"Whining" noise at highway speeds

[Eric91Z]

OK, I am not sure if it is just me or what, but the car seems to be making a noticable "whinning" type noise at highway speeds. And it is kind of hard to tell for sure where it is coming from. Seems to be mostly to the left or the sound is just coming in that side. Doesn't seem to come from the tranny tunnel or behind me.

It happens mostly at speeds of 50+ mph and it will go away if you let off the gas. I set the cruise on the highway and it is there while maintaining speed or slightly acceleration to maintain speed, but goes away when coasting (down hills, etc). Can even hear over the radio at moderate levels.

Now, I am not sure if it has always been there or what. The car just had the rear end fluid changed a few weeks ago for a leaking gasket - under warranty. Car is running and driving perfectly as it always has, except for this noise. Tranny shifts perfectly, too.

The car is an '04 (built in April '04) and has 27,000 miles on it. About 20,000 miles since a tranny fluid change was done. Should I start with that or does anyone have any other ideas?

It is not a metallic or high pitched noise, but a mechanical noise of some kind. Not sure if I could get it on video if I tried to record it, but definitely something I notice.

Any ideas or thoughts?

[duhtroll]

I have noticed the same thing, but only between 55-65 MPH. It was right after I got 4.10s put in. I know another member who has the exact same thing. I have driven this way for over 50K miles after having everything inspected more than once, so it's obviously not a problem.

-A

[Eric91Z]

I have noticed the same thing, but only between 55-65 MPH. It was right after I got 4.10s put in. I know another member who has the exact same thing. I have driven this way for over 50K miles after having everything inspected more than once, so it's obviously not a problem.

-A

Guess I haven't tried pushing it faster to see if it goes away. But that is the speed I drive that I hear it: 50-70 mph range...

[Meteorite]

It sounds to me like axle whine. This is noise coming off the differential. The NVH folks at Ford do a lot to try to mitigate this issue, but there is usually some of it present. If that's what it is, it is an annoyance, but not a durability concern.

[Eric91Z]

I think, more than anything, especially since I am getting close to that 36,000 mile mark, that I am worried about durability issues. Especially since the car will be retired from daily driver/commuter status at some point and be upgraded with exhaust, Supercharger, etc some day.

[Marauderjack]

Sounds like rear end whine....Mine does it from 2000 RPM's to about 2200 RPM's and has since it was new!!:confused: Every CV I've had did it.

I think the speed is 60-65 MPH but I have 3.55's so I'd guess the "Whine Speed" with 4.10's would be 55-60 MPH??:rolleyes:

Nothing to worry about...IMHO!!:shake:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[blkwidowmerc]

my 2003 has the same whine i have 53,000 miles and was going to install 4.30 gears.took it in and the axles were destroyed.anothere 100 miles or so i would of lost hubs and all.they told me its a problem with the heat treat of the axles and they last about 50,000 miles.it was covered on extended war.but the ford mechanic told me about 95,000 miles bring it in again because the axles will be shot again.the only fix is to get after market axles because the ford people dont seem to care.

[Meteorite]

my 2003 has the same whine i have 53,000 miles and was going to install 4.30 gears.took it in and the axles were destroyed.anothere 100 miles or so i would of lost hubs and all.they told me its a problem with the heat treat of the axles and they last about 50,000 miles.it was covered on extended war.but the ford mechanic told me about 95,000 miles bring it in again because the axles will be shot again.the only fix is to get after market axles because the ford people dont seem to care.
What part of the axle was "destroyed"? Splines? I've never seen actual axle failure linked (in the engineering literature) with the NVH issue commonly called "axle whine." IMHO, the two are not related.

Still, though, I'm interested in what your axles looked like when they came out.

[Eric91Z]

I find it hard to believe that they would need to be replaced every 50,000 miles or so. I know of a couple local previous owners that no longer have their Marauder, but put 80,000+ mile with little to no problems. And one was an '03.

But I guess it is possible. Guess that is another good reason to do gears. Get the axles out and inspected... ;)

[Blackened300a]

I put 4.10's in my car and there is a slight whine at highway speeds in my car as well. I would only hear it if I give very light pressure on the pedal, as soon as I let off or give more then a 1/4 throttle it goes away. I put the gears in at 28k miles and I have almost 50k now with no problems.
Dont lose sleep over it, its fine

[thePunisher]

the numerically higher the gear ratio the more noise youll receive from the gears....and what you describe is definitely gear whine. however if it is very audible...it is not normal.....if youve really got to tune in to hear it i wouldnt sweat it.....

