Transmission noise

W

wcapron2001

Guest
Guys,
I keep hearing that Amphicar transmissions are NOISEY! Can someone
describe what "normal" is? Are they as loud as a shop vac in the back
seat? Do they sound more like a large blender as it makes that first
pitcher of Marguritas? Maybe like a gas powered concrete saw? mine is
so loud that you CANNOT talk over it while driving. This is with the
backseat in, with it out you can't stand to drive it. Whenever you
come to a downhill grade you shift to neutural and coast. It sounds
like it is rapidly destroying very expensive gears. I do not expect
it to be quiet like a modern gearbox But if mine is normal it's no
wonder they had a hard time selling these things. I have heard people
describe "quiet" Amphicar transmissions with some type of oil
additive in them. I would be happy with a tolerable level of noise. I
shouldn't have to wear ear plugs to drive it and I know that I can't
turn the radio up that loud.
HELP
Bill Capron
 
E

edsonh2000

Guest
Although I am by no means a seasoned expert on Amphicars, I just
finished reinstalling my tranny on my 64 Amphicar after replacing the
double lip oil seals and pilot shaft oil seal. Scott and Bob from
Gordon's were incredibly great with all their tips and advice.

I will be in the Seattle area over Labor Day weekend, and I would be
happy to get together with you and give you my opinion as to the
level of noise in your tranny compared to mine.

Let me know off line if you are interested.

Thanks.

Ed Howard
Orange County, CA
64 Red

--- In amphicar-lovers@y..., "wcapron2001" <wcarron@q...> wrote:
> Guys,
> I keep hearing that Amphicar transmissions are NOISEY! Can someone
> describe what "normal" is? Are they as loud as a shop vac in the
back
> seat? Do they sound more like a large blender as it makes that
first
> pitcher of Marguritas? Maybe like a gas powered concrete saw? mine
is
> so loud that you CANNOT talk over it while driving. This is with
the
> backseat in, with it out you can't stand to drive it. Whenever you
> come to a downhill grade you shift to neutural and coast. It sounds
> like it is rapidly destroying very expensive gears. I do not expect
> it to be quiet like a modern gearbox But if mine is normal it's no
> wonder they had a hard time selling these things. I have heard
people
> describe "quiet" Amphicar transmissions with some type of oil
> additive in them. I would be happy with a tolerable level of noise.
I
> shouldn't have to wear ear plugs to drive it and I know that I
can't
> turn the radio up that loud.
> HELP
> Bill Capron
 
T

tommyintpa@aol.com

Guest
In a message dated 8/15/02 12:16:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
fgs111@email.mot.com writes:


> Bill,
>
> Is it possible that you are confusing this with engine fan noise? My
> transmission is dead silent compared to the roar from that fan! It does
> make enough noise so that running without the back seat is pretty
> intolerable.
>
> Gary Schulz
>

Bill, with your car cold take the fan belt off and drive it down the road,
don't overheat it. You can go through the gears a couple of times before it
will even starts to get warm. That will eliminate all the fan noise and you
will hear the transmission only

I will tell you this Snappy our white 64 had a transmission that was very
loud but it shifted great, it turns out it had water in it while it was in
storage. We traded it in to Gordon Imports and got a rebuilt one. It is much
quieter now and it is the most quiet with the top up and the back window
fully closed. We did everything we could do to keep all the sound and smell
out of the car. Some of the things we did were 1) we filled the underside of
the back seat bottom completely with foam 2) we made the board under the rear
seat of 5/8 plywood with a piano hinge that runs from front to back in the
center and carpeted. 3) The floor is 1/2" plywood that is carpeted, 4) we
carpeted all the wheel wells the tow kicks and the area that the top folds
into. 5) we carpeted the under side of the dash, the area above your legs and
that made a heck of a difference. We were very careful to completely seal all
the standard Amphi leaks. The result is a car that I would say is almost
normal. One that with the windows up, you can talk or listen to the radio at
normal volume. We used a soft outdoor carpet that is available at the Home
Depot, it works great with spray contact cement. WE SWIM OUR CARS A LOT
almost every day and a 15 mile swim is common with most swims two or three
hours. The carpet has not been any problem, it dries quick and cleans easily.
Amphicars don't have to be loud, if you take care to seal every leak. If your
car is still loud you may need a transmission. We have been able to make our
cars very quiet and you can too. Good luck Tommy in Tampa


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 
S

Schulz Gary-FGS111

Guest
Bill,

Is it possible that you are confusing this with engine fan noise? My
transmission is dead silent compared to the roar from that fan! It does make
enough noise so that running without the back seat is pretty intolerable.

