I have looked all over this forum and havn't read about anybody having problems like mine. I am in the military and station on a little dumb island and the mechanics here don't know what to do if you can't fix it by drinking a beer and hitting it with a hammer. My wife says that it sounds like the Jetsons car. It sounds like a rubbing or grinding. Speed related but also throttle related. From 40mph coasting down, the noise is not as loud. If you are on a level road it seems as if the tire rotation and the RPM matches, the noise disappears. Couldn't tell you the RPM, don't have a tac. Took it to a local and he swore up and down it was the differential. I took it apart to check the slip and pinion and they look brand spankin new, the spider and side gears were worn and the postrack clutches were burnt up, lost the axle seals, new bearings, new clutches and new side gears, still have the noise. Slipping it into netural doesn't do anything. Locking out the OD just makes it sound like the tranny is bouncing. The truck is sluggish and acts as if the brakes are being ridden in the lower speed range. I'm having some problems with the start, may or may not be related. Sometime the starter spins and doesn't engage the flywheel. I'm looking at a tranny rebuild kit. Should I invest the money or am I going over kill for maybe a smaller problem?

 

What engine, transmission, model, and year?

 

Could have sworn I put that all in my closing line. Guess I didn't.
It's a 1997 F-150 XL 4.6L V6 with the AODE 4R70W, I think . I've been goofing around with the different speeds and coasting and it seems like around 40MPH the noise and the truck start doing a kind of bouncing thing, can't describe it any other way. Other things to add, the rear end is all 1998 parts, found that out when I had to change the brake pads and when I changed out the spider gears. I just ordered all of the service manuals on CD with IPB's. I am an AD in the Navy (Aviation Machinists Mate), I've been trained on jet engines, and I'm not afraid of a wrench. Please let me know what you think.
Thanks.
Carl

 

One thing to check:

A totally bad shock will allow a wheel to bounce badly which will make a woo -woo screeching noise and cause the truck to vibrate/bounce.

A broken main leaf in the spring pack will cause the same symptoms. It will allow the wheel to move fore/aft while in motion.

Since you don't mention any steering vibration I will assume we can rule out a front suspension problem.

 

:-staun
Wow, the roads here are terrible and I checked the Rear end leaf springs and they are rusted and it looks like that are no longer "leafy", bent pretty straight. They are coming apart and isn't there supposed to be some sort of clips to keep them bunched together. The shocks are kind of old, I guess I can start with replaceing them. As far as the front end goes, the only problem, besides the alignement, a never ending battle here, is that when the truck is not in motion and you crank the wheel hard either direction, there is a metallic squeak. Not a power steering problem and only when the truck is stopped. I've tried greasing the steering linkage but there is only zert points on the passenger side. What brand would you go with to replace them? How about a overspring style for the rear end? I'm looking online to try to order some leave springs but most places only sell for the older trucks. I always seem to have problems finding parts for this thing. Thanks for the help.
Carl
4.6L V6 F-150 XL Long bed. I hate this island

 

If your rear springs are that far gone you will need to replace the spring pack. With a truck as new as yours you will either have to go to an actual spring shop that probably does not exist where you are or order the packs from Ford. Some auto supply companies can get new aftermarket springs. I have no idea what is available where you are.

 

Hey,

I have the same problems with my tranny too, it happens if you're kinda light on the throttle and the speedo needle crosses 45mph on a straight paved road. Sometimes if you're accelerating it's not as noticable if at all. I found a bulliten saying that the automatic transmission that comes with the 4.6l V8 will have a rattle in it if the vehicle is driven at high speed on a regular basis.

 

This problem started for me a while ago, as a whining at high speeds or high load, like up a steep hill. I took it to a mechanic here and they couldn't "hear" anything. The problem kept getting worse and now it's to where it's at now. Seems to be getting even worse now. I'm trying to get the thing refinanced now so I can afford some repairs. The rear suspension is messed up, but with the way it's acting now I don't think that's the only problem. I bought it used and in it's previous life it was a work truck for a construction company. In this life, it's been a 4x4, a race car , a battering ram and a target for locals who want my service off the island. The roads here suck and the new tires I put on it less than a year ago are ready to be replaced. Right now I'm hoping that the thing won't just die on the side of the road. Maybe it will do it in the parking lot at work if I'm lucky. For a 4x2 I guess it's lived a pretty rough life. Wish I could figure out what's wrong with it before I have to trade it. My wife said no more blue oval Parts are a beast to find for it though, and I can tell which part this truck uses by telling the parts clerk to just give me the expensive one.

 

What does your wife want to get? -A Toyota?

 

No foreign cars for her. She's got her fancy set on this thing made by American General. What was the name of that thing. Oh yeah, the H1, she said the H2 would be okay too. But since I'm not made of money and I can't afford to even maintain this thing she said that she'll settle with a GMC Yukon, she wants a family car. I really do want to wait until I get off this island to get a new car. Would like to keep it new as long as possible. Very hard to do when 6 out of 5 drivers are drunk or drinking on the road here. Pretty bad when you get bumped out of the way of the beer cooler at the gas station by a cop who's in a hurry to get his and get back to his running squad car. Back to the problem at hand. Does the AODE 4R70W have a torque converter and what does it sound like when it's getting ready to go? The sound I'm having is a rotational failure of something and a torque converter is the only thing I can think of that is still spinning when the tranny is in netural and the truck is rolling.

 

All automatics have a torque converter. I would think that you would be having other problems if the converter was messing up.

Have you checked the rear shocks, as posted earlier?

I think that whine must be tied to the tranny.....or a wheel bearing.

 

I checked the rear end out. It's been put to some good use (some over use too) but it's not bad enough to make the noises the way I'm hearing them. I took the truck out on the highway (at least what the locals call a highway) and got the speed up to 60MPH for about 15 min. The MIL light came on and blinked for a little while then stopped, then blinked again. Did it about three or four times. So now the truck thinks something is wrong. I went to the mechanic they have here on base and they have the OBD II system to check the error but they don't have a printer to give me an itemized list of the trouble codes. I found a hand held system costing double what they charge for one check but it reads general codes only. Think it's worth it?
I finally got the maintenance manual in the mail and looked up the drive train in the trouble shooting section.
It came up with a list of stuff to check. Part of it you already hit on. I'm going to post this list incase someone else is having problems. Does anybody know of a good inexpensive rebuild kit that includes all the bearings for the 4R70W and a new output shaft? How about a rebuilt by lets say Western Auto or Pep Boys?

Noise / Vibration forward and reverse:
Engine mounts loose or Damaged - U-joints - Rear axle - Suspension - Output shaft splines worn or damaged. It also details out that if any of the above is damaged that it should be corrected (DUH). And the manual goes on with information for each gear and what to look for as far as damage goes.

 

I hate to say it... But if the truck has been abused as much as you say it is probably better to sell it. I will point out that iit has withstood the abuse and keeps on tickin... Probably more than a GMC etc would.

-Just my penny's worth!

 

How about a rebuilt by lets say Western Auto or Pep Boys?

I would avoid a rebuild by a large auto supplier parts store unless they can provide you a sheet showing their return rate on parts. Especially for the tranny.

You buy a cheap rebuild....you get a cheap rebuild. If money is that tight it would be better to get one from a salvage yard. But as posted earlier, it appears your truck has been abused and your tranny is saying it's had enough.

 

I think you guys are right. Too bad though, only had a years worth of payments left on it. See what I can do for her then let her go (the truck, not my wife ). Thanks for the help.