OK, in the realm of "learning something new every day".... try this one on for size.

My 86 244 (AW70, 210K miles)has just started making a very unpleasant squeal from the transmission. It never does it when in neutral. It sometimes does it as soon as you drop it into Reverse or any forward gear; sometimes not. Sometimes it's quiet for a while, then starts squealing as the car idles in gear. Sometimes it will sit for 15 minutes without any noise.

It's louder than any motor noise, loud enough you can hear it sitting in traffic, in the car. It appears to be coming from the torque converter, though I can't pin it down 100% to say I'm *CERTAIN* that it isn't either from the engine itself (seems very unlikely) or the transmission gearbox section.

Fluid level is fine though it is dirty and I haven't changed it in a while (did find out the drain plug is hopelessly stuck, so it seems the only way is going to be the trans cooler line flush).

Oh yeah, the noise. At first, I thought I was hearing a power steering pump dying. It sounds like a whine or squeal like you might hear when you get to the end of travel in your steering and then hold it there. It's clearly related to engine speed and again it only does it in gear, not neutral. It's continuous once it starts, though it does abate sometimes when it's driven.

I'm starting to think it's the front pump in the transmission. I should note that other than a fairly hard 1-2 shift, this trans is happy and healthy in function. I drive it hard and it always shifts properly at the right time.

I know they're not bulletproof but this isn't a failure I've ever seen before.
Any ideas welcomed.... and I probably do have another '87 244 heading my way... maybe one is going to be a parts car.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!"