[ctrlraven]

Mine makes that same kinda of sound but thats because of where the exhaust shop made a rubber hanger for the tips and hung the hanger right at the start of the tips instead of making a metal c hook hanger and putting it back in the stock location.

[MAD-3R]

I wqas going to sugest checking the passangers to see which one was cringing. :)

[Eric91Z]

I am still running the stock gears and very seldom have passengers in the car. And it is only noticable in that 55-70 mph range under light load. No noise when coasting or decel. And, like I said, I can turn the radio up and the noise is pretty much gone between the radio, tire, and wind noise. And I have about 20,000 or so miles on the stock tires.

[Vortech347]

good ole' gear whine.

3.55's are pretty quiet. The set I installed in my stang don't make a peep and they're dialed in with .012 runout if I remember correctly. The 3.73's I installed in my stang were at .010 runout and were also very quiet.

The 3.73's in my explorer were stock and HORRIBLE they whined so bad it was one of the main reasons I got rid of the POS.

The 3.73's in my merc were a *****. My friend helped install them and it took a while to set them up correctly. (about 6 hours) Mine whine at about 45ish an 60ish. But its very minor.

[SergntMac]

I am still running the stock gears and very seldom have passengers in the car. And it is only noticable in that 55-70 mph range under light load. No noise when coasting or decel. And, like I said, I can turn the radio up and the noise is pretty much gone between the radio, tire, and wind noise. And I have about 20,000 or so miles on the stock tires.You answer part of your question yourself. If the noise goes away when you coast (foot up off the throttle, or, tranny in neutral, or both) one thing is for sure. It's not a bearing noise anywhere in the powertrain after the tranny tailshaft bearing.

That noise is a constant from just rolling forward, it never goes away. It changes pitch with speed (RPMs) of the bearings affected, and you can play a tune with it by adjusting your throttle. However, and again, if you can turn it off by lifiting the load, it's not a bearing noise.

Things to check...Tires, for inflation and wear, you may have the beginning of a belt wearing through, I suspect inside front tires first. PSI...Hard tires will sing on some pavements at highway speeds, a lot of this has to do with the road surface itself too. May be "normal" depending that combination.

The "gear whine" others post of here can contribute to a permanent (and "normal") gear whine, but that would not go away by changing the load, IMHO. I have a slight whine fromm my FRP 4:10s, and I had Richmond gears in it too. They whine much worse, but not to worry. If you still have the 3:55 OEM gears, keep looking? It should not be gear whine from stock gears. Good luck!

[Eric91Z]

Mac, thanks for the input. I always appreciate your knowledge. I guess it could very well be the tires. As I have said, it seems to have gotten "worse" just recently. The tires seem to be wearing pretty evenly, but it still has the stock alignment and a relatively high number of miles compared to what some seem to get out of these tires. I will definitely be replacing them in the spring since the winter wheels/tires will be going on again this fall for the winter. Will see if that makes a difference in the nosie.

I have been running 38-40 psi in all tires since I got the car almost a year ago and I do about 90% of my driving on the highway.

[Vortech347]

OEM gears if not set up correctly CAN develop a whine in time.

[thePunisher]

OEM gears if not set up correctly CAN develop a whine in time.

absolutely....i see it all the time at the dealer.......

[ctrlraven]

Mac, thanks for the input. I always appreciate your knowledge. I guess it could very well be the tires. As I have said, it seems to have gotten "worse" just recently. The tires seem to be wearing pretty evenly, but it still has the stock alignment and a relatively high number of miles compared to what some seem to get out of these tires. I will definitely be replacing them in the spring since the winter wheels/tires will be going on again this fall for the winter. Will see if that makes a difference in the nosie.

I have been running 38-40 psi in all tires since I got the car almost a year ago and I do about 90% of my driving on the highway. The last set of rears I had I kept at 38psi and noticed a lot of center tread wear, so I decided to keep the psi at 34-35 lbs and have notice very even tread wear over the past 5-6k miles on the tires.

