# Car sounds like a freight train **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** windstar, ford\ **Created:** [March 20, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336 "2010-03-20T03:36:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cchbrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@cchbrad](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cchbrad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/1 "2010-03-20T03:36:04Z")
My 2002 Windstar sounds like a freight train. The faster I drive, the louder the noise -it’s absolutely deafening. It’s not engine/transmission related - very quiet when stopped or in park. It’s not brakes/tires. No change in sound when I turn a corner. What could it be and is it a safety issue? ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/2 "2010-03-20T04:05:06Z")
Have you looked carefully under the vehicle for something dragging?? ---
**Author:** ![mark9207](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mark9207](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mark9207)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/3 "2010-03-20T04:09:22Z")
Have your wheel bearings checked. If it sounds almost like your driving on rumble strips all the time, it is almost certainly a bad wheel bearing (or two). They can be quite deafening. I would get it fixed ASAP. When they get noisy, they can quickly become a safety problem if they fall apart or lock up while you’re driving the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![cchbrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@cchbrad](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cchbrad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/4 "2010-03-20T21:13:29Z")
Thanks Mark9207! I heard that if the noise stops when turning, then it is wheel bearings. Do you agree? Any chance it could axel or even drive train? Thanks much! ---
**Author:** ![rebecca.us.com\_185750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e36b37/32.png) [@rebecca.us.com\_185750](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rebecca.us.com_185750)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/5 "2023-06-25T03:29:21Z")
My car is making the same exact noises. Did you ever find out what it was ? ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/6 "2023-06-25T12:45:08Z")
The OP has not posted anything in this forum for more than 13 years, so your best chance for getting useful advice is to start your own **new** thread, being sure to include the following: Make Model Model year Odometer mileage Exactly when you hear the noise (low speed, high speed, turning…) Where the noise seems to emanate from (front, back, underneath…) What types of repair attempts have already been done to try to solve the problem ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/7 "2023-06-25T21:59:20Z")
Concur, @rebecca.us.com_185750 should start a new thread for best results. Click “maintenance/repairs” upper left, then “new topic” upper right. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/8 "2023-06-25T22:31:01Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > start a new thread for best results. See if you can find your way back to that new discussion, you read it before it was deleted. [Train chugging noise - Maintenance/Repairs - Car Talk Community](https://community.cartalk.com/t/train-chugging-noise/191297) ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-sounds-like-a-freight-train/46336/9 "2023-06-25T22:53:55Z")
Going back 13 years though, I would disagree that it is not an engine or transmission issue simply because it didn’t do it when sitting in park. Could very well be a drive train issue, or wheel bearings or even dragging something or one of the plastic shields dragging on the ground. If you put it in neutral while driving and see if the noise goes away.