2001 T&C Weird sound when in gear with brake on

[JeffL.]

When the van is in park and idling the engine runs very smoothly. When I put it in Park or Drive, the engine makes a weird sound. i wish I could describe it better, but it makes a womp/womp/womp sound. Put it back in Park and the noise goes away.

Could this be a transmission problem that I'm actually hearing, when you load up the engine/transmission? Other than occasionally not shifting properly (once per month, maybe), it drives fine. The fluid was changed about 20K miles ago. Vehicle has about 85K miles on it.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[DOUGLASNC]

might be worth looking at engine and trans mounts, as I my 99 was making that noise and felt a vibration when in gear and with brake on..would go away when gas was applied.Mine was a lose mount at rear of engine, but there's several mounts on these vans to check ..Maybe have someone help you by holding brake down and shifting from forward to reverse and giving it alittle gas in each gear.Watch the engine and trans for exsessive movement when gas is applied.This may help show where loose or broken mounts may be.Block wheels from movement either direction just in case helper's foot slips off brake!...lol Good luck

[Alphabravo]

I had a similar noise in my 2002. My problem was actually the alternator and I suspect the same with yours. Mine was either a bearing or the clutch making the noise. The noise is always there but it is more pronounced when you're in gear, I don't know why. I just got a reman one from Advance Auto.

Put a hose up the the alternator and your ear to see if that's there the noise is coming from. If you can't hear it in park you will need a helper to put it in gear and hold the brake. Stand beside the van, not in front, of coure, to avoid any accident.
You can put the hose on the tranny as well to see if it is coming from there but I'm going with the alternator on this one. Changing an alternator is better than changing a tranny any day

Good luck and let us know the results.

[RIP]

I would bet Jeffl fixed it some time ago as the thread date is Dec 08. Good info for all though.

[Alphabravo]

Originally Posted by RIP

I would bet Jeffl fixed it some time ago as the thread date is Dec 08. Good info for all though.

Oops. Didn't catch that. It appeared to be a new post since someone just replied today. Thanks, RIP.

[JeffL.]

Hey guys, it's JeffL.

Yes, it was repaired. It was the clutch in the alternator. I had a buddy that worked on alternators and swapped the clutch out in the alternator. problem solved.

(I had no idea that alternators had clutches in them, a/c, yes, alternators, wow.)

Anyway, it was a common problem on these vans from what he told me.

Thanks,
Jeff

[RIP]

Hey welcome back Jeffl. Thanks for posting the fix.