'Whirring' noise...

[kimmiemom]

Hey all,
Hoping someone has had to deal with this issue and can save me the time (& $$) of having a mechanic poke around with it. I have a 2007 Explorer Sport Trac Limited - 6 cyl that will periodically make a loud 'whirring' noise while going down the road. It comes and goes, only lasts for less than a minute usually. Sounds like a giant fan running and seems to happen more often when it's warm out. I'm in upstate NY, so now that it's getting colder, it's not happening as much.
And, on top of that, in the last week or so the temp light comes on, I throw on the interior fan to high and it drops back down. Periodically I don't have heat in the truck (thermostat?).
It has 103k miles on it and perhaps I should just say goodbye to it, but I really love it because there's room for my nieces and nephews and I can still throw hay and gas cans (not together) in the back. Thinking about upgrading to an F-150 with Ecoboost for more towing power, but I really do love my Sport Trac. If I can get these issues fixed without it costing a fortune, I'll just keep it until it dies.
Thanks for any help you can offer
k~

 

[eppd00]

Check your coolant level. You are probably hearing the cooling fan engaging when the temp goes up. If that is not the problem ,the thermostat would be next on the list to check.

 

[DaytonGuy]

If it has one, it could also be the cooling fan clutch. My wife's trailblazer had the clutch go out. The damn thing sounded like a semi truck when that fan was spinning with the engine rpms. Not to hard to change yourself, but as typical, not a lot of room to work.

 

[Tech By Trade]

I second the coolant level. If its low have a real close look at the valley for fluid. If its clean check the tanks on the rad. It tends to pool up on the cross member under the rad when it leaks until it gets real bad.