Is that a Chinook under my hood? 2007 Ford Freestyle

2007 Ford Freestyle 90K miles.

I bought it used and it had a slight helicopter noise coming from under the hood. Mechanics at Ford dealership didn’t find it remarkable. Now, 16 months and 15K miles later, the noise has increased in volume so much over the past 30 days that typical road noise doesn’t disguise it. Folks are giving me looks when I drive by in the parking lot.

I have a clip of the noise posted if you want to take a listen: http://youtu.be/aXWdHdBZJog

I’ve read some posts that this is symptomatic of transmission problems…specifically the insert shaft is grooved, warped, etc. Any ideas?

Thanks for your feedback!

I don’t believe you have a chinook under your hood, as those CH-47 helicopers are quite large and would not fit real well in your engine compartment. The cause of the noise might be able to be narrowed down with a cheap mechanics stethoscope. I think harbor freight has them for about 5 bucks. You car is not old enough to have transmission problems unless it’s been abused in the past. Someone with a little bit of ability should be able to at least verify where the noise is coming from. I listened to your youtube vid and I agree, it is pretty weird.

The only sound that I’ve ever heard that was similar to yours turned out to be a hydraulic clutch fan that was sticking in the “on” position. Have your vehicle checked by a good independent mechanic and he will more than likely find the problem.

Is the noise in synch with the engine RPM or the speed of the vehicle? Or just always there?

Bring the vehicle to an independent auto shop and ask that they inspect for any loose hardware between the torque converter of the transmission and the flex plate on the engine or for a cracked flex plate. Also have them check for any loose mounting hardware between the transmission and the engine.

Tester