[BrianK*1954]

I'm new to owning a transit and new to this forum - but I drove my van on its first long trip this weekend. I heard a load drone noise come in at around 70-75 mph on my 2017 HR T250 148 3.5 3.31LS. I have never driven an empty cargo van at that speed, but the sound I heard did not seem normal. I will be updating this thread once I get more time in the van.

What drone and noise?

It occurs, in the 2 Valley Metro 2017 Ford Transit 150 XLT's I've driven since Sept. 27, 2017, when the vehicle reaches 75 mph and continues through 80 mph. When I accelerate above 80 mph, it stops, as well as stopping when the vehicle falls below 75 mph.

The 1st Transit, with only 4800 miles on it, had the driveshaft replaced on January 11, 2018. When Ford road tested it, the noise did not dissipate. So, Valley Metro in AZ gave me another brand-new 2017 Ford Transit with 240 miles on it, and as soon as I took it out on the freeway, upon reaching 75 mph this new vehicle started making the exact same noise.

 

[sam]

Yes, my van has the drone, vibration, growl, whatever you want to call it. It is worst at highway speeds (around 65-73 mph), and when going up a hill or when accelerating. I also discovered the vibration mostly goes away if I shift down to 5th gear at highway speeds. My strategy now is to upshift to 6th when going down hills, because that is the only time it's not droning at highway speeds in 6th gear.
It is so loud that it shakes the whole van, making it impossible to hear the radio or have a conversation. The sound is a very low frequency hum, like putting your head inside a subwoofer that only plays one note, the resonant frequency of the van.
My upgrades of insulation and paneling and flooring certainly helped quiet it down a lot, but this vibration is so severe that it can't be ignored. People who ride in my van are always alarmed at the severity of the noise and vibration. "What's that sound? Is it safe?" is what they usually say.
I have had the giubo replaced twice, at 25K and 28K miles.

 

[lolwisper4321]

Yes, my van has the drone, vibration, growl, whatever you want to call it. It is worst at highway speeds (around 65-73 mph), and when going up a hill or when accelerating. I also discovered the vibration mostly goes away if I shift down to 5th gear at highway speeds. My strategy now is to upshift to 6th when going down hills, because that is the only time it's not droning at highway speeds in 6th gear.
It is so loud that it shakes the whole van, making it impossible to hear the radio or have a conversation. The sound is a very low frequency hum, like putting your head inside a subwoofer that only plays one note, the resonant frequency of the van.
My upgrades of insulation and paneling and flooring certainly helped quiet it down a lot, but this vibration is so severe that it can't be ignored. People who ride in my van are always alarmed at the severity of the noise and vibration. "What's that sound? Is it safe?" is what they usually say.
I have had the giubo replaced twice, at 25K and 28K miles.

I did a simple test with my 2015 cargo van that has the drone noise at it's worst ~69 MPH and engine speed of ~2,250 RPM.
So I got up to the 69 MPH and as always the drone noise started after which I put the Tranny in manual mode and shifted to 5th gear.
In manual mode in 5th gear and still traveling at 69 MPH the drone noise stopped. This procedure was repeatable several time.

Since my speed was a constant 69 MPH the drive shaft RPM's should be the same regardless of the tranny gear I am in. Right?
Obviously shifting from 6th to 5th does change the speed of the engine RPM's so I think this issue is more related to the Engine RPM's effect on the
torque converter and Tranny.

 

[Alison]

Mine is 2015 148WB, 3.7L, 3.73 Limited slip. I've had had the guido replaced.

Took it in at the end of November for the drumming noise - after 2 weeks of them pulling it apart for the 'cost analysis' they determined it's due to the torque converter. Apparently there's an issue going on with the torque converters, as there were none available and I was told it would be after the New Year. Still haven't heard anything back. I used to only hear it in 6th gear in the 50+mph range... now I'm starting to hear it in lower gears too, but at a much lower volume. Or I'm driving myself crazy and hearing things :s

UPDATE: Torque converter was replaced on Friday. Droning noise is gone! Hopefully for good - I'll post any changes.

 

[86scotty]

UPDATE: Torque converter was replaced on Friday. Droning noise is gone! Hopefully for good - I'll post any changes.

Thanks for the update. My torque converter is dying by the day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MikeQBF]

That doesn't sound good. I was holding off on summarizing until we picked-up our new van this weekend. I confirmed the "6th only" observations we saw later in the thread when I was driving the old van to the buyer.

 

[as3ffd]

My van has the drone noise too, but only at 77 mph or higher. About 12,000 miles on it now, I got it Dec 1, 2017.

