Is this a trans issue???

[Mountaineer2005]

Hey guys my mom's 2005 4.6 AWD Mountaineer with 38K on it is starting to make some new noise coming from the front. Now I've seen STSmoker's post but it might be a different issue.

The sound is a hollow metal low roar sound and i'm starting to suspect it coming from the trans since I can hear is distinctly thought the front wheel well. It's also experiencing a vibration at idle almost like a hole is missing but it's not quite that bad (no engine light)..... now back to the roar, I do hear it at idle but it is engine speed and load dependent. So if I'm accelerating and then quickly let off the gas the sound is nearly gone until I'm accelerating again. Sound is very minimal if I put it in Neutral while driving...and giving it some gas.

So all of my cars are manuals and that is all I've ever worked on so auto's are not my field of expertise.

So what do you all think? Is this a common issue with this truck?
Could a trans that is going also cause the vibration that feels like it's missing at idle?

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[Mountaineer2005]

Any thoughts guys or did I hit the nail on the head?

 

[m8r8j]

mine made this noise, i was concerned and i brought it to ford. they couldnt diagnose a problem.

i said #### it and drove it, noise remained.

O/D light started flashing, looked it up in the haynes and it says transmission could be damaged bring it to dealer immediately.

i brought it in and since it needed to be driven 20+ miles for the light to start flashing and when you cold start it it was off, they still couldnt find a problem.

little over a week later my tranny grenaded.

IMO, id say bring it in and tell them that something is wrong and insist that they dont brush you off.

the noise started in my torque converter.

 

[stsmoker]

I dont believe this is the same noise. The noise in my truck is only dependent on the speed of my truck. If im accelerating or not the noise stays the same. Absolutely no noise at Idle, although my Ex does idle a little rough when in park or neutral. Seems like the noise is louder when driving than when you sit in the passenger seat..may be just me though. So your ex and mine have a different problem I think... Just hope we can get em fixed though. I have no idea whats wrong with mine, so ima drive it until something break i guess lol. If you find something out though, post it so i can check whatever may had been wrong with your ex on my ex. Hope you get it figured out though..

 

[jrford]

Wheel bearings! do a search and you find a lot of information, even how to change them. Someone reported it was only after he took it apart did the damage show up. In other words the wheel wasn't lose when you checked it by hand. One way to tell is does the noise change in Left or Right turns and as you load and unload the bearings.
They can sound like noisy tires or a howling noise. not uncommon.
check this out and see if it applies
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227758

 

[stsmoker]

The noise stays constant at a specific speed regardless of how much I turn the truck one way or anther...It may be both bearings though?? Give it a couple thousand miles, see if anything changes and go from there