Just bought myself a new (old)1986 GLT 360......thought everything was going well....I drove the car in reverse only to hear a whining noise from the back of the car. Can anyone help and tell what might be causing this.....no and.... my wife wasn't in the back seat.

How fast were you going? They do sound different in reverse to forward gears, I happened to it notice it the other day when I reversed quickly in the 340. A certain amount of a whining is normal, not sure why! Difficult to compare noises though as it's subjective.

Just found this link....could this be the answer?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question522.htm

Yup that is the answer Andy.

It's why if you listen to rally cars they sound a bit different, they often have straight cuts on all forward gears too as the helix provides side loads under large power that starts breaking things and they don't need to be quiet.

It shouldn't be noticeably any more load reversing a 300 than anything else though, so I wonder if that isn't the OP's problem

Could it be a worn diff or gearbox problem....there are no problems going forward!!!??

kelvingenders wrote:Could it be a worn diff or gearbox problem....there are no problems going forward!!!??

It sounds pretty normal to me. Has the gearbox got enough oil in it? I noticed that now i've left the parcel shelf out of the car the noise in reverse is much more noticeable than usual. A video would be the biggest clue if you could get one?

its just the straight cut reverse gear dont worry about it if you are worried dont go fast is reverse
i wouldnt thought there is a problem as reverse is hardly used and never wear

I'll check to see that the diff and gearbox have fluid in them

if there was a problem with lack of oil it would do it in all gears so id say it was fine