Whinning Noise

Have Ford windstar 2002 3.6L OHV V6,....has started making whinning noise once I get to 50kms and gets louder if I go faster,...Brakes also making whumping noise when applied,can feel this in the steering column also,..does anyone have Idea what could be causing this?????Could this be the wheel bearings or the brakes rubbing on the disks from faulty brakes,....Had brakes replaced in 2006,could they be worn out already????Help!!!:confused:

Does the whining noise happen while turning or when going straight? If whining when turning, you need to replace the P/S fluid. did this on my '03 recently.

the thumping sound might be warped rotors. Did you get new ones when you had the brake job? Mine needed to be turned. Now it is not bad.

Hello ,...Had The Van looked at today(2002 Windstar),....Going to cost approx. 1300.00 to get everything fixed,...Was front wheel bearings,pads need to be replaced,rotors are warped,need to be replaced also,they found vapour leak between gas tank and the engine,need new battery plus new spark plugs are needed,new brake light switch also and today is my B-day,...

LOL,...(not really),...

could be worse,could have beed tranny!!!!!:cool:
Thanks for the replys from you all,...
This is an amazing forum!!!!! :smile:

wow, that's a lot of $$$. are you sure you cannot do some of the repairs? Also, are you sure it's the bearings? that's pretty early for the bearings to go bad.

while you don't mention about the milage I too wonder about bearings. I would totally skip having the rotors turned and just replace with new. The min thickness on my 2000 3.8 is 24.75mm IIRC and that's only slightly thinner than when new. As they get thinner the likelyhood of warping increases. Honestly I find I go thru rotors quicker than pads almost :eek7: As previously mentioned, you may need to flush your power steering fluid. Easy job and make a world of difference. If you aren't doing your own brakes, I'd learn. This is something that seems to need doing more often than not on these windstars and can be done with a few tools, a bit of time and learning. Oh, the big bonus is you can do it for a lot less $$ than the shops charge.

Piper

Hello all,..
The mileage on this van is over 150,000 kms and we had taken the van to Midas to get brake pads done in 2006 we where not to happy with them because thereafter we had taken them back to get checked three times because of noise,squeeks and at times had to pump brakes to stop the mushiness of the brakeing,...so after all that we took it to our now new mechanic and was able to fix them without charging us,....also we had semi-metallic pads on before (Midas) put on ceramic pads on,...so don't know if that is why we have to replace now,....Rotors are really warped and he did show me the Bearings(not good)one pad is more worn then the other on both sides of the front,the drums are still good ,just need to be cleaned,...he also said the this pass winter here was really bad and could affect the brakes with all the salt and gravel on the roads,... the Vapour leak he said he has to do A Smoke test????ever hear of this????
Anyways about learning to do this myself,..what tools would I need and what book do I need to get to learn this(Windstar Maintence Book),..And yes this would be a lot easier on the pocket book:confused:

Thanks again for all your replies!!

one of the best services on-line that I've found is www.alldatadiy.com. You can sign up there, pick the age and make of vehicle and for ~$25 you get the same (well almost the same) info that the dealer has. Alldata will outline the process for instance of how to change your brake pads, rotors, drums etc. among all other things. Even if you never turn a wrench, having alldata so you can look at the job to be done is really helpful. I don't have any formal mechanical training but have done a lot of repairs, rebuilds, changes to many cars simply by starting with an accurate information souce like alldata. While the Hanes manuals are helpful, they are inaccurate and contain errors. They also cover many years in 1 book so if you're like me, the car you have is different than the picture and/or description.

As for tools, we could talk for ages about what to buy, what brand, this is a long talk. For starters you'd need a good quality set of jack stands, hydraulic jack, wheel chocks, socket set, wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, torque wrench, pry bars... the list goes on. I tend to buy stuff I don't have as the job requires. Buy the best you can afford. That way while the cost may sting once, you don't have to replace the tool when it breaks due to its inferrior quality. My personal feeling is that while I may have to spend good money on tools I'm saving on the money charged by the dealer so I'm ahead.

As an FYI, I just replaced the rotors and pads on my 2000 windstar a few months back. Cost $120 total for new rotors, new pads and the stuff I used was quality (vs the junk Midas uses).

Knowledge is power!

PIper