Drive Train noise

[Awsum97]

I have a 97 5.0 AWD. I get a noise when i accelerate from a standsill and get to about 45mph right between shifting (think and entry ramp to a higway). Im not gunning it or anything when this happens. The noise that is makes sounds similar to when you are going to a toll booth where you are forced to drive over those ruts/carve outs in the road (the ones they put there for safety reasons if u are asleep or drunk i guess?) It reverberates through the whole car and the dashboard rattles etc.

Thanks

 

[lounge lizard]

so your saying if you are doing like 40 mile an hour and you give it more gas to go faster the drive line vibrates. or if you hold at 40 miles an hour it will vibrate as it hunt for the correct gear to be in?

some say the tranny needs to be flushed and new filters. other say check the u-joints

 

[Awsum97]

lounge lizard thanks for the reply..i flushed out the tranny last year and i think changed the filter (mite have been done at the shop - i have to figure it out) as for you question: basically from a standstill and pressing on the gas and and keeping the pedal steady so that its around 2/2.2k rpm stead as it goes through the gears right as i get to about 42/45 mphs i get that loud vibration.

 

[lounge lizard]

mine vibrates when I hold it at a steady speed. if I give it a little more gas it stops or if I back off.

 

[Awsum97]

interesting sounds almost like my issue. are u looking to fix it? i def want to get rid of my noise

 

[swetrid]

Sounds like torque converter shudder to me, or could be engine miss. 40-45 in overdrive puts the most load on ignition system and will show you any weak links in ignition.

 

[Glen4X4]

I agree it sounds as if the torque converter is going, my 95 truck had the same issue. You may want to try some lucas, it didn't work for my shutter but got rid of a bucking I had which was tranny related and the trans shop told me sometimes the lucas helps get rid of the shudder effect.

 

[Awsum97]

glen4x4 and swetrid thanks for the reply. i dont think the engine is missing - the thing runs pretty well and i think i wud hear a hiccup like that. as best as i can tell the engine sounds good at the time of the issue. as for a torque converter - thats something that i hadnt thought of. if we were to eliminate the possibility of an engine miss would it make sense that it is the torque converter as opposed to say the u-joints and or the CV joint? the reason i ask this is bc swetrid had thought bc it was happening at 40/45 miles per hour it was an ignition related issue? the noise is very distinct - like u are going over those ruts they carve in the road right before a toll booth. only at 40/45 i miles per hour no other time.

The other thing i would say is that this has been happening ever since i got the car at 70k miles. It has 147k now. maybe this will help in figuring out what is wrong in that, for example, a torque converter wouldn't go at 70k.

Also - what is Lucas? some sort of lubricant?

thanks guys - much appreciated

 

[Awsum97]

so after i posted this there was a whining noise coming from under the car near where my feet are. i noticed it wud make the noise more when i was on an incline so i thot it had to be in the front of the car ie axl/front drive shaft/transfer case (where the car is "pulling"). almost sounded similar to when a chain on a ten-speed bike is loose. so i thot it was maybe the transfer case bc there is a chain in there. the noise occured out on the highway. by the time i took it to my friend, who is a mechanic, the noise had all but stopped. difference being that i was going much slower i guess. so i dropped it off any my friend took it out for spin and he said he couldnt get it to make the noise. so he put new fluid in the transfer case thinking that might be it. i wa skeptical bc it was serious metal on metal noise. he said the fluid that came out of the transfer case he had never seen blacker (gulp). i picked the car up and sure enuf that noise stopped for like 6 weeks - even out on the highway...then im on the highway and the noise starts up again only more pronounced and constant...ie up a gradient or down one. so i take it to my friend and drive him around so he can hear it. he does. we put it up on the lift and put the car in idle. he says he thinks its in the driveshaft. so he sends it out and they replace the CV joint as well as the u-joint on the axle. got the car back and that noise is gone. BUT the noise that i originally posted this post for is still there.

Again it is a noise that when i am starting from 0 mph and accelerating thought the gears (not going crazy fast or anything - ie when u start from a light and go on an entrance ramp to get on a highway) it shudders at like 45mph. is sounds EXACTLY like when you are pulling up to a toll booth and you drive over those perpendicular ruts they put in the road to wake you if you are asleep.

some fine folks on this site thot maybe it was the Torque Converter or maybe the engine missing. the engine really seems to run great.

thanks

 

[lounge lizard]

mine does it around 40-45 mph it shutters. I am pretty sure I have a bad/frosen rear u-joint

 

[maxcr3]

I had what appears to be a simlar noise on my 99 explorer. I tried axles, drive shafts, gears. I have a pile of good used parts in the garage! I finally changed the fluid in the transfer case (Amsoil oil). The noise immediately lessened and gradually went away. It never went away 100% but I can live with it knowing the source. It is not like I am going to drop a drive shaft or axle. At least I know what the problem is.

