2004 whine

[Lithiatwats]

Hi all

After some advice...

2004 expy 4x4 with 100k miles. There is a noticeable whine at speed which is NOT rpm related. It is directly proportional to forward speed. It is 'howl' type sound, not deafening but there.

My thoughts. Wheel bearings/hubs. This is not the vacuum type grind sound associated with the IWE. The vacuum is good.

Tranny/diff? Hope not..

The noise is same if you knock it into neutral at freeway speeds. Ie noise is identical in or out of gear. No knocks bangs or rough gear changes. Would a smooth transmission make such a racket? Tran fluid and trans case fluid fine.
Noise is not affected by acceleration or RPM at all.

3 rd owner and assume hubs/bearing are original so could these be the culprit?

Pretty sure is not tire noise as the surface of road does not alter sound at all. That said they are 295/50R20 Falkens which I personally wouldn't have chosen.. Bit of a wobble on steering wheel at certain speeds suggesting wheels need balancing-could this be linked to bad bearings?

Thoughts great fully received.

 

[metaldrgn]

Could be bad hub and/or differential. Is it present in both 2wd and 4wd? Does it sound like it coming from the front or rear?

 

[Gruz7]

Mine has a very similar noise occurring, it's an '03 XLT and I also do not think it is a vacuum leak but more towards something in the wheels.


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[metaldrgn]

...
The noise is same if you knock it into neutral at freeway speeds. Ie noise is identical in or out of gear. No knocks bangs or rough gear changes. Would a smooth transmission make such a racket? Tran fluid and trans case fluid fine.
Noise is not affected by acceleration or RPM at all.

3 rd owner and assume hubs/bearing are original so could these be the culprit?
...

In that case I would suspect a wheel hub/bearing. Differential noises usually change with load to a degree depending how bad it is.

 

[Lithiatwats]

Thanks for replies.

For the above poster with XLT, vacuum issues can lead to front 4wd hubs partially engaging in 2wd due to insufficient vacuum to 'hold em off'. It sounds like a ball bearing rattling in a tin can. Very distinctive and not same as bearing/tyranny howl. Way to id it is to try AWD which will engage the front drive and eradicate the sound. It is usually worse in 2wd when you hit the gas as this is when he vacuum drops the most.

Back to the diff/bearing whine. The noise is totally speed related and not load/rpm related. I am fairly sure it is coming from front but sound can reverb so not 100% it isn't the rear.

Am I right in thinking the diffs are sealed units effectively? Ie they shouldn't need a fluid change just levels checking. Transfer case and trans fluid seems fine. Haven't driven the car at any speed in 4wd, both hi and low engage and drive fine.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I've seen other posts where the guys were sure the noise was coming from the front when in fact it was a rear wheel bearing.

 

[Lithiatwats]

Thanks Andy, guess I will just have to get her off the ground and check for play etc.

 

[Gruz7]

I'm taking mine to get regular maintenance and servicing this week I'm going to see if the dealer with change my diff fluid and check the truck out for me. Thank you for the help!


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[ExpeditionAndy]

I'm taking mine to get regular maintenance and servicing this week I'm going to see if the dealer with change my diff fluid and check the truck out for me. Thank you for the help!


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Have them listen to the noise while they have it. They should be able to tell you what it is and they'll probably tell you how much to fix it and then you can decide what you want to do.

 

[JEltonJ]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and need some help on this "whine" issue that's coming from my Expy XLT. 2wd, 5.4L. Mine began last year about when I bought new tires. I really thought it was tire tread whine. It begins about 60mph, gets louder about 70 - 80mph. funny thing is, I can turn my head to the right and not hear it as loud. I've even had the tires changed twice and the noise is still there.
The "whine" noise is a high pitch and stays about the same pitch the whole time regardless of the speed I am traveling.