Tranny, transfer case or Converter whine. Which one?

[NaviShock]

My 2000 Navi just developed a whine that is present in neutral and in park. When you put it in drive the whine is still there but quieter. It is also audible while driving and fluctuates with rpms as they increase and decrease. I got the truck home and crawled under it while it was in park to try and isolate the whine. It really sounds to me like it's coming from the bell housing area which makes me think torque converter. Tranny fluid looks good and truck shifts fine although that's not a guarantee everything is ok. Any ideas? Thanks

[NaviShock]

Anyone experience anything similar and have ideas?

[NWBronco]

Kind of rules out the t-case. You're not moving and you hear it. If you hear it loudest at the bell housing, could be torque converter or front pump. Either are critical. Not much of a way to diagnose either, I'm afraid.

[NaviShock]

Well, took truck to dealer to let them figure out. Told them exactly where noise was coming from. It made the whine on the way to the dealer. I get a call later on when they get to it and there is no longer a whine. So I drive back there and it is gone. So, at the time I don't know if this is good or bad news. So I leave confused. Two days later whine is back. Apparently it just wants to be an intermittent whine now. I have a 6 hour round trip road excursion next Friday and I'm nervous.

[alloro]

Did you check the tranny fluid level? If so, did you follow the correct procedure for checking it. I'm not trying to insult you or anything, but you'd be surprised at how many people check it wrong.

[sbclemens]

Does the whine happen when the engine/transmission is cold?

[NaviShock]

Tranny fluid was the first thing I checked and so did the dealer. The level was fine and so was the color. The noise is there cold or hot. From what was mentioned earlier and some researching, I'm wondering if it's the front pump or my original thought, the torque converter.

[ExpySport]

I know you said you feel it's coming from the bell housing area. Did you happen to check the power steering fluid level? I know from experience when the level is low a whine develops and changes with RPM's. Just another thought...

[sbclemens]

I'm not aware of any "simple" diagnostic test you can do on the torque converter. The dealership should have been able to plug into the transmission so its odd they didn't come across anything. How does it shift when the noise is present?