Powertrain whine on 99 Mountaineer
Question:
Hi Everyone, I’m hoping some of you have experienced this, and can help me, cause the dealer conveniently can’ t seem to find it. The truck is a 99 AWD V-8, and at 60-67mph, and real faintly at 30mph, the is a loud whine when you apply the gas, but disappears as soon as you let up enough where the drive train is no longer "pushing" the car… Over time, the range in mph has increased a bit, and the whine has gotten stronger. It sounds like it is coming from right in the middle, just between the front & rear seats. One visit to the dealer, I was told it was a problem with the driveshaft & a yoke & that it was fixed. I returned (pissed) moments later, and the guy said, Oh, that was F150s, and didn’t apply to your mountaineer, it was just drivetrain noise, and was normal. The next time – they couldn’t find it (there was about 3 miles on the odometer – the nearest hiway is at least that far away – speeding on the city streets? doubt it…) (I’m at the point now, where I will sit in the lobby and "demand" a mech. drive with me – something they have avoided up to now….) Hope one of you have experienced this, and have a cause, that way I can at least go in, and get them to check "something"….. Thanks Mike PS Just got a Customer Satisfaction survey from the Merc. & the dealer. Out of all the times I’ve been there with "problems", they pick a oil-change visit to ask for comments on…. Talk about padding the results….
Response:
Mike, I have been looking at ‘99 Explorers to replace my ‘97 and was considering going for the V8 with AWD. The service manager at my dealership warned me to expect some degree of "whine" or "moan" from the AWD system at freeway speeds. He said it is very common and not a real problem. Personally, I’ve had a few too many "not a real problem’s" with my current Explorer, so I’m looking at getting an Expedition with the Control Trac 4WD instead.
Response:
> The service manager at my dealership warned me to >expect some degree of "whine" or "moan" from the AWD system at freeway >speeds. >He said it is very common and not a real problem.
At least he admitted to it – and in advance… Thanks for sharing! I like the handling of AWD, and the truck on a whole seems less prone to roll than my GMC Jimmy did… (false assumption I’m sure…) The whine is not unbearable, and I can live with it. I just don’t like getting an "attitude" from the service techs. Sorta like "you’re too stupid for me to really go into detail – you wouldn’t understand anyway". It is almost like a "good-ole-boy club". Again, thanks for the response.. Mike
