Noisier in cold weather?

[Aramis]

Hi all!

I figured i'd ask this since it's been worrying me a little...

My truck is a 2009 Ranger, 2wd, 6cyl 4.0

I bought it new in august 2009, it now has only 4500km(2800miles) on it (it's not my daily driver)

Since the cold weather arrived here (Quebec winters), I noticed the engine makes more noise when accelerating. Sounds like it growls more. Doesnt sound like something is "wrong" with it, but it used to be so quiet I would stall it (manual) from not hearing the engine...

I'm wondering if it's because of the cold weather (sucking in more air) or the engine break-in was just not completely done and now it is... This is my first 6cyl so it may be normal, I don't know!

Since spring is far from here, it seemed like a long time to wait to get an answer!

Cheers, and a merry x-mas to all!

Marc

 

[blh0007]

hey man mine is an ohv 4.0 but it seems to do the same thing for about the first 10 min of driving on a cold morning... i haven't really thought much of it though seen as how my truck has 230,000 miles on it. of course your mornings are probably much colder than this alabama weather. merry christmas to you as well

 

[WIDTIO]

I'm wondering if it's because of the cold weather (sucking in more air) or the engine break-in was just not completely done and now it is... This is my first 6cyl so it may be normal, I don't know!

Well its not "sucking in more air," but the air density is a lot more different. In the cold the air is a lot more dense then when it is hot. Now does that make a difference? It sure does, but in your case is it, well I'm not sure. Can you maybe describe the sound more? The engine will work like a pump and in that case it has a max amount of air that can be inducted into the cylinders, unless it were force inducted such as a turbo or supercharger. Since yours in naturally aspirated the engine will have the same amount of air always.

Usually when you are going through a break in period I believe the engine will run more rich (more fuel in the mixture) I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure. So like you said the noise could just sound different due to it being fully broken in.

Merry Christmas to you too

 

[Selden Truckie 1047]

I have a 2007 XLT with a 4.0 that does the exact same thing in colder weather. I had taken it to a ford dealer about this and they claimed to have lubed the grommets the air box sits on. it worked for about two weeks and the noise came back. I now work at a ford dealer and have had several people complain about this. Not much to really do as it isnt hurting the truck, its just anoying at times.

however, i did notice the sound in my truck became a lot less when i put a K&n filter in the stock airbox, but i still hear it.