I have a 99 318 4x4 5 spd with the 3.92 gears. To tell you the truth, without a load in the bed or on the tow hitch, 1st gear is useless. I do not use first gear much at all. I find it first gear is done at less then 10 mph. I believe it is due to the high gear ratio. What gears are you running? I don't know if I get a whine, but the engine sure makes a loud roar at 10 mph in 1st. 2nd gear works just fine and I can usually go to about 25-30mph, atleast I can get out of an intection.
Hope I said something that might help you....
Joe
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