Evidently there are clutches in the transfer case. Changing oil or switching to Amsoil helped. I have about 30,000 miles on since I did the oil change. This spring I plan on changing the fluid again

 

[Awsum97]

yeah i changed the fluid in the transfer case. still have that vibration noise that can sometimes shake the dashboard at 45 mph. im thinking that based on the advice on this forum, work done on the car, and my own deduction - it ha to be the torque converter. anyone know how that job plays out? obviouslty a transmission shop has to do it. any idea on cost etc? it is a part u can get from a junkyard? is it better to get a transmission from a junkyard w low miles? im thinking even if it has low miles it will be OLD and any rubber/synthetic seals inside (im assuming their are such things insdide) the tranny will be shot?

advise on TC job? thanks

 

[lounge lizard]

if you are changing the torque converter you want new. not used.

 

[3500ctd]

I'm having the same issue with my 99 5.0 AWD. When it shifts into overdrive there is a shutter but it only lasts for a second. The other problems in here sounds to be a steady vibration at a certain speed? If it is TC shutter is there anything I can do besides changing the fluid and filter and maybe putting some additives in?

 

[swetrid]

so after i posted this there was a whining noise coming from under the car near where my feet are. i noticed it wud make the noise more when i was on an incline so i thot it had to be in the front of the car ie axl/front drive shaft/transfer case (where the car is "pulling"). almost sounded similar to when a chain on a ten-speed bike is loose. so i thot it was maybe the transfer case bc there is a chain in there. the noise occured out on the highway. by the time i took it to my friend, who is a mechanic, the noise had all but stopped. difference being that i was going much slower i guess. so i dropped it off any my friend took it out for spin and he said he couldnt get it to make the noise. so he put new fluid in the transfer case thinking that might be it. i wa skeptical bc it was serious metal on metal noise. he said the fluid that came out of the transfer case he had never seen blacker (gulp). i picked the car up and sure enuf that noise stopped for like 6 weeks - even out on the highway...then im on the highway and the noise starts up again only more pronounced and constant...ie up a gradient or down one. so i take it to my friend and drive him around so he can hear it. he does. we put it up on the lift and put the car in idle. he says he thinks its in the driveshaft. so he sends it out and they replace the CV joint as well as the u-joint on the axle. got the car back and that noise is gone. BUT the noise that i originally posted this post for is still there.

Again it is a noise that when i am starting from 0 mph and accelerating thought the gears (not going crazy fast or anything - ie when u start from a light and go on an entrance ramp to get on a highway) it shudders at like 45mph. is sounds EXACTLY like when you are pulling up to a toll booth and you drive over those perpendicular ruts they put in the road to wake you if you are asleep.

some fine folks on this site thot maybe it was the Torque Converter or maybe the engine missing. the engine really seems to run great.

thanks

Ford had tsb for draining the torque converter, dropping the pan and changing trans filter and replacing fluid with Mercon V to get rid of this problem. In my findings if it just started to do it it will fix it but if it has been doing for years it wont and you will need a converter.

 

[SmoothJimmy]

My '96 has the same issues. I replaced the front driveshaft and that didn't solve the problem. I dropped the front diff, cracked 'er open and tested the gear interface with 'cream'. Like new. While the driveshaft was out, however, I drove the car as a test. It drove smooth as silk with no vibration.

While the front shaft was out, I grabbed the collar on the front of the TC and could rotate th thru several degrees. This told me that the chain/gear in the TC were worn and/or the chain had stretched.

One symptom is a noise when coasting. I figure this noise is generated by the backside of the loose chain as the wheels are now driving the train. I also get slight vibration under power starting at about 60mph and worst vibration when coasting at/above 60mph.

I also get the hum while climbing/turning. This can be explained as times when the front/rear are trying to rotate at slightly different speeds and so the TC chain is under greater load as the viscous coupler slips and heats up.

TC chains and gears can be had online. I plan to rebuild once the weather improves.

 

[jremington59]

What condition are your tires in? If they are worn you can get the AWD growl that can be pretty bad......