Whining sound from under hood?

J

joespanova

Active LVC Member
Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
141
Reaction score
12
Location
McDonough
This sound has gotten worse over the course of several months. The reservoirs are full.......ps pump and fan.........but it seems to be trans related? Not sure where its coming from but sounds like a small turbine.......
How the hell are we supposed to check trans fluid levels in these cars? The trans appears to be functioning correctly?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.........
 
Might be something running of the accessory drive system, tensioner pulley, a bearing on one of the idler pulleys, water pump, hydraulic pump, alternator etc. I just changed a bunch of parts and belt this past weekend on my 01 and it runs real nice and quiet now, I could feel it in two of the bearings that they were done.

s6x~us~en~file=n0010121.gif~gen~ref.gif


( ^ 2nd GEN )
 
is this sound present when it's idling with the hood open, or it is a sound that's only noticeable as it gets up to speed?

maybe wheel bearing related if it's speed determined.

~ I may have misunderstood the OP.
 
BigRigLS said:
is this sound present when it's idling with the hood open, or it is a sound that's only noticeable as it gets up to speed?

maybe wheel bearing related if it's speed determined.

~ I may have misunderstood the OP.
Click to expand...
This sounds only "appears" when you start to move forward..not noticeable at idle.
 
joespanova said:
This sounds only "appears" when you start to move forward..not noticeable at idle.
Click to expand...
What if you give it some gas in park or neutral? If that doesn't cause the sound, and if the sound changes with car speed, it's probably a front wheel bearing.
 
joegr said:
What if you give it some gas in park or neutral? If that doesn't cause the sound, and if the sound changes with car speed, it's probably a front wheel bearing.
Click to expand...
Joe , it doesn't have a sound you would typically associate with a wheel bearing...more like a power steering whine.........
 
AND btw..that link you posted looks like a real PITA just for checking trans fluid? Unbelievable.
 
joegr said:
Get used to it. Many/most are that way now.
Click to expand...

Well before you run off.......answer me one question , if you will.
Why did the OEMs decide in their infinite wisdom to make the trans dipsticks of yore disappear?
 
joespanova said:
Well before you run off.......answer me one question , if you will.
Why did the OEMs decide in their infinite wisdom to make the trans dipsticks of yore disappear?
Click to expand...

In the case of the LS, no room between the shock towers to load the engine from the bottom. As most people are operators and not drivers and don't do their own maintenance anymore they believe it's a manufacturing cost savings.
 
There was a TSB about automatic transmission gear whine which doesn't affect operation. I can't seem to find the TSP.......
 
LS4me said:
In the case of the LS, no room between the shock towers to load the engine from the bottom. As most people are operators and not drivers and don't do their own maintenance anymore they believe it's a manufacturing cost savings.
Click to expand...

That, and a lot of people were messing up their transmissions by not understanding how to correctly read the stick and by not putting the correct fluid in.
 
Hmmmm , alrighty then.
I honestly think its a trans whine........but dont understand WHAT it would be. I'm taking it to Ford , I'll follow up later.
I guess it could be the PS pump.......who knows........
 
joespanova said:
Why did the OEMs decide in their infinite wisdom to make the trans dipsticks of yore disappear?
Click to expand...

this is very easy to understand...

a transmission does not consume trans fluid.

so as long as it was filled right, its not going anywhere and not needed to be checked.




however, if you are leaking trans fluid, then you already know you have a problem... checking the fluid level and adding as needed is just a bandaid and you are not taking care of maintenance that needs to be done. this is a poor way to take care of your car because sooner or later you're gonna forget about it and then you're going to damage your transmission.

once you notice you have a leak, you should get it taken care of right away (at least this is what most people would do after spending $40k+ on a new car)
 
A trans may not consume fluid, but no dipstick also means the owner cannot monitor the fluid condition. Aside from catastrophic failure, the trans fluid condition is the first sign that there is a problem and not being able to check it means a trans problem can remain undetected until major repairs are needed. I'd rather they just charge the extra $1.98 or whatever it actually costs them and install a dipstick after the powertrain is installed than have them not have the dipstick and not
 
Telco said:
A trans may not consume fluid, but no dipstick also means the owner cannot monitor the fluid condition. Aside from catastrophic failure, the trans fluid condition is the first sign that there is a problem and not being able to check it means a trans problem can remain undetected until major repairs are needed. I'd rather they just charge the extra $1.98 or whatever it actually costs them and install a dipstick after the powertrain is installed than have them not have the dipstick and not
Click to expand...

Would have been a LOT more than $1.98!! Probably in the hundreds. Check this out if you want to go to the trouble of adding one.....
 
