Hi folks, I picked up my XR4 yesterday and have noticed a small amount of what seems to me to be gearbox whine, although it could quite easily be a perfectly normal acceptable noise - tbh it sounds pretty good.

it's most prevalent between 2-3000rpm, before the engine noise kicks in and drowns it out, and manifests itself as a mid-pitch, almost supercharger-sounding whine which increases its note along with the rpm.

I'm just wondering if this is a normal sort of sound?

A lot of people have issues with noisy power steering pumps on these cars .. could possibly be that?

Presumably your car must still be under warranty as the XR4's only hit Australian shores in 2007 .. I'd take it to your local Ford Dealer and get them to check it out before the warranty runs out.

Sure it doesn't have a supercharger?

Do you get a horrid smell inside the car when this happens? If yes, it is the power steering reservoir overheating & under pressure.

This is a problem with the .

It just needs a rest for a while, keeping an eye on the fluid levels when driving it hard.