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Whinin' & Moanin' '88 240

In really cold weather, this car is producing a medium-pitched whine, with occasional harmonics, until it gets to 45mph. It stops when the car has been driven far enough to warm everything up. It's not the engine, and is entirely road-speed dependent, although it will vary in volume and pitch. My housemate has known about it for two years, but I just discovered it - I've been the one starting and driving it in really cold weather. I wish I were as oblivious as she is about this stuff.

So...carrier bearing? Wheel bearing(s)? Transmission? (no!) There is no vibration, just a whine like a truck.

Reply to
Michael Cerkowski
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No ideas?

"Michael Cerkowski

Reply to
Michael Cerkowski

Drive train?

"Michael Cerkowski "

Reply to
Joachim Østberg

next time you hear the mystery sound, try changing the temp setting on the heater control... Sometimes on my '89 240, I get a sound that appears to be flow-related when I have my heat on (obviously, in cold weather). Unlikely, but easy to check for!

m9876c at yahoo dot com

Reply to
Perry Noid

Did you ever find out what it is? I just started to have it intermittently on my '87 240!

eCaVeMaN

Reply to
eCaVeMaN

Perry Noid (nice!) wrote about the infamous whistle related to the heater system. That stops momentarily when you adjust the temperature control, but there is some speed-dependence to the pitch. Drove me nuts when I drove my 240 in the winter for the first time. "What's that noise!?!?!?"

The driveshaft bearing will continue to make the noise if you pop into neutral and coast, unlike transmission noise. That could help isolate that (at least with an automatic- dunno whether that would work with a manual). Wheel bearings often sound different turning one way or the other.

Reply to
Tim McNamara

Yes, sounds like hanger bearing noise symptoms to me too.

Reply to
Mike F

I've been following the responses on a browser that can no longer post to usenet. I'm skeptical of the heater valve, because my bat-like ears tell me that this is a bearing noise of some sort, and involves too much mass to be a whistling pipe or valve. Still, I'll try what was suggested when next I drive the car, on Friday. The carrier bearing seems the most likely culprit; I just wasn't sure that it would display that much noise, do it only in very cold weather, do it for several years, and still not vibrate...

Reply to
Michael Cerkowski

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