The whining noise is now gone! The source was either the front passenger hub which had a grinding sound and would not turn smoothly or the front differential which had a loose center bolt in the flange that allowed it to wobble. I replaced both.
My vehicle is a 1999 4.0SE (Bosch/Thor) and the doner vehicle was a 2002 4.6HSE. Both vehicles had the exact same differentials that i verified by the numbers inside the differential case. The Hub nut, the Hubs, and the front differential was a mammouth job. In the process, I broke my 1/2" breaker bar, a 1/2" socket wrench, and extention. All are supposedly top quality and guaranteed for life. I finally went to a nearby rental company and rented a 3/4" breaker bar and socket and using a 5' galvinized pipe to remove the hub nut. In addition, I rented a pulley and removed the hub which was rusted to the axle. Now I had to return to the salvage yard (breaker) and go through the same process to harvest the front differential and hub. Those parts cost under $200 and while there, I purchased other parts that I can sell to cover my costs. Returningto my garage, I began the process of cleaning the parts, removing the rust and putting everything back together. The rear differential was easy when compared to the front.
The good part is that this whining noise caused me to:
1. Replace the brake pads and bleed the brakes
2.l Replace the transmission filter and fluid. In addition, I got the Transmission oil pan from the doner vehicle in that mine had been welded. It appeared that the previous owner had attempted to add a dip stick to the transmission.
3. Rotated tires
4. Replaced Hubs/wheel bearings
5. Replaced both front and rear differentials
6. Learned that at age 67, I can still bench press a differential
One more British mystery has been solved.