 

[Chainman1]

I just purchased a 2016 HR EXT with 3.5 and 4.10 gears. I heard the drone noise during the test drive at all speeds even when in neutral. I hear it upon deceleration too.

The volume of the drone is not super load but noticeable at all times. The rear door gasket needs replacement so I am sure that will eliminate some tire noise
The van has 42K and the temp recall fix for the guibo was done at 34k. It really sounds like a rearend/drive line harmonic to me. I accepted that I may need the rearend replaced but it still has 8k on the warranty so I'm going to get the permanent fix for the guibo and see if that helps and fight with the dealer if it doesn't.

I did spray lizard skin sound deadener, then added 1" of polyiso insulation and 1/2" sheet of plywood. This really helped the cab noise but it doesn't fix the origin of the sound, only deaden it.

There seems to be two types of issues reported here. Oneis at a certain speed that may be stopped by shifting out of six gear into 5th. Possibly caused by a faulty torque converter

The other is not speed specific but probably drive line/rearend alignment? Possibly caused by driving many miles on a broken guibo joint which could cause wear on the rear end bearings. Also, having 3 drive shafts makes it highly probable that there is misalignment some where. I'm probably going to jack mine up and try and pinpoint where the sounds is coming from.

 

[sam]

My van is in the shop now, getting the new driveshaft recall stuff (after two prior giubo replacements). I told them I don't care what they do, or how they do it, just get rid of the droning sound. I'm worried it's permanently damaging my hearing.
Service manager tells me it's hard to get the parts for the driveshaft recall. I'll report back with results soon.

 

[Batman]

This topic is kind of spread out so I want to cover all the threads.
I just had the driveshaft recall done and the noise is just as bad as before. So no luck with that "fix".

 

[woodman]

Yeah the rear end is getting louder in my 2015 3.5l ecoboost with a 3.10LS rear end. However no vibration. the temporary flex coupling was installed in 2017 but I haven't been notified of the permanent fix yet.

 

[sam]

Yup. After putting in the new driveshaft assembly, my dealer called me and confirmed that the droning noise was still there. It's not a driveshaft drone. After further testing at speed, they noticed RPMs were fluctuating up and down about 150 rpm during the droning, suspecting the transmission torque converter was slipping, or "chattering." So they pulled the transmission, examined the torque converter and found damage from overheating, along with tranny fluid smelling slightly burnt. Also the transmission valve body had a bore that could not seal correctly. They had to wait several days for a new torque converter from Ford, but finally got it all fixed (after 2 weeks at the dealer) and I just drove home 2 hrs at highway speed and I can confirm the drone is GONE!
I'm a happy camper.

 

[MikeQBF]

Thanks, Sam, that is very interesting. A similar problem has occurred on other Ford transmissions. It's not the torque converter itself, but a part within the converter, the bypass clutch. It's job is to lock the engine output to the transmission - like letting your foot off the clutch in a manual transmission - because the converter by itself is fluid-coupled and loses about 10% of the engine power. (That's why there used to be a big MPG penalty with automatics. Bypass clutches fix that.) Normally when there is T/C bypass clutch chatter, you will feel it in your butt, similar sensation to running over rumble strips. Props to your techs for knowing to look for the problem.

Since I started this mess, below is a table of two dozen reports, adding my new 2018. Yes, with less than 100 miles on it, it has the same drone in the same conditions as the new 2017 we had. My "conclusion" is no conclusion because it seems that we are talking about different things, the most significant being the torque converter, which is a problem needing to be fixed. I my case with new vehicles my hunch is exhaust system harmonics, but I'm not going to take it apart or modify it to chase the bug.

As I said in another thread, my wife doesn't notice it, so there you have it. Anyway, I'm a professional tuba player, so am more or less an expert on unpleasant low droning sounds. This one is a live with, surely better than that guy who sits second chair.

 

[MikeQBF]

Something else to think about. Sam, you said you had 42,000 on yours. When did you start noticing the drone/vibration? T/C bypass clutch chatter is a symptom of worn-out transmission fluid, and the resulting chatter escalates the problem. It's possible, maybe even likely, that the giubo situation masked the wear and tear on the transmission.

I mention this because of the supposed extended change interval for transmission fluid, which has been discussed here ad nauseum. Obviously, more frequent change intervals is the first defense against worn-out fluid. T/C lockup only occurs if the drivetrain computer thinks you're going to be in the same gear for a while. The way this transmission is geared, there's a relatively small window between 5th and 6th, so if you do mostly in-town driving between 40-50 mph, there is going to be a lot of lock/unlock/lock/unlock, etc., that wears on the clutch and its BFF, the fluid.

The lesson, I believe, is the book interval of 150,000 for transmission fluid change is only for predominantly level freeway driving. I'm quite astounded there are no notations for more frequent changes under the "severe" schedules. If most of my driving was in-town, then I'd be changing at 50K, minimum.

 

[sam]

I was thinking the same thing, but my drone began at about 25,000 miles, which I would say is an unreasonably short life for ATF. However, I think I will have mine changed at 80,000 miles--in an abundance of caution.

 

[sam]

And, I don't do much "in-town" driving. It's mostly highway for me.

 

[Norb1256]

3.5, LWB, MR, 3.73 2017 No drone or noise

Still on original flex joint at 12,000 miles. No problems. Hope they don't start with the permanent fix.

 

[86scotty]

Mike, you just explained more than I knew about my situation. 2015 3:31 EB T350 with weird vibrations since I got it at 30k. It has 85k on it now. I have had my TC diagnosed by an old school (20+ yr) tranny builder who is a friend of mine but he can't get my tall van in his shop. Exact symptom you explained, rumble strip-esque shudders at various speeds. Mine is getting downright scary on takeoff, it shudders all the way through second gear. I have put the Mr. Tranny Shudder Fix (snake oil but recommended by many) and it helped for about a month. My symptom goes mostly away when the tranny if fully up to temp but not if I'm heavily loaded, which is about half the time.

I have tried to source a TC but they are backordered everywhere I've looked and I can't do without my van for 2 weeks! I go in for the guibo fix as soon as I can get it there. Parts are in.

Funny thing is, and I've spent my life in vans, I have nothing like a drone at any speed. She's pretty quiet on the highway.

Oh, and the music humor cracked me up. I'm an (ex) horn player, son of a band director, brother and sis-in law both teach HS band. Lots and lots of music and musicians in the family. I'm the black sheep of sorts.

 

[Tristate Turbocharger]

2016 SWB LT 32500 Miles DRONING HUMMING

We bought a 2016 transit van with 30000 miles and drove 2500 miles with absolutely no issues. There was noticeable resonance throughout the speed range but nothing like we experienced after the drive shaft recall was performed. We contacted Ford after reading about the recall. They told us the parts for the recall were on back order. The parts arrived 2 weeks later and the van was serviced same day which seemed unusually quick. Drove home got it up to 75mph and oh boy she really hums and of course the humming is at average speed so you cannot go past 70mph or your head will explode.

I brought the van back to Mahwah Ford NJ and was given a loaner 5 days later and dropped it off. The van sat in the parking lot for 1 month after routinely check the status with a drive by from time to time. Finally the technician decided the weather was ok for him to go past 75mph. That was the excuse they offered up.. the weather prohibited them from checking the noise at speed.

After listening to the stories of what Ford HQ advised them to do, the drive shaft was removed and "sent out" to a driveline shop for balancing as per Ford HQ. They called 2 times saying it would be done within a few days which turned into another week. Then the report came back with BENT DRIVE SHAFT. This is total BS and I was insulted when they told me that. So I asked, how did the driveshaft get bent? Ah I don't know sir.... so did it get bent after you replaced the guibo? I don't know sir......So if its bent you should replace it right? Vein in neck inflates.....Never again will I go to a dealer for repair.

The dealers have no interest in paying quality technicians most of these techs just graduated high school and have no basics. A simple thing like a washer missing can turn that drive shaft coupler recall into a total disaster.

They took our van out of service for 1 month "recall" done then "repaired the recall" only to find the same **** DRONING NOISE at 75mph.

Only FORD can F-up a good thing...

My old man had a 2016 GT350 he had them rotate tires and they put front on the rear and rear in front. Can you say dumb dumb...

If your van isn't exhibiting driveline noise leave it alone, know-one at FORD cares once the recall is performed. They are not getting paid for troubleshooting They get paid selling you another van.

There is also a strange noise like an exhaust leak that was not there before, add to it the Check Engine light that oddly came on the day after picking it up. Code says EVAP small leak, probably the noise I hear.

Painful

 

[jeff2500]

Drone Noise

2015 150 373 gears 85000 Miles. I had no problems until had first recall done (disc) at 58,000 two weeks later got the drone noise 68-70 mph took it back 2 times said they had to wait on permanent fix. Between 58,000 and now 85,000 noise 64-65 and 68-70 mph. had permanent fix at 85,000 now noise all different speeds plus have a shutter low speed if it is in a higher gear. Now waiting on next appointment. After the permanent fix I took a video camera at different locations of the drive shaft while driving and can't see any shaking looks normal. This is driving me insane.