Hello...

I am writing as a last resort by a tired and increasingly angry ranger owner. I have a 2003 Edge the 3.0 Liter V6 and somewhere over the last few months it has been making a loud whistling sound as soon as the truck reaches 2500 RPM.... Anything below or in Neutral, no whistle what so ever. I have been to three mechanics now who cannot pin point the problem, one guy says its the toss up between the throttle body butterfly valve and some other part, both costing $500 to fix but he cannot guarantee the choice so its like a 50/50 gamble. Another mechanic said it was some plastic tube that goes from the intake manifold to the throttle body housing, but the part was replaced and no fix... All mechanics have been saying they have never heard anything like it and even our local ford dealer told them they couldnt suggest a problem...

So as a last resort I really hope someone here has encountered the same problem, coz apart from this the truck is a beauty...

Thanks

 

im gonna guess its a vacuum leak some where check all ur hoses and make sure there tight and connected and have someone in the cab and u get under the hood and listen for the whistle and tell about which area of the motor its coming from

 

Vac leak most likely. i think there is some stuff you can use to check for leaks. but thats really the only thing i could think could make it whistle. unless its one of those far out problems that i hear about every once and a while.
I.E.
Dude buys a F150, and every time he hits a bump he hears a squeaking/ rubbing sound in the rear. has tires checked, replaced, brakes, the whole 9 yards and nothing fixes the squeak, meantime the guy drives the truck for about 10k more miles, (patience of a saint) and finally gets hit in the bedside. it gets a new bedside and as the wrench turners are cutting whats left of this bedside off to replace it, a plastic Coke bottle falls out. it had been rubbing inside the bed since it came from the factory. some dumbass worker must have dropped it in there when the bed was being put together.

could be something like that. but probably not.

 

try taking the air filter and box apart, in a clean area and run it up to 2500rpms. No whistle its some where upstream still a whistle downstream. If you remove the intake hose at the throttlebody, I believe it will throw a code because no air across the MAF but it should let you know if its in the intake hose. It could be anything you just have to either be patient or sell it. Good luck keep looking.

 

Maybe the truck is happy and that's why it's whistling.

 

^^lol get a friend to help you out. Clean your TB. I hope you don't have a spacer lol

 

Make sure you have a clean filter. Have you tried having someone raise the RPMs while you are underneath the hood trying to listen for it?

 

my 3.0 does this too!!!! finally someone who has this problem. my truck has had this problem for a while now, it has gone away tho. i have an intake done up on the rig so i think it may be that but i know that these motors have been known for the air boxes being dirty with leaves and twigs n stuff. but i havent had mine whistle at me for a while. but take apart your intake and clean any carbon buildup in the throttle. that should do it. mine would do it at 2500 rpm with minor or major load, but not in neutral. so try to do a good job cleaning it and hope its not a vacuum leak. i know i am

 

and check the idle air or cams, cams as a last resort

 

Clean or replace the IAC valve, mounted on the throttle body.

 

My dads blazer did that after a new heater core was put in. It would only do it under load. Found out it was a vacuum hose that came disconnected from behind the dash for the heater controls. I figured it out cause whenever you stepped on it all the air from the heater went to the floor vents.

 

figured mine out : it was the way air was entering my intake, since i have a homemade intake it was at just the right angle to put up a nice whistle

 

what would the cams have to do with the whistle???

there is a TSB for a hoot or honking noise caused by the IAC motor. unplug the IAC and see if the noise is still there

 

i've read on many ranger forums that there are bushings or bearings or something around the camshaft, or around camshaft position sensor that wear out and around 90,000 miles or so, depending on the truck, they can wear to the point to where it sounds like a belt squeal or a whistle, at certain rpms.

listening to the description, i dont think it is the cam but anything is possible.

 

youre probably talking about the cam synchro....it makes a chirp noise

 

i believe that'd be the one. i guess the bushings can whistle or something.

 

Is it a constant whistle when it's above 2500 RPM's? My Ranger and my dad's F-150 whistle when you roll into the throttle and hold the RPM's steady before a shift, once the RPM's drop the whistle will go away. It doesn't do it all the time but it's not bothersome either.

 

Our '03 Edge, with the 3.0 of course, is making that noise. Just started. Higher RPM's like you mentioned. Filters look okay. But other than that have not yet had time to get into it. Hope it's something simple....

 

try checkin out your actual intake hoses, then check for a vacuum leak.

 

Soo, it hasnt been asked yet.. Did you install an aftermarket intake kit at all? I know with lots, including mine - they give you a whistle because of the way it sucks air in through the internal hosing.

 

that was the cause of mine

 

did you ever figure out what your problem was sounds like what i have.

 

It's just the air whistling as it gets sucked into the intake you guys are over thinking it way to much. Certain air filters, intakes, tb spacers make the air whistle as it flows thru them