I have a 2004 X Type (90,000 miles) which has developed a high pitched whine. The symptoms are;
[ul][*] Very high frequency[*] Frequency increases with road speed[*] Frequency is independent of engine speed[*] Starts at around 30 mph then whines all the way to 70 mph and beyond[*] The noise stops if I lift off the throttle or shift into neutral (it's an Auto 3.0L)[*] The noise remains constant while cornering or weaving left-right[*] It seems like it may be worse when the weather is cold[*] Other than the noise the car drives fine
[/ul]

I made a short video of the noise to let you hear it.

I have searched on this a fair bit and found one thread which discussed it, but no real solutions posted.

Any help diagnosing the problem would be great - Thanks.

 

With that many miles..My guess or a place to start lookingwould be the transfer case..

Nice job with the video BTW...

 

Prop Shaft center bearing? Only a guess as you say it's worse when cold. If TC, shouldn't really matter what the outside temperature is but that prop shaft centre bearing, when it goes,is notorious for whining at temperatures below 35-40 degrees. Unless it has already been replaced? I think '04 still hadquestionable ones. Tech help?

 

Good point, I missed the temp part..But as it warmed up from use, wouldn't the noise subside too?...But in the case of the center bearing, the whole two part Prop shaft (front and rear of the bearing)is part of the deal, you can't just get the bearing..FYI

 

Oh yah, I know that one. Most dealerships have them readily available in stock as they know it to. Were they corrected by '04 or was it not until '05 MY? And yes, the whine subsides a bit as it warms up but not a lot of heat generated at that center bearing.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Is there a definitive test that I can do to make sure it's the driveshaft bearing? I can't just remove the drive to the rear axle can I. Changing a drive shaft sounds like a job I could handle, but I just want to be confident that that's the problem before I start swapping out parts.

 

It has been suggested here somewhere on another thread, but similar topic, to find a large gauge hypodermic needle and syringe to inject some lube oil into the bearing, through it's rubber seal..this may quiet it down for a while to better prove that the noise is coming from it.. If you have a Tractor Supply or farmer's Co-op around you, they can sell you one like that, so long as you explain what you are gonna do with the needle.

 

I used the needle a couple of weeks ago on mine and shot some bearing grease into the seal. It's a needle attachment that has a standard fitting for any grease gun. Most auto parts shops have them. It seems to have helped the noise but it's still there. Last year the whine would stick around for the first couple of miles of driving, now it usually goes away after a half mile or so. I'm sure that I'll replace the driveshaft sooner or later but the extra grease will hopefully buy some time.

 

How far away is your nearest Jag dealership? Leave it over night, and then have a tech drive it. They'll recognize the sound.

 

Hey there 302tt..........welcome to the forum
I had the same symptoms on my 02 X at 25k miles so you have done well to last this long. I believe it was the tc too and was more noticeable when the temp started to drop and always from cold.
Check out the FAQ sections as there have been numerous write ups about it.

Jim

 

Past weekend I tried the same but the seal was rock hard. There was no way it can be penetrated short of drilling. Was the seal soft enough? Did you go from the rear or the front side? The seal I saw was orange color.

I'm wondering if there is market for someone to just replace the bearing. Surely replacing perfectly good u-joints and shafts does not make sense.

 

How timely! My '02 with about 55,000 miles on it just started doing this 3 days
ago. It was cold, live in Maine. It went away after about 5 miles. I went out
yesterday and it was doing it again. The sound does change with RPM but
does seem to just disappear below 30 mph??? When it happend yesterday
I took my foot off the gas, shifted into netural and the sound went away. I
shifted back into drive and the sound never came back??? I'll have to see
what happens today.

I'm thinking more transmission than TC or center bearingmaybe torque converter???
I don't think the torque converter locks up until the engine gets up to tempright?
Seems no one has said injecting grease in the seal has actully eliminated the problem.
I will try to pay more attention to the temp gauge and see when the sound goes away.
?????????

 

This problem is so irritating. I've had my prop shafts replaced a couple of times, transfer case replaced, and rear diff replaced and last week as soon as it got really cold, the whine came back again.

 

I greased the bearing from the front (engine side) of the car. From that side there was a black rubber seal that I could puncture with the needle point. It was stiff rubber but not too tough to get through. I greased it from a few different points. It certainly made a difference and will hopefully by some time before I need to replace it completely.

It seems like Jaguar does this on purpose with the parts to make an extra buck. Instead of selling the bearing they will only sell you the whole driveshaft. Instead of rebuilding transmissions and transfer cases they will put a whole new unit it. It's unfortunate and I'm sure it turns away a lot of people from going back to the brand.

 

Yes, Bo, I understand that the gauge is for engine coolant temp.
However, often, ECM programming does not allow the Torque
converter to lock up until the engine reaches a certain temp. I also
know there is a coolant temp sensor that is independant from the
coolant temp sender for the gauge on the dash. (I may as well
also mention I have a diploma in Automotive Servicing and and a
degree in Electronics so I do understand general engine management
systems) I'd say the fact thay the person above has had everything
"downstream" of the transmisson replaced and STILL has the noise
kinda points more in the direction of the tranny. I am also wondering
if the center bearing being greased is taking care of a different noise
all togehter. This noise sounds like a dentist's drillvery high pitched
and increases in speed with engine RPM. The video posted while
excellent, is still hard to hearbut I belive it is the same noise I have.

I will be going out soon and will see what I get for a sound today.

 

Just an idea...There could be a tension (idler) pulley bad, or a Alternator with half the diodes open (that makes a hell of a whine) or a water pump going bad..all of the above mentioned, can create a high pitched whine that is responsive to engine RPMs...again, just something to look into further before looking at a tranny problem....

Unless the sound is only present when in gear...Then,ignore anything I just said...

 

Mine is only present in gear.

And I'm on water pump # 3. [:@]

 

Well my car did not make the noise today. Temps are in the
40's today so the "cold factor" was not there. Will see what
happens when it is cold agian and post then.

 

Lot's of good info in this thread although also a bit disheartening to read of people with recurring problems.

The link to Steve Hannes blog was very informative, and I have added a comment to ask that he count and report back the number of teeth on each gear, in particular the bevel gears which I suspect will be the problem. I can then compare the teeth-meshing frequency for each gear to check if the TC is indeed the source of the whine. I will take the audio track from my video into a frequency analyzer to calculate the frequency versus road speed. The only bit of info that I think I am missing to solve the puzzle then is the rear axle ratio. Does anyone know the rear axle ratio for a 2004 3.0L X Type?

The link also answered my question from earlier "can't I just remove the drive to the rear axle?". Since there is a torque split ratio 61/39% in the TC then zero torque to the rear would mean zero torque to the front so that's not going to work.

Is there a FWD transmission available in North America that will bolt onto this engine. If I could pull a trans from a junk yard and be back on the road for a couple hundred dollars that would be an option to consider at least (all purist Jaguar owners feel free to flame now).[sm=badbadbad.gif]

Also I have booked the car into my local independent garage who specializes in Euro cars. The closest Jaguar dealership was about 60 miles away.