Gary Schulz

-----Original Message-----
From: wcapron2001 [mailto:wcarron@qwest.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 10:25 AM
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] transmission noise


Guys,
I keep hearing that Amphicar transmissions are NOISEY! Can someone
describe what "normal" is? Are they as loud as a shop vac in the back
seat? Do they sound more like a large blender as it makes that first
pitcher of Marguritas? Maybe like a gas powered concrete saw? mine is
so loud that you CANNOT talk over it while driving. This is with the
backseat in, with it out you can't stand to drive it. Whenever you
come to a downhill grade you shift to neutural and coast. It sounds
like it is rapidly destroying very expensive gears. I do not expect
it to be quiet like a modern gearbox But if mine is normal it's no
wonder they had a hard time selling these things. I have heard people
describe "quiet" Amphicar transmissions with some type of oil
additive in them. I would be happy with a tolerable level of noise. I
shouldn't have to wear ear plugs to drive it and I know that I can't
turn the radio up that loud.
HELP
Bill Capron



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C

chris_skeeles

Guest
--- In amphicar-lovers@y..., "wcapron2001" <wcarron@q...> wrote:
> Guys,
> I keep hearing that Amphicar transmissions are NOISEY! Can someone
> describe what "normal" is?
> HELP
> Bill Capron


My car is most loud when going downhill with 4th gear engaged and
foot off the gas. If you have to wear ear-plugs durring 25-45 mph
cruising then the noise is certainly too much and you could stand to
look into it more.. However at speeds of 45 mph or more you will have
to raise your voice, ESPECIALLY with the roof up.

I put a product called LUCAS OIL ADDITIVE in land tranny, water
tranny and engine. Use in combo with your favorite oil. (mix %'s are
provided on bottle for various applications).

Did it help? Perhaps..but I also insultated at the same time, which
DID help alot. I am serious when I talk about the difference. I
compare my Amphi on the road to a big steel drum on wheels. Every
little noise is carried and amplified through-out the entire car.
When my wheel bearing started going bad it sounded like I was driving
on the rim the noise got so bad. Way more noise than the bearing
would produce in comparison to a regular vehicle. You can literally
FEEL the noises that occasionaly afflict my car.

I would jump on the offer to have a fellow owner hear your car. That
is the best way to ease your own mind. I know I valued the
opportunity I had to take Hugh Gordon for a ride. Not only did he
leave me with the impression my noises were normal, he also
complimented me on the condition of my clutch, which tends to shake
more on some amphis than others. Apparently mine is just fine.

Chris Skeeles
Red 63
 
J

jfriese

Guest
Bill,
I good tranny will make very little noise of any kind. I think most
of what people talk about is a whine from the pinion gear to the ring
gear of the differential portion. I was lucky with my White Amphi and
it has almost no whine, even without the Lucas additive. I rode in a
car with a new tranny (and Lucas addiditve) and it was absolutely
quiet at any speed. Neither my car nor this other one had extra
noise deadening panels installed. I was unlucky with a tranny in
another Amphicar and it not only whines but has, what I believe to be,
slop in that pinion/ring gear section. It not only makes a lot of
whine noise but you can feel the slop in the gears when you accelerate
and decelerate. I'm going to pull that tranny and see if Theo Sahli,
in Newport Beach, can fix it up. I also intend to add that Lucas oil
stabilizer as a preventative measure. For me, fan noise is a bigger
issue, especially when running at highway speed. At 4000-4500 RPM,
that thing just roars. I'm hoping to come up with a variable speed
electric fan as a substitute for this noise maker.

John Friese


--- In amphicar-lovers@y..., "wcapron2001" <wcarron@q...> wrote:
> Guys,
> I keep hearing that Amphicar transmissions are NOISEY! Can someone
> describe what "normal" is? Are they as loud as a shop vac in the
back
> seat? Do they sound more like a large blender as it makes that first
> pitcher of Marguritas? Maybe like a gas powered concrete saw? mine
is
> so loud that you CANNOT talk over it while driving. This is with the
> backseat in, with it out you can't stand to drive it. Whenever you
> come to a downhill grade you shift to neutural and coast. It sounds
> like it is rapidly destroying very expensive gears. I do not expect
> it to be quiet like a modern gearbox But if mine is normal it's no
> wonder they had a hard time selling these things. I have heard
people
> describe "quiet" Amphicar transmissions with some type of oil
> additive in them. I would be happy with a tolerable level of noise.
I
> shouldn't have to wear ear plugs to drive it and I know that I can't
> turn the radio up that loud.
> HELP
> Bill Capron
 
W

wcapron2001

Guest
Guys, I found a local amphibian to let me drive their Amphicar last
night. His transmission is quiet as a mouse, actually quieter than I
expected. This confirms what I suspected, Mine is bad and needs to be
replaced. I will install my NOS one soon and see if I can make one
good one out of two old ones for the second car. His car has
somewhere around 25000 miles on it and drives like I would expect a
1964 vintage automobile to drive. His brakes were nice compared to
mine. Hopefully my shoes will seat in in 500 miles or so and work as
well.
Thanks for the posts on bildge blowers. All responses were helpful
and I will finish that soon. I have the new top installed with help
from Gordons instructions and although slightly confusing I did
manage to do a good job. It looks and fits nicely.
The things to do to compleat this car get fewer and fewer.
Unfortunatly, I now write a list and just as one item gets crossed
off I think of two or three to add. I guess thats the fun part.
Thanks again for everyones help
Bill Capron
 
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