.11 can not be correct for Dana 44 gears. :(
As I mentioned in my original post the box has 4.11 printed right on it. Since I didn't actually see the gears I never had a chance to count the number of teeth. But I have to assume the marking on the box is correct.
If I let the car coast the whine goes away. When I apply just enough throttle to maintain speed then the whine occurs. It's fairly loud even with the radio on an B&B exhausts.
Is someone knowledgeable enough to take a guess at the possible setup problem from my whine under slight load situation?
I'm a little concerned that everyone seems to think that 4.11 can not be correct for Dana 44 gears. :(
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 12,263
Likes: 86
From: O'Fallon Missouri
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (lead_foot)
The D44 in Corvettes is not an ordinary D44, it is a Super 44 and uses a larger pinion. Some companies have taken a regular D44 gearset and weld a sleeve on the pinion to make it work in the Corvette. It sounds like this is the gearset you have. Unless your car is a very high hp/tq motor this gearset will work just fine. However, with the loud whine it doesn't sound like your rearend was setup correctly.
Also, Dana does make a 4.10 gearset that is made specifically for the Corvette's Super D44. But, I only know one person that could get them and he has stopped selling them.
Also, Dana does make a 4.10 gearset that is made specifically for the Corvette's Super D44. But, I only know one person that could get them and he has stopped selling them.
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (STL94LT1)
Actually I sell the correct 4.10 gear for the Super 44 (Zip Products) If you can hear the whine and you have a B&B exhaust then there is a problem. You either have a bad pinion bearing, which should make noise all the time, or they did not set the pinion depth correctly. We would be more than happy to build the rear for you using your gear as long as it is not hurt and its is the correct Super 44 gear. These gear need to be set deep in the root of the gear and it is possible that is where they messed up. The Dana gears are very sensitive to shim changes and sometimes even one thousandths makes a big difference in the pattern. You can call me directly at 800-962-9632 and we can discuss this further.
Justin Abbott
Justin Abbott
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 0
From: Owensboro Ky
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (jabbott)
Mine make a small whine too (Dana 36/ 3.54) but its not that loud. I only heard it with the windows up. Now that I'm running true duals and no cats with flowmasters, I really don't hear much at all when I'm on the throttle. Jus thought I'd put in my 2 cents. And by the way, Jabbott set mine up twice, thanks again Justin.
<----------- 4 more to 500 :yesnod:
<----------- 4 more to 500 :yesnod:
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 0
From: Owensboro Ky
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (jabbott)
Yep, it sure was. After I finally got everything in and worked out it seems to be working fine. Thats mroe than I can say for my rear tires now. :yesnod: My only complaint is that it shifts way too fast under normal conditions and there os no way to adjust it like there is in the newer cars. I've just been manually shifting it for now. Any suggestions?
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
Re: 4.11 Gear Whine!! (ZAD54)
You can play with the TV cable and that will control when it shifts. It adjusts on the linkage there is a button you push in and you can slide the cable back and forth. Hopefully you will get it all worked out.
Justin
Justin