Whine sound

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WoodyCreature

WoodyCreature

10 Year 15 Year
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Jun 24, 2008
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First. I've read all the search results, not applicable that I could find.

2005 UZJ ~98k miles
Timing belt and H2O pump at 89k

So about 3 weeks ago started it at work to go home and hear this whine sound coming from under the hood. I hear it in park and in drive. Loudest between 800 rpm (idle) and 1800 rpm driving. I can't tell if it goes away after that or if it's just muffled by engine noise. The sound gets a little louder and a little higher in pitch as I approach ~1400 rpm. Doesn't seem to be related to the A/C and only slightly changes pitch when turning the steering wheel. I say that because I have heard other whine associated with the P/S so it doesn't sound a lot like the culprit but haven't ruled it out (because it does very very slightly alter the pitch). I took to the shop and had the service mgr listen but by the time it made it back to the techs it had stopped apparently because they said 'sounds within spec'.

Fast forward to now and it has randomly started again. Hasn't been cold at all. Upon sticking my head in the engine bay does sound kinda like its coming from passenger side, but hard to tell.

Any ideas appreciated.
 
just thinking outloud (speculating) - a bearing on the fritz may make noise initially and then as it moves around and heats up it gets enough lubrication to quiet down for a bit. (when cool) if you take the drive belt off and spin the all the pulleys look for one with a tad play or roughness or noise etc.

also just speculation but - a bad bearing should be constant noise. i would expect a half bad bearig to be noisy when cold but less noisy when warm (?). if the nature of your intermittent noise is it comes and goes after you're already warmed up then perhaps it's a bad tensioner? i dont know for sure of this is true just what id expect.

also an automoive stethoscope can be helpful when it cones to car noises.

also looking more carefully at the condition of the belt and how its moving when engine is running may give you clues (glazing on v grooves might mean slippage etc).
 
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And just like that it stopped. I got in and left work and it was making the sound but by the time I got off the highway it had stopped. Weird.
 
I am still trying to track this down. It's VERY loud. I thought it was coming from the radio/electronics inside, after unplugging everything it's definitely coming from the front of the motor. Happens when motor cold/hot. It screams in the winter, pretty quite in the summer heat, but it's there.

 
^^^Did some one put a turbo in there?????? Seriously, it is sort of hard to make out for me, but it reminds me of the sound a turbo makes. Can you get it to make that noise when in park/neutral and hitting the accelerator?
op-
I would try an pull the belt like agaisin recommended and check each pully. I still havnt been able to figure out my sound yet either... It is different than yours and every time I take it to a shop it stops making noise.... Very frustrating!
 
Just a long shot, but I have an aftermarket radio installed and the ground must not be set up correctly. If volume is down (radio on), it will still whine and increase in sound consistent w/ RPMs/alternator, etc. Similar in sound to your's.
 
I drove with the radio unhooked, it's coming from the engine bay. It is not as loud in neutral or park. When it's under load (fully loaded with gear, 4 people) it's very loud. I'm not worried about it, don't care anymore, it's there. When something flies off the motor and through my hood I will find out what it is...ha
 
2000UZJ, that is much higher pitched than mine. It does sound electrical in nature. Strange. I'll try to get a video clip if my sound returns. Hopefully it has just fixed itself as sometimes cars do.
 
2000UZJ said:
I drove with the radio unhooked, it's coming from the engine bay. It is not as loud in neutral or park. When it's under load (fully loaded with gear, 4 people) it's very loud. I'm not worried about it, don't care anymore, it's there. When something flies off the motor and through my hood I will find out what it is...ha
Click to expand...

My water pump has just started whistling -simple to isolate if you put your head under the hood and the :princess: revs the engine -only happens on start-up (or may be that's when I am paying attention to engine noise ... (yes, yes, water pump and T-belt out tomorrow -don't ask how many miles :D

Anyway, there are only so many parts that make noise when engine is running ... if you isolate the water pump an other pulley run systems (ac, fan belt, alternator, P/S etc) then I would advise that you check your drive shafts. This is especially if the whine is more pronounced under acceleration (under load). I once had this on my range rover (now sold) and it turned out that the prop shaft had broken its bolts and was grinding around the U-joint. It took me several months to figure this out -almost a year!!! And when I did, I was down to almost one bolt -if it comes from the front, I'd go for the front prop shaft .... -that said, I have my bets on the water pump ...

Goodluck!!!
 
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