Telco said:
I'd rather they just charge the extra $1.98 or whatever it actually costs them and install a dipstick after the powertrain is installed than have them not have the dipstick and not
Click to expand...

sounds like you have never seen a assembly line at work, the whole reason that things like the motor and entire front suspension, dashboard, rear suspension and so on are built outside of the car is to be as easy(and fast) to assemble as possible with the smallest chance of making mistakes.

there is no way with how little room is left under the hood that any person could install the dipstick in the few seconds he would have before the car had moved down to the next position, hell he would still be trying to squeeze his hands down there while it happens...

I get it, a lot of people who have been wrenching for years are just not used to car today. back when fluids need to be replaced/exchanged five times more often... cars are much more reliable than they were a couple of decade ago, its just not needed. your average owner doesn't need to monitor their fluid conditions, because they can't tell the difference between good fluid and bad fluid. if the trans is gonna go bad, its gonna go bad, by the time the fluid is contaminated, you've got bigger problems.
 
Nope, this was an engineering failure on Ford's part and yes, I do know how an assembly line works. I worked in a factory when I was a teenager. Ford's designers could have designed a dipstick to fit in the car, whether as part of the powertrain install or after the powertrain went in.

So far as me installing that aftermarket solution, no. I don't like the car that much, will only perform basic maintenance and repairs while I have it, and plan to sell it after I build my house. I would, however, encourage folks here who do like their LS and plan to keep their car to install it. The only negative to that design is it would be slow going to add fluid to the pan, but it would be a hell of a lot easier than the current method of adding fluid.

There are plenty of good reasons to have access to check the fluid, and no good reason to not have access. The number one reason for having access to check the fluid regularly is you can pick up on burned fluid a lot faster. Being able to monitor the fluid can mean the difference between a flush vs a rebuild, or a planned rebuild on your own schedule vs getting boned for a full replacement several hours from home performed by a shop that knows they will never see you again.
 
Telco said:
Nope, this was an engineering failure on Ford's part and yes, I do know how an assembly line works. I worked in a factory when I was a teenager. Ford's designers could have designed a dipstick to fit in the car, whether as part of the powertrain install or after the powertrain went in.
Click to expand...

Unless it was an auto assembly factory I imagine it was quite a bit different. I had the pleasure of watching the LSes being assembled, on the line. The body marries to the chassis with less than 1mm tolerance. In order to make room for a dipstick that their research/focal groups said was unnecessary would have required redesigning the whole chassis. One thing affects many, many other components. It is FAR from simple. Visiting the factory was truly an eye opening experience.

Don't forget the UAW's involvement.

As modern engines (and transmissions) get more and more sophisticated things like the trans dipstick will become a thing of the past. I've heard that oil dipsticks are being eliminated. No need for an owner to monitor something the computer can "do better."
 
Telco said:
There are plenty of good reasons to have access to check the fluid, and no good reason to not have access. The number one reason for having access to check the fluid regularly is you can pick up on burned fluid a lot faster. Being able to monitor the fluid can mean the difference between a flush vs a rebuild, or a planned rebuild on your own schedule vs getting boned for a full replacement several hours from home performed by a shop that knows they will never see you again.
Click to expand...

if you're in need of a full replacement, that didn't just sneak up on you. there were plenty of signs, probably put off and ignored for a long time...




there is absolutely no reason that they NEED to have it there, nothing about Lincoln's demographic is anything about doing any work themselves, hell they wouldn't even have to put a hood latch on there and 90% of their customers wouldn't notice... I would be surprised if even 5% of new lincoln buyers would even change their own oil.
 
Sorry, I seem to have gone against the LS Fanboy Bible with this one. I will bow out of the discussion, no use arguing with the faithful...

I also need to try to not get in these conversations to begin with...
 
Well , thanks for the insight and giving me another "perspective" on the dipstick issue. LOL
A dipstick would just allow me to rule out a low fluid level , if in the event that it leaked for some reason............there is some fluid on the floor ( very small amount ) just not sure where its coming from since the resevoirs are still full. The cooling fan also uses ATF.
I would have preferred a dipstick.....but it is what it is.
 
it has nothing to do with being an "LS fanboy"... there are plenty of car with our trans dipsticks, and a lot more are gonna go that way. I dont know why people are so afraid of cars updating and keeping with the times, I for one am glad cars evolve over time, would you really want to get out of your car and go spin a crank in the front to start it every time?


I guess you can either hop on board with the new school way of cars working, or continue to wish you were back in the days of yore with pushrods, dipsticks, caps and rotors, carbs, brakes that need to be pumped... I guess if you ever need to trade in your car with too many babysitters, you probably could find a great deal on an International Race Of Champions...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 124 (members: 0, guests: 124)
Back
Top