this morning, i jacked up my tribute to take a look at what sounds (from info on this forum) like it might be problems with the front stabilizer bar. saw nothing that appeared wrong, loose or worn. [>:]
when driving the car a couple hours later, it was making a growling noise![:@] it only does it when it's in first and 2nd - when the engine automatically shifts to 3rd, it stops. I cannot get it to make the noise in park (but can get it to make the noise while sitting still ifi have it in 'drive' but my foot on the break - i had originally wondered if it was tires, so this got me off that thought). to me, this would lead me to believe that it is not the engine but rather the transmission. i haven't checked anything out yet - but wanted to check on here and see if anyone has any suggestions (i didn't see any other posts that sounded similar).
any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated - -
ooh - i've got an 03 tribute, v6.
Thanks and Happy New Year!! (hopefully this is not a sign of my year to come!!!)

 

sounds like the transmission! i had the transmission in our 01 tribute replaced 4 times, all under warranty though.
good luck

 

ok - so, what this comes down to is that i'm a complete dumbass. when i jacked up the car, i used a frame cross brace piece, not an actual sturdy piece of frame (wanted to be in the center of the car - it is what i saw). well that piece was directly beneath the transmission - - it bent it. so, when torque was put on the transmission, the transmission would move and hit the bent portion and vibrate. that is all. simple fix of bending it back as best as possible. i feel so dumb!! [&o]
but, i'm quite happy it was my stupidity and not something actually wrong with the vehicle!!
thanks for your help!