Whine at 55 mph

No it's not from the wife or kids.

Last month I started noticing a faint whine that's really only audible over normal road and tire noise between about 50 and 55 mph. It's loud enough to notice on the highway while the radio is set at a medium volume, at least for a trained ear. I'm hoping it's just harmonics from the tires wearing and changing their pitch but it's got me worried that the truck is developing an issue with the differentials.

It's a 2010 DC OR V6 with the 6-speed manual and just over 78k miles. I replaced both front wheel bearings last fall at ~65k miles and all of the gear oils last winter. I've determined that the whine is coming from the drivetrain or the wheels because it's not related to engine speed or clutch/neutral/accelerating/coasting etc. I can't tell if it's coming from the front or back.

The sound is more of a whine and not a groan or a squeal so I'm leaning towards tire noise, which is fine if that's the case. I've never heard the sound of bad bearings or diffs so I don't have anything to reference.

Thoughts?

 

I had the same sound coming from the rear.. had to replace bearings in rear differential..

 

Do you have a go-pro or similar kind of camera that you can mount under your truck and drive around while recording? Do it with the camera facing the front and the rear, might help determine where it's coming from and what it is

 

I hope not. I've already had enough things repaired in this truck.

 

I am having the same problem with my 2009 Tacoma. Just put on new Michelin tires and I am notiving a signifigant whine between 55 and 60 mph. It goes away after that. Come back again around 35 to 40 mph. Hope it is the tires. Any way to check this out?

 

Borrow a set of tires from a friend for a test drive.

Michs are well warrantied. I'd be surprised if they didn't take care of that for you, assuming you determine they are the source.

It could be the new tires are so quiet you now hear another noise that was masked before.

 

When was the trans fluid last changed? And with what?

If you don't know, changing it, even if you are just base lining your maintenance, is a good idea. And it could help your whine if it's from the box.

Toddle down to your Ford dealer and pick up

$34 Ford XT-M5-QS Full Synthetic Manual Transmission Fluid - 1 Quart , black

Ford XT-M5-QS fluid. It's not cheap, but it is awesome.

 

Did someone secretly install a supercharger while you weren't looking?

 

My '14 Sport rear diff has howled from the day that I got it, Toyota refuses to acknowledge that it's an issue. They changed diff suppliers in 13ish because of this issue and they refuse to acknowledge that the problem still exists.

At exactly 60 mph it quiets down, and as soon as I feed it gas to load the pinion, it quiets down. Not what I expect out of a $35,000 truck. There's a TSB on this prior to '14 but not for mine.

 

Wheel bearing is my guess.... that happened to me, only made noise at about 50mph and only when I gave it gas

 

I had the same problem. Looked it up at work and there is open TSIB on it for 5 speeds. My truck is a 6 speed, My problem was I need to replace the front pinion bearing. One of my techs was able to get it out with out having to tear apart my rear end.

 

Check wheel bearings first, notorious to go bad... had some of the same symptoms!

 

If it is a front beating, try this. While driving at speed and going straight, turn very slightly right, then slightly left, just enough to load the wheel bearing. If either makes the noise go away, it's the front wheel bearing. If you turn slight right and it goes away, it's typically the left wheel and vice versa.