Whining/whistling noise

[KadenGT]

i am curious as to why my GP GT sounds like it has a supercharger when it accelerates, i only does it during any sort of acceleration never when turning unless my foot is on the gas pedal. i don't believe its the power steering. i asked a guy at the parts store he said it could possibly be the intake manifold gasket cause its plastic. is that a common thing on these engines? i would also like to ask what are common issues with the 3800 i know its a strong engine but everything has small flaws.

[FordMan77]

Check your transmission fluid level and condition. Is it low? Still red or brown/black?

Transmissions can whine when the filter needs to be changed due to fluid starvation to the pump. The whine you hear may very well be the trans. pump whining.

And no, I've never heard the LIM gaskets causing an S/C type whine. If they are bad the car will run rough and you will be loosing coolant.

[BillBoost37]

Always follow an FM suggestion. And also check that the pcv cap has it's o-ring and that there is an o-ring on the bottom of the pcv as well.

[FordMan77]

Also, since I just reread your post, you asked about common issues on the 3800 motor. I'll give you what I know of, but sure I'll miss some as I haven't seen it all.

LIM gasket failure- replace them with the updated ALUMINUM GM gaskets
UIM cracking around EGR pipe internally and filling motor w/ coolant- could cause possible hydrolock
UIM cracking around coolant ports in TB area- replace the UIM w/ updated design
Leaking fuel quick disconnect fittings on the fuel rail
Leaking injector o-rings- usually the result of a changed UIM and not changing the o-rings
Leaking front and rear valve covers- will leak oil onto the front exhaust manifold and could pose a fire risk. Change the VC gasket and the GROMMETS that go around the bolts.
Bad engine or trans mounts- the stock ones are fluid filled and are usually dead around 100K or so.
Wheel bearings (specifically the front ones)- known to wear and cause ABS/Trac lights to pop up on dashboard
Loosing 4th gear (Overdrive) on transmission- Result of a non-hardened 4th clutch hub install by GM at the factory. The small splines that engage 4th will shear off eventually and all you will get is a short RPM spike when it is supposed to shift to OD then you will see RPM around 3K @ 60mph.
Coolant elbows- These are plastic and are known to leak. Some years have 1, some have 2. You can see one of them if you look at the passenger side of the motor around the tensioner assembly going into the LIM.
Crankshaft Position Sensor- If you notice your car randomly dieing on you and the tach drops to zero before the motor actually quits running then this is a sure sign the CKPS is on the way out. Pull the balancer and replace it.

[KadenGT]

pretty sure its the trans cause i went out and checked it and its brown so im gonna change the filter and fluid..its also a little low so im gonna put some fluid in it until i can change the filter. do you have any recommendations on what brand of fluid

[FordMan77]

No particular brand per se, but when I did mine I got it from the dealer since I was already there for something else. I put Dex 6 in it, even though the original fluid was Dex 3. There has been much debate on which fluid to use in the older cars but I haven't noticed anything odd with mine as far as slipping and whatnot and my trans temp per my gauge stays around 180 or less, depending on outside temp, traffic, etc.

I do know that the Valvoline brand of Dex 6 for the Fords smells burnt fresh out of the bottle for some reason, so I stay away from that one.

And FYI, your transmission pan has a REUSEABLE gasket on it, providing that it is not torn or anything so you should be good to just clean it off and slap it back on when you finally drop it to replace the filter.

[KadenGT]

thanks for the your help