I don’t remember if this has been covered yet but I was wondering if anyone has a similar problem.

I have a 2001 f-150 with a 4.6 and about 23,000 miles on it. The past week the average temperature in the morning has been about five degrees, which is the coldest my truck has seen since I baught it new in august of 01. Since the beginning of this extremely cold weather there has been a loud whine that lasts about 1-2 seconds after I first start the truck in the morning and at night. This has never happened before but it has also not been this cold before. Is this normal or is something wrong.


Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks

 

probley just the belt. Engines make alot of weird noises, especially at cold startup. I wouldnt worry aobut it unless it gets worse

 

My power steering pump on my 97 whines badly when temps are under about zero degrees. It lasts for about 5 seconds and then goes away for the day.

 

Mine does it every morning too but then goes away after about 5 secs. It's no biggy.

 

my truck makes the exact same noises in the mornings, and they are REALLY cold lately.

My solution is to turn up the radio really loud, seems to work really well......

 

Hey folks, must be a weather thing. Started my '01 5.4 this morning, temp was -11 and I got the same squeal for 5 seconds or so ! other than that she's runnin good!!!

Have a great one,
edmilk

 

Me Too,

My truck sounds like a tea kettle!! I have about 28k on my '01 and it started to whistle/whine every time it gets real cold. Does anyone know what can fix this?
It only does this once the temp gets near 30°. It happens in Park, Reverse and Drive, so I don't think that it is the tranny. I thought that it might be the belt, but the sound seems to be coming from further aft in the engine compartment. Does anyone have an idea, before I break down and go to the dealer, and get told "that the sound is normal, don't worry about it"

 

I had that noise on my '00, and I have the same on my '03.

It only seems to occur when it is really cold and lasts for around 2 seconds right at start up.

I never really worried about it on my '00, just figuring it was the cold, so I really don't think anything of it with my '03 since it does the same.

Doug.

 

Mine does the same thing when it gets down to -15C or so. Plugging in the block heater helps to reduce the amount of time my truck makes this noise. Temperatures lately have been around -30C where I live. I forgot to plug in my truck the other night and it made the noise for a about a minute. With the block heater pluged in, it will only makes the noise for a few seconds.

 

Like Gopher said, it is your power steering whining. It is no big deal any vehicle will make some weird noises when it gets cold outside.

 

It is not your power steering.

It is your starter. When it is real cold out the relay that provides power to the starter is a little slow to react. So what you are hearing is the starter still spinning after it has disengaged the flywheel.

Not just a Ford thing. My wife's 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan does the same thing.

 

I just wanted to let you guys down in the lower 48 know that with the current temperatures your having there is no cause for concern with your ford trucks. Ford used to come up to where I live in Alaska to do cold weather testing on their vehicles until the whole Firestone thing came about and strapped them for cash. I remember Ford coming up one January-February and our average temp was only between -40F and -50F, and Ford complained that it wasn't cold enough. A couple of weeks before Ford had shown up we had just gone through a major cold spell where the temp had dropped to -70F and I guess they were hoping for that when they showed up. Our vehicles have been tested in extremely cold weather, and will start at temperatures below -50F without having to be plugged in. I do it all the time, and my truck runs absolutely perfect. Yes, I do here noises upon starting it up, but it is normally the power steering whine which you can't do much about. You will hear noises that you have never heard your vehicle make before, but don't lose sleep over it because it is normal. Our vehicles have been tested in far colder temperatures than you guys could ever imagine being in, so if I were you guys I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure most of you also make weird noises when you step outside in cold weather, so why can't our trucks.

If someone can tell me what the minimum temperature our thermometers in our vehicles stop reading at, then they just like my self know what it is like to be in real cold temps. I know what it bottoms at, because the temps where I live are always out of its range for a couple months.

 

No, it is not the starter in my case. I can assure you the noise comes from nowhere near the starter.

 

Gopher

I would have to agree with you on that. My noise does not come from where the starter is located, but hey I live in a sub-arctic climate so what do I know about where my engine noises come from. In my opinion there would be some grinding going on if the starter just keeps spinning for a while. My noise comes from where the power steering pump is located, what about you Gopher?

 

The starter on my GM car sticks when its below about 10 below, so I've heard that noise, and no, its not real pretty!

Yes, it does sound like its from around the power steering pump, not the starter. It is definitely a fluid type whine instead of a gear engagement sound.

Must be getting colder again in AK! Its starting to warm up again here so it can snow a little bit!