A6 started whining when in gear today

[5.0 Probie]

I mean whining. I got in Pepper today and fired her up to go to lunch... Only to hear this whine.

So I pulled up to a stop sign trying to figure it out. Turning off the radio. Rolling up the windows, etc... Had to pull into traffic... Rolled up to a red light, pretty much starting to get worried at this point... Put it in Neutral. "No more whine"...

Put it back in drive... Louder whine. Had to pull onto the HWY and it took until 30mph before the sound of the exhaust was louder than the whine...

Drive 40+ miles straight to my favorite dealership... Left it running... Tested it a few times while on the waiting line... Not as loud, clear as day. When I say not as loud, I was able to hear it over the radio with the windows down originally... When in gear, a whine can be heard at idle. And goes up with the RPMs...

The dealership is so busy they told me they might get to it this Friday. Yeah, that sucks... But that whine is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more concerning. Never heard that before out of this car. The last time I heard anything like that I was rebuilding a rear main and output shaft on a 77 3/4 pickup...

It was like a bearing ran dry. or the torque converter was lacking fluid, or there is about to be some serious "Batman" sounds coming out of that trans sooner or later as it shows it's problem(s).

Any thoughts? Am I being overly cautious and need to just drive it? Thanks for your input!

 

[skwerl]

What's the fluid level? Does it smell burnt?

 

[Thereaper]

Let the Dealer deal with it. Even a 6R80 can break.

 

[5.0 Probie]

To my knowledge... I just had the oil changed and serviced by this same dealership. All fluids at appropriate levels, not requiring even any top-offs.

Some more info...

Car sits on about 8500 trouble free miles.
New Steeda Sports all the way around.
New Adjustable Steeda PHB.
New AM rims installed by this dealership "After" suspension mods and alignment had been completed.
Car drove normal, shifted as usual, no excess heat according to the gauges. And why I chose to go straight to the dealership.
I "Just" ran her hard for the first time (130mph ish) two weeks ago to see if I felt any vibrations or noises. Nothing...

No issues. This was completely out of the blue. Shockingly out of the blue. That is why I chose to go straight to the dealership. I wanted them to hear it and not do another one of those "Well it made that noise yesterday" trips.. Only to be told all is well and have the trans fall out 1200 miles after the warranty runs out.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Wow, that's a weird one. I've never heard a 6R80 do what you're describing. The 6R80 is so much better than the MT82, and is one of the biggest reasons I traded in my '11 GT (MT82) for my '14 GT (6R80).

I trust our transmission expert (Quentin) will make it all better in no time. He's a very good trans tech.

 

[5.0 Probie]

Thanks Brian! I may hear things before others do, but it has proven to pay off in the long run. Last time I heard a wurring from the rear-end of our 07 GT... Took it to your dealership, was told they could not duplicate the sound... Drove it home... A week later heard it again, drove straight down, took a tech for a drive,. And ended up with a new rear-end...

I would rather be safe than sorry. We reeeeeeally enjoy this car and do not want to abuse/ignore it.

 

[slagburn]

Very unusual for a 6R80 to make noises like that. Not impossible though. Now and then you'll get a failure no matter what it is. Warranty time! Let us know what it was, if they do happen to tear it apart.

 

[FIVE-OH]

You say it makes the noise even at idle? I don't know, it's hard to diagnosis over the internet, but are you positive it's the trans?

 

[5.0 Probie]

*Update*

Man I love this dealership. They deserve props before anything else. They are taking care of clients like I do. Doing things the right way for the right reasons.

OK...

Evedently they had a cancellation and got to our Mustang today. As I understand it (Short version, no details)...

Car made no sound whne first fired up. They tried again, whalla. Noise. Called the Hotline, found out they need to replace the front pump.

Part is five working days out (To me that is a good sign and makes me think this is a fluke vs. a known issue).

While there, I let them know my right rear was losing 20lbs. of air a week, right after installation of the new rims... Only to be told I picked up a screw through the sidewall into the radial... Two new tires on order (Hate the thought of one new tire vs. three 30% used and cannot afford four tires today, otherwise I would have gotten four Michelin Pilots, when I need to put four new tires on our Tahoe)...

 

[Greg Hazlett]

What's the fluid level? Does it smell burnt?

No way to tell with the 5.0's as they they are sealed units without a dipstick.

 

[kdanner]

No way to tell with the 5.0's as they they are sealed units without a dipstick.

No they aren't. There is a dipstick there, it's just under the car.

 

[Grabber Blue 5.0]

No way to tell with the 5.0's as they they are sealed units without a dipstick.

Wrong. There's a dipstick there.

 

[Greg Hazlett]

I stand corrected! It took a while to find it as it is not where I expected it to be, would have never thought to look closer to the bell housing.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

^^^what a dipstick!!!

 

[SSPSTANGBANGER]

I was thinking front pump when reading this. Glad they got it handled for you.
Get a converter in there while trans is out

 

[Swarzkopf]

Yep, first thing I figured was pump whine. Glad it's fixed.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Get a converter in there while trans is out

^^^ What he said! Give Chris at Circle-D a call and get one shipped out ASAP!

 

[5.0 Probie]

Yeah, good idea on the converter. Just bad timing for the budget. That is on the books for July...

That said, I am at a loss for which one. The 245 or 258? And what does the converter do for me as this is a daily driver? Thanks!

 

[Greg Hazlett]

Being NA the 5C is what you want and when driving it on the street it feels like a manual car with a slipping clutch; you will feel it but just takes some getting used to.

 

[Grabber Blue 5.0]

Yeah, good idea on the converter. Just bad timing for the budget. That is on the books for July...

That said, I am at a loss for which one. The 245 or 258? And what does the converter do for me as this is a daily driver? Thanks!

The 245 is for N/A cars, the 258 for F/I cars.