New sound from my trans

[Fourth Horseman]

Heard a new noise from my transmission yesterday when I started my car in the garage. Everything sounded normal but when I put it into reverse there was a kind of "shhhhhhhhhh" noise, almost like the sound of a liquid running through a pump. Hard to describe. It did it in every gear (R, D, etc.) but stopped as soon as I put the trans in park. It did it again this morning as I left for work. Seems to shift and run normally out on the road, and when I get home after being out I no longer hear it, so maybe it's temperature related?

Any ideas? Anything to be concerned about?

EDIT: Also, the trans had the fluid and filter changed 6,000 miles ago.

[Mad4Macs]

almost like the sound of a liquid running through a pump. Hard to describe.

I was a Navy mechanic, and if you're describing something that sounds like hydraulic fluid squeezing through a pump, you're hearing the noise that preceeded all 3 of my tranny failures.
The last time it crapped out, I took it in as soon as the noise started, and I still had a complete rebuild.
Good luck!

[Fourth Horseman]

I was a Navy mechanic, and if you're describing something that sounds like hydraulic fluid squeezing through a pump, you're hearing the noise that preceeded all 3 of my tranny failures.
The last time it crapped out, I took it in as soon as the noise started, and I still had a complete rebuild.
Good luck!

Yikes. :eek: Thank god for the extended warranty, I guess.

Did yours have the noise go away when it warmed up like mine does? I've got less than 24,000 miles on the car. If the tranny packs up this early I'm really going to be depressed. :depress: What I wouldn't give for a 6 speed manual in this car.

[fastblackmerc]

Yikes. :eek: Thank god for the extended warranty, I guess.

Did yours have the noise go away when it warmed up like mine does? I've got less than 24,000 miles on the car. If the tranny packs up this early I'm really going to be depressed. :depress: What I wouldn't give for a 6 speed manual in this car.
Have you checked the tranny fluid level?
What kind of fluid did they / you put in after it was serviced?

[MENINBLK]

fastblackmerc is right.

Check the fluid level.
If the tranny was serviced recently, there could have been an air pocket
that was released and now your tranny could be a 1/2 - 1 quart low.

When I was working in a Buick Dealership, every car we did a tranny service on,
we drove on the highway at least for 5 miles just to make sure the Torque Converter was burped.
Then we triple checked the fluid level before giving the car back to the customer.
It reduced the number of returns, but every once in a while we would get one that was about 1/2 quart shy...

[Fourth Horseman]

Yup, I did check the level and when warm it's right up to the full mark. The fluid on the stick looks nice and clean. I hope it's nothing serious. I might bounce this one off the service guys at my dealership to see what they think. Though I'm sure I'll just get "It's normal" like they say about everything else.

I don't know for sure what fluid the dealer put back in. I would assume (hope) they put Mercon V in there. If they goofed and put the wrong fluid in, mixing Mercon III with the Mercon V still in the tranny for instance, would it cause noise like this? Or would it just burn up the tranny or something? And would it take 6,000 miles to manifest itself?

Thanks for the suggestions guys. When it comes to auto transmissions I'm mostly clueless. Check the fluid level regularly and get it serviced every 18 thousand or so. That's about all I know. :o

[Directedby]

Good luck. My dealer told me my tranny is no longer under warranty because of the 4:10 gears.

[Fourth Horseman]

Good luck. My dealer told me my tranny is no longer under warranty because of the 4:10 gears.

If my Mercury dealership notices and balks I'll take it to the Ford dealership that installed my gears. It's the reason I had them done there in the first place, they said they will honor the warranty since I used Ford gears and had them do the work.

[RF Overlord]

If they goofed and put the wrong fluid in, mixing Mercon III with the Mercon V still in the tranny for instance, would it cause noise like this? Or would it just burn up the tranny or something? And would it take 6,000 miles to manifest itself?

Scott, if they had inadvertently put in Mercon instead of Mercon V, you *might* notice a slightly different shift feel, and you would probably develop the infamous TCC shudder after a while, but it wouldn't harm anything, especially if all they did was a pan drop and filter. If they had done a complete flush with Mercon, I would think about getting it changed as soon as convenient, but, again, I doubt it would have actually damaged anything.

[Fourth Horseman]

Scott, if they had inadvertently put in Mercon instead of Mercon V, you *might* notice a slightly different shift feel, and you would probably develop the infamous TCC shudder after a while, but it wouldn't harm anything, especially if all they did was a pan drop and filter. If they had done a complete flush with Mercon, I would think about getting it changed as soon as convenient, but, again, I doubt it would have actually damaged anything.

Nope, no difference in shift feel after the service. For this first service I had them just drop the pan and replace the filter. I figured I'd do a complete flush and such at the next service (36,000 mile).