98 S70 Auto Transmission Whirring/Whining Sound in high gear

jbsjbs21 · Post by **jbsjbs21** » 27 Feb 2013, 18:38

My 1998 S70 non turbo auto trans has 180K miles on it. Flushed the fluid over 15K miles ago and replaced with synthetic. the level is right and the fluid is clear without an odor. I rebuilt the front end, replaced a C/V axle, and had an alignment over a year ago (mileage ?).
I noticed a whirring/whining sound around 25 mph that increased and decreased volume /frequency with the speed I was going and then would go away below around 20 mph.
To try to find out what the issue is I placed the car on jack stands, put the transmission in neutral and moved the wheels individually. In the forward direction there was a "bearing" moving sound in the transmission (same sound from the same place moving wheels independent of one another).
Then I turned the car on and put in drive. Went through the gears and when I got to the high gear the whirring/whining sound appeared (right after shifting into that gear). Once again it increase in volume/frequency with the speed of the wheels. I listened under the car and the sound was coming from the transmission housing.

There has not been a change in the shifting, drivability, computer trouble codes, etc. from the car - just this annoying sound.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be happening? I'm hoping for good news/quick fixes...

Post by **jblackburn** » 27 Feb 2013, 22:46

Just a worn torque converter/top gear.

Nothing you can do about it really. The noise may come and go, and the transmission will last a good couple years more.

jbsjbs21 · Post by **jbsjbs21** » 28 Feb 2013, 05:22

Ouch!

jbsjbs21 · Post by **jbsjbs21** » 28 Feb 2013, 08:05

A Ford guy in my office suggested that the transmission may be a lock-up type and that I could turn that off to see if it resolves the issue (I drive very short distances in the car every day). Assuming it is this type of transmission - Does anyone know of a way to keep the torque converter from locking?
Thanks