Whirling sound from engine

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Jim_Chow

Jim_Chow

V8_Fan
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A whirling noise started coming from the front of my 2003 LX engine this week. I suspect it's either the fan bracket or fan clutch. Vehicle has 222,908 miles, original fan clutch/bracket. At 180,500 miles, I replaced the t-belt, t-belt tensioner, serp belt, timing idler subassemblies #1-2, water pump/gasket+O-rings, thermostat+gasket, PCV valve+grommet, radiator hoses, all OEM toyota parts, long life coolant mixed 50-50 with distilled water. A couple of clues I noticed. After some driving, I pulled into the driveway, exited the vehicle (could hear the whirling), popped the hood, then the fan clutch appeared to engage and whirling sound stopped. After shutting off the engine, I spun the fan with my hand and noted that it has some resistance (doesn't spin effortlessly like a pinwheel), seems to turn smooth. There do not appear to be any coolant leaks, coolant overflow bottle is full, engine temp gauge is in the middle or slightly below all the time. Any thoughts?

Whirl is audible in this video I made:
 
Take the serpentine belt off, and spin the pulleys, fan etc by hand is best way to determine what may be the cause of the noise. If the fan bracket has any movement front to back with belt on and engine running then it needs replacing.
 
Be careful, if that's your fan bracket making that much noise you should get it fixed asap. Have seen several posts on MUD about bracket failing and causing some damage.

^^^ Do what this guy said but another quick trick is to start the motor with the belt off. If the noise goes away then you can narrow it down to an accessory. If the noise stays ( hopefully not ) then its something timing belt related.

Do you know how to remove you belt? Post back here if you need tips on how to do it.
 
^^^ I agree, if the fan bracket fails the fan blades can destroy your radiator, shroud, hoses and other items in your engine compartment.
 
medtro said:
How can fan blades destroy a radiator when fan bracket fails?
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If the bearings is worn enough and the fan starts to wobble it could happen , right? Better yet if the bracket / bearing completley fail and break it could be a bit of s*** show for anything in the fans area ..no? Thought Ive seen a handful of posts about this happening to folks who wait to long to repair bracket
 
Mike NXP said:
If the bearings is worn enough and the fan starts to wobble it could happen , right? Better yet if the bracket / bearing completley fail and break it could be a bit of s*** show for anything in the fans area ..no? Thought Ive seen a handful of posts about this happening to folks who wait to long to repair bracket
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I don't know, that is why I asked. I have lost 2 serpentine belts due to fan bracket failure (bearings seized). No damage to any other parts.
 
medtro said:
I don't know, that is why I asked. I have lost 2 serpentine belts due to fan bracket failure (bearings seized). No damage to any other parts.
Click to expand...
Ah, no s*** you had your fan bracket fail twice? that sucks.. Was it OEM parts that failed?..

Yeah I'd imagine the more likely outcome would be a shredded belt. but if the bearings doesn't seize up and just gets worn out, wobbles, breaks, then it could cause more damage....

Maybe not as likely? Luckily I haven't experience that but have seen a few MUD post where the fan bracket going out does a bit more damage
 
medtro said:
Factory bracket with about 230k miles.
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Damn. I've been cursed with OEM pulleys since I bought my 100 series. I find myself replacing pulleys that are chirping / squeaking / failing after less than 40k miles....I've currently got a timing belt idler pulley noise, again, after only 40ish k miles since I did the t-belt job with all Toyota parts ..

Anyway, back to fan bracket failures.
 
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