'98 T4R LTD 4WD, 3.4L Auto. 225K miles.
I've come across two things that started happening this morning while driving to work.
#1. After about 5 minutes of driving, I started to notice that the sound of the air going through the intake system sounded much louder. Sounded almost like I had not attached the air intake tube after cleaning the throttle body. But nothing has been touched and everything is attached and tight.
This louder sound happens whether the transmission is in P, N, or D. I do not notice any meaningful drop in engine performance, but the sound is definitely louder.
#2. When fully stopped in traffic with the transmission in D, I get a very mild buzzing coming through the transmission like your cell phone would feel like if it was set to vibrate instead of ringing. Not a jarring vibrate, just a low level buzzzz. Shifting to N makes it go away.
So here's what I found when I started to investigate. My oil level was low. Below the L mark of the dipstick. Got it back within range and no change in the 2 conditions above.
I do smell a slight burning smell under the hood, like a valve cover gasket is leaking, but both of those were done at 196K miles. It's possible the mechanic may have done a subpar job. But the half moons were part of the job. The last oil change was with Castrol synthetic oil vs conventinal 5W-30. Don't see any visible leaks even in the back of the valve covers. Any thoughts on the oil loss?
Water pump, timing belt, 3 fan belts, thermostat, camshaft seals, and tensioner, idler, pulley were done at 214K miles. I've read other posts where those were mentioned as failed items that may have caused my sort of symptoms. Same mechanic did that work.
My transmission fluid was flushed at 222K. Previous flushings were done at 179K, 145K, 124K, 100K, 64K (did some cross country towing during the summers so I was very proactive on replacing the fluid after arriving at my destination). No problems with the transmission until today.
So I'm at a loss the explain either or both. Would appreciate your thoughts, especially if I missed some low hanging fruit fixes that escaped my attention.
I've come across two things that started happening this morning while driving to work.
#1. After about 5 minutes of driving, I started to notice that the sound of the air going through the intake system sounded much louder. Sounded almost like I had not attached the air intake tube after cleaning the throttle body. But nothing has been touched and everything is attached and tight.
This louder sound happens whether the transmission is in P, N, or D. I do not notice any meaningful drop in engine performance, but the sound is definitely louder.
#2. When fully stopped in traffic with the transmission in D, I get a very mild buzzing coming through the transmission like your cell phone would feel like if it was set to vibrate instead of ringing. Not a jarring vibrate, just a low level buzzzz. Shifting to N makes it go away.
So here's what I found when I started to investigate. My oil level was low. Below the L mark of the dipstick. Got it back within range and no change in the 2 conditions above.
I do smell a slight burning smell under the hood, like a valve cover gasket is leaking, but both of those were done at 196K miles. It's possible the mechanic may have done a subpar job. But the half moons were part of the job. The last oil change was with Castrol synthetic oil vs conventinal 5W-30. Don't see any visible leaks even in the back of the valve covers. Any thoughts on the oil loss?
Water pump, timing belt, 3 fan belts, thermostat, camshaft seals, and tensioner, idler, pulley were done at 214K miles. I've read other posts where those were mentioned as failed items that may have caused my sort of symptoms. Same mechanic did that work.
My transmission fluid was flushed at 222K. Previous flushings were done at 179K, 145K, 124K, 100K, 64K (did some cross country towing during the summers so I was very proactive on replacing the fluid after arriving at my destination). No problems with the transmission until today.
So I'm at a loss the explain either or both. Would appreciate your thoughts, especially if I missed some low hanging fruit fixes that escaped my attention.
