Tranny idle whine

[Raptordude]

Hey guys, question for you. I noticed that when my tranny is around 150 degrees or hotter, when I'm at a stop light in drive, I can hear a faint whine/whistle sound. Is this normal? It only does it in drive, only at a complete stop, and only when it has some heat in it. It goes away as soon as I start rolling.

 

The tranny has been taken care of as far as fluid changes, only has 15,000 on it since it had its last full flush. The truck has 115,000 miles. It shifts flawlessly and pulls through the gears strong

 

Is this noise normal?

 

Truck is a 2001 Silverado 2500HD with the gas 6.0/4l80e trans 2wd

 

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Edited March 12, 2017 by Raptordude

[dewfpo]

Are you sure it's the tranny and not the power steering?

 

Can I assume you've checked the level of both?

 

DEWFPO

[Raptordude]

Yes power steering and tranny both are right on the full line. That is a good point though, it could very well be the power steering. However, it does it whether I'm turning the wheel or not.

 

Next time I have the truck out, I'll listen close to the power steering and see if that's what it is. Trouble is, i don't hear it much on short trips unless it's a hot summer day. I noticed it today after a 3 hour highway drive

 

 

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[Raptordude]

It's definitely the tranny. It's only in Drive, only at idle, and only when the temp is 150 or higher. It's a very soft quiet whistle sound. Any of your 4l80s do that?

 

 

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[Justin101714]

Does the fluid look aerated? Like bubbly? Could be cavitation at the pump.

 

 

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[davester]

you might be able to narrow it down using a mechanics stethoscope, but you want to be very careful crawling under the truck while it is running and in gear...

[Raptordude]

Does the fluid look aerated? Like bubbly? Could be cavitation at the pump.

 

 

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I'll have to check it and look for that.

 

And yeah I'll get a buddy to stay on the breaks while I'm under it. It almost seems like it's coming from outside the tranny, sounds like some sort of vacuum hose is leaking just a tiny tiny bit, just enough to make some noise

 

 

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[Raptordude]

Could a clogged/partially clogged tranny filter cause this noise?

 

 

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[icecoldtexan]

My 2001 2500HD did this. Drove me crazy. I could really hear it waiting in a drive thru with it echoing off the wall. That along with the dreaded piston slap made me trade it in. I now have a 2011 silverado with no issues.

 

 

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[Raptordude]

How many miles did yours have? Did it do it since new?

 

 

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[ericwudi0830]

Makes sense that a clogged tranny might be behind the the noise. There's bound to be some kind of resistance while its going

[Raptordude]

I took a video of it, but it will not let me post on here. How can you post videos? It used to let me but now it only lets me post pictures

 

 

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[davester]

most people upload it to youtube, then link to it here.

[icecoldtexan]

How many miles did yours have? Did it do it since new?

 

 

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yes, did it since new. Dealer said it was "normal".

 

 

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[Raptordude]

https://youtu.be/4fDNseawAl4

 

This is in Drive at idle, only at 150 degrees and up. That's the only time I hear it. It does not do it in reverse either.

 

I looked up the sounds of a torque converter and/or front pump going bad and neither one seemed to match this sound at all.

 

As said, this tranny was flushed at 50k and 100k. Not sure if they ever replaced the filter or if they replaced it both times

 

It's quiet, the phone was right beside the tranny in order to pick up this sound

 

 

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Edited May 5, 2017 by Raptordude