87 4k CSQ tranny bad at 67k miles?

[Robert ExperimentalError]

Hiya, new guy here, liked the 86 4kQ beater I bought last December so much I
shopped for and bought a nicer one, an 87 with only 67k miles on it.  Ever
since I've had it though there's been a bit of a vibration from the front
end at speed- you can feel it in the gas pedal.  It's gotten worse, winter
is coming, time to address the problem...

  I originally thought it was the wheel bearing, but the noise is not
sensitive to sawing the wheel back and forth at speed (slalom-like).  Last
night I put it up securely on jackstands and let it idle in 5th.  I then
used a stethoscope to try and pinpoint the noise, but was unable to do so (I
could hear the noise with near equal clarity at every point I listened to).
It _seemed_ to be worst at the propshaft exit.  It's not the wheel bearings.

  Tranny lube is fresh and there's plenty of it.  There's no sign of leakage
from the transmission or the CV joints, but the heatshield which should
protect the inner CV on the passenger side from the downpipe heat is
missing.

  Tires are all the same and in very good condition.

  I spoke with Steve at German Transaxle and he said that the pinion
bearings go bad in these transmissions, but not usually so early.  He also
said it could be the "4 point bearing" (?) which supports the end of the
mainshaft.  $2030 for a reman unit with a 2 year warrantee or 'about $1k'
plus freight to fix this one.  Ouch.

  A guy on the audiworld forum suggested that it could be CV related, had a
hard time believing that the trans would be bad at such low mileage, and
suggested I try this list.

   If you've any thoughts on diagnosis, alternate failures which could be
causing this noise, or a trustworthy transmission shop in the Detroit area,
I'd be very grateful to hear about it.

  Thanks for your time and the bandwidth,
Robert Mangas


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