Whining noise coming from engine (95 Q45)

[mista808]

well, as the title states i have a whinning noise coming from my engine, it sounds like a power steering pump whine, but its not the power steering pump.. power steering fluid is full, and when i turn the steering wheel, the whinning does not get louder, power steering pump is not the problem.... the noise goes with the engine rpms, im thinking its a pulley or tensioner or a ilder... i hopeing it is not the water pump, or even worse something behind the cover (i.e. dealing with the timing chain or something...) tomorrow im going to take off each drive belt and see if one of the accessories is the problem. can someone shead some light on my problem, or if someone has had a similar problem? all help is greatly appreciated...

[mista808]

did a little bit more research and found that the water pump a has a weep hole, when the water pump goes bad, it begins to leak coolant from this weep hole. hopefully maybe its the alternator begining to crap out?

[Q451990]

I think it's more likely an idler pulley bearing. I have never heard of an OEM alternator failing with a whine... usually it's a bad stator or diode pack. Idler pulleys will sound exactly like a whine.... you might also hear a belt squeal at high RPMs (Redline) as it momentarilary locks up. I would get a mechanic's stethoscope and check the noise at each pulley, an at each belt driven accessory.



http://www.harborfreight.com/c...41966

[mista808]

well i was able to get my car on the alignment rack, lift it up, take off the lower cover and get a good listen in. i used my coworkers stethoscope on all th pulley tensioners and no noise coming from any of them. put it around the a/c between the clutch and the compressor and bingo... my stongers guess is the clutch bearing because when i scoped the compressor housing there was NO noise, but when i brought it to the front of the compressor right where the clutch it, noise... luckly my pulley tensions are fine, no sign of wear.... my work can get me a new clutch bearing for about $70... maybe the tech can get it cheaper... thanks

[Q451990]

Unusual, but I'm glad you found it!

Heath

[maxnix]

around the a/c between the clutch and the compressor and bingo... my stongers guess is the clutch bearing because when i scoped the compressor housing there was NO noise, but when i brought it to the front of the compressor right where the clutch it, noise...

Well done and an uncommon failure. I am sure we will see more soon.

[xmateo]

I think it's more likely an idler pulley bearing. I have never heard of an OEM alternator failing with a whