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whistling '95 Crown Vic

A new sound has appeared and I am having trouble reproducing it in the driveway. When I am driving, especially if the car isn't warmed up, a whistle appears and disappears at different throttle positions. It sounds like an air / vacuum whistle and varies intensity a bit. As I was coming home tonight on the highway I found I could make it appear with light acceleration and go away by floating the accelerator or just taking my foot off the gas. If I hold the throttle just right the whistle is continuous. Speed isn't an issue since it will happen when accelerating from a start. Once the car is warm it is very hard to make it whistle.

I figure it is either a leaking vacuum line I can't find, the tranny, or the IAC is getting ready to trip me up. It's about 2 degrees now so I plan to wait a bit before I search. I thought I'd pick the collective brains in here while waiting.

Thanks in advance, folks. (Geez I love this place...)

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayon
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If your IAC didnt give you idle problems today, that prolly isnt it.

My TBIRD trans has been whistling for 50,000 miles, but warm, not when cold.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I'm not sure if you even have this on your car, but...

My Dad's Crown Vic, a late 80's model, has a vacuum e-brake release motor. I noticed not long ago that it's leaking, causing a light whistle under the similar conditions to those you describe.

CJB

Reply to
CJB

I get a moaning sound from mine related to the IAC at or near idle in cool weather. If the air cond is on, I almost never hear it. It can also be heard at light throttle on occasion because the IAC is used as a dashpot to prevent excessive intake vacuum which may affect emissions. You can change the IAC if you like but, my experience is that anything more than making sure it is clean is probably a waste of time and money because the replacement may be just as bad or worse.

Good luck & since you can't get it at Wally World this year, Merry Christmas!! Lugnut

Reply to
lugnut

Thanks to everyone with thoughts about the whistle on my car. I kinda figure I might fix it by turning the stereo up a little bit more. The noise is definitely coming from outside, not under the dash. I lost a chunk of the drivers door weatherstrip a few weeks ago - the seat belt thingie got caught one too many times. The gap is letting a lot of noise get in.

I may clean the IAC just because - I haven't done a thing to it ever! First things first, tho. I need for the car to make heat. I replaced the t-stat last week and had heat for a day. I kinda suspect a heater clog. I hope I can backflush it - I don't have the patience to replace it right now. The parts sites show a heater control valve but I sure don't see one. Tomorrow is a day off for me - I guess I'll conduct some experiments. The garage isn't quite down to freezing, yet.

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayon

That sounds a bit like what I had with a 94 grand Marquis. It took a lot to narrow down, but it turned out to be the bearing in the small idler wheel for the fan belt. I repacked it as best I could to test, the noise went away for a long time. When it did reappear, I bought a new idler.

Reply to
Jim Nagy

Now that you mention it Jim, the idler squalls like crazy for a brief time after startup on a cold day. It's done it since I got the car, 80k+ ago. I will try your technique. I might even have some spray grease... and I think I have a needle attachment for my grease gun, too. Thanks!

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayon

I was going to mention the same thing, idler pulley, fan bearing or alternator pulley. Start the car, pop the hood and spray all the pulleys, alternators, A/C pump and whatever else is connected to the fan belt with some type of lubricant. I would suggest something better than WD-40, as it only seems to last for so long. As far as your no heat goes, it sounds like you have air in your cooling system. Either that or no pressure, might indicate a bad rad. cap or partially blocked heater core.

Sharky

Reply to
Sharky

thanks Sharky. As for the heater, I backflushed the heater core and blew out the overflow hose to the pressurized reservoir and got a new cap - put it all back together - voila! (actually a whole string section!) much heat. The whistle and lube idea is and easy test. I'll prolly use Sillycone spray since the belt should have a good shot of it occasionally, anyway. That way I don't have to worry about overspray.

Thanks to everyone!! What a great community we have here!

PoD

Reply to
Paul of Dayon

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