Weird things happen at -25 C (1 Viewer)

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aamiggia

aamiggia

Joined
Nov 30, 2004
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Location
Moncton, NB
Lately we've had Alberta weather in Toronto.

The last few cold days (-20 or lower) my LX450 makes a buzzing noise once started. The noise lasts for a second or 2. I'm not sure what it is, but it is short lived. :confused:

- This morning it was -25 C and the buzzing noise lated for about 5 seconds. I'm worried that it a pulley that sticking and the belts are slipping over it until the belt warns up and can turn the pulley. Is this normal or do I have to check the pulleys?

- The tranny is turning, but I'm only crawling along. I guess the fluid is so cold the torque converter, well doesn't convert too well. Is there a way to help the tranny warn up? :idea: How about leaving the 4wd selector in Neutral and the truck in drive. Then reving the engine.

- The other thing is the parking brake doesn't totally disengage. It is most of the way down, but the light is still on.

- Oh ya, the door grease seems to get sold and the locks don't work with the key, only remote entry. The power antena does not come up and of course the windows are frozen.

Frozen in Canada
 
yea strange things happen at -25, I would guess that your P/S fluid is thick and not moving well and is creating your noise. I would not run the truck until your temp guage starts moving or until you are blowing warm air. This will also allow the Tranny ATF to move and warm up. I new this old boy in Carcross in YT canada and he had a temp guage installed on his Chevy tranny to allow the tranny fluid to get slightly warm before he moved his Van. So One suggestion is to get a Hand throttle and then after the engines RPM's start to lower raise it back up to 1300-1500 for 5-10 minutes and this will allow the tranny to get warmer faster. This whole process in the morning could take 15-20 of warm up time before you move.

Strange things happen at colder temps. On the North slope of Alaska, they will not move drill rigs after -45 F with no wind chill(usually no wind at those temps any way). The reason is that the steel becomes soft and will bend allowing the towers to fall over with out braking the metal. Almost like a blow torch was heating the metal up. Werif stuff. later robbie
 
I have had that happen twice. I think it's the starter. It only lasted a couple seconds the times it did it on my truck, but it happend when it was 10 degrees outside.
 
I had this happen on my '97 when it wasn't even that cold, just about zero. It was exactly as you described a buzzing for a second or two. I figured it was the starter, I think it's so cold it isn't retracting quickly enough so once the engine is started the flywheel grinds on it as it pulls away, which it probably does a touch of normally, but with the cold everything moves slower so it gets more grinding time, atleast that's what I always figured it was, never had it happen at all with temps above about 10 degrees.

Good Luck!
 
experienced it this yesterday morning as well, when it was 17 degrees...for a split second and stopped.. usually let the 80 warm up to under 1000 rpms then drive off...also experienced the crawling along as well....
 
Yeah when it was real damn cold here I couldn't even get in my car. The doors were frozen shut and the key locks were frozen so i had to heat them up to get in to the 80.
 
I have the same problem. When it is really cold it makes this whine on startup for a few seconds. Then it goes away and everything is fine.

I remember there was a long post on this "whine" about a year ago. One guy recorded it and shared it with everyone on the board so we could compare the sound. We all agreed it sounded the same.

I think we concluded it was the power steering pump and that it was not that serious. I'll try to find the post.
 
I have the same noise when it is 0F or below. For me, the colder it is, the longer the noise lasts. I agree with Robbie, it is the p/s pump and the fluid within. It is my guess that what you are hearing is cavitation within the p/s pump. If you have the same symptoms as myself, you will feel the vibration in the steering wheel and the steering wheel will be more difficult to turn while the noise is happening. Once the noise is gone, ease in turning the wheel will be normal again.
 
Yeah when it was real damn cold here I couldn't even get in my car. The doors were frozen shut and the key locks were frozen so i had to heat them up to get in to the 80.
Click to expand...

I spent a lot of time in Gwinnet County, GA and it never got "cold" :D

It was really funny to see how people react to snow in Atlanta. Nobody can drive in 1" of snow and there are hundreds of accidents. :doh:

You'd be amazed how us Canucks handle a vehicle in the snow, unless your from a big city, then we've all like Atlanta drivers.
 
Yeah its true. Us Georgians freak out when there is one inch of snow. It's hilarious all schools and bussinesses close in 1 inch. Where you are that is probably an amazing day! Haha but there are some days when it gets pretty dang cold and things freeze.
 
Don't leave out the ABS selftest factor; its operations might be more pronounced as it's getting colder.

Just a thought,
Frank.
 
You might want to search for the "coolant preheater" that Bjowett posted a couple weeks ago. The use of this heater in conjunction w\a block heater should keep things warm enough under the hood to fix your problems. Might run your power bill up a bit but not to bad.
Dan
 
I'd have to go with sjcruiser on this one. I've had this buzzing noise the past 2 years, it reminds me of the abs self test that a few of my vehicles do, except at 0F it does it for about 10 sec.
 
Must be normal but have always wondered what the hell it is.
 
Yes, sounds like the power steering. Only happens when it is cold, and only for a few seconds..
 
was 80F yesterday out here... +25C or so...
but don't move to the PRK, guys, way too crowded already...
(although we could use some more good ole' boys out here for sure...!)
 
aamiggia said:
Lately we've had Alberta weather in Toronto.


- The tranny is turning, but I'm only crawling along. I guess the fluid is so cold the torque converter, well doesn't convert too well. Is there a way to help the tranny warn up? :idea: How about leaving the 4wd selector in Neutral and the truck in drive. Then reving the engine.

Frozen in Canada
Click to expand...

This is a case where synthetic ATF and Gear fluids would make a difference. The ATF is about the viscosity of thick syrup at these temps and is not pumping well. Don't forget you are also turning the front and rear diffs and transfer case which are also full of very thick cold oil. As others have suggested, you might let it idle for a few minutes before driving off. You may want to consider changing to Synth in the driveline this summer to prevent this from happening next year.
 
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