[Eric91Z]

Well, took the car in for an oil change, coolant and tranny fluid flushes. Also had them do a complete inspection since the car just turned 30,000 miles. Also, since it was there, figured I would have them check the whine noise out.

Well, good news I didn't have to have a cooling system flush as I have the long life coolant in there. Bad news is 2 different drivetrain techs (not that it matters, but this dealer is a Rousch dealer, too) said it is a noise from the rear end. So, the car will get scheduled soon to go in for at least 2 days for a complete re-end inspect and rebuild. The service advisor (who happens to be about the only one I like there and knows what a Marauder is) has a lot of confidence in his rear end guy. Says the tech told him he will rebuild and setup so that it was quieter than it would have been/should have been from the factory. I just hope they get it done right the first time and no more problems down the road.

Oh, and it will be covered under warranty, obviously. Just thought I would share. I keeping wondering if I should talk to them about doing 4.10 gears at the same time. I really want them for the "now", but know I won't "need" them when the car finally gets a Trilogy on them. Mu luck would be do the 4.10's thinking it will still be a while before I can afford the Trilogy, but end up winning the current raffle...

[cyclopsram]

As ya probably all remember in 2003 Ford had a recall and a fix kit for soft axles in the Panther Cars...it included new axles, bearings and seals..Have your VIN checked for the recall...There is a note in the PI fleet brochure also for noise in the diffs being ok on the fleet cars...less insulation and barf seats etc.. RAM

[jgc61sr2002]

As ya probably all remember in 2003 Ford had a recall and a fix kit for soft axles in the Panther Cars...it included new axles, bearings and seals..Have your VIN checked for the recall...There is a note in the PI fleet brochure also for noise in the diffs being ok on the fleet cars...less insulation and barf seats etc.. RAM

That was for vehicles produced before 1/1/2003.

[DEFYANT]

Just get loud exhaust. That'll fix any odd noises.

[HwyCruiser]

I've come to love my car's odd noises.

[merc6]

I've come to love my car's odd noises.Me too. adds charator imho :)

[glassman99]

Who's in the backseat??

[Eric91Z]

Well, the noise has been fixed. Last oil change had the tech drive it and they diagnosed the noise as a gear whine. Dropped the car off this past Monday after work and they did a complete rear end rebuild - minus axles, etc, but new ring, pinion, bearings, and seals. I picked it up after work yesterday (Tuesday) and drive it about 8 miles on the interstate and NO NOISE!!! Other than what I would call acceptable noises - wind, tires, etc, the noise I was hearing before is gone!!!! I can actually enjoy the radio again without this noise interferring.

So, was in fact a gear whine noise. The tech was gone by the time I got there to pick the car up so I couldn't get input on how bad the original gears looked, but the new Ford 3.55's that went in are quiet. They did a good job. Now if they could just get oil changes and tire rotates right...

[Eric91Z]

Oh, one other thing I have noticed. It started this past winter and does not always do it, but at times when accelerating from a stop with about half throttle, the car will have a slight hesitation just after starting to go and then catch. Always felt like a loose u-joint or something with a slight slip.

Since driving last night and to work this morning, I have not felt that at all. The response seems to be a little tighter now when you give it gas. There is one intersection on my route to work that I would feel this little "catch" at least a couple of times a week on the commute. Did not feel it today. Will see if it happens any more (and it is something that happened with both the stock and Lidio XCal2 tunes in the car).

[Dragcity]

Funny, I was just to my dealer yesterday about a slight whine at 2,000 RPM. Service Manger said it was and issue with the planetary gears in the transmission. Ford had a fix, but durability dropped. There is 'apperently no durability issues with the whiney tranny.

I just wonder if I was given a line now????

Maybe it is the differential, which is where I hear it....

The dealer wouldn't even have to foot the bill for a new ring & oinion for me, I have 4.10's to go in.....

Thanks for the updated post!

[Bradley G]

Did a lot of research, before plunging into 4:10 gears.
I learned how critical, the backlash and new bearings, friction modifer, ect, is to longetivity & quietness.
My tech had just done a gear on his 2004 Mach I, a few weeks later he did mine.
Took him three + hours, or so.
Had to drive without a tune(to correct speedo and shifting) for several weeks.
Sent my SCT tuner to Lidio for his tune and corrections, nice!
Glad to hear you are noise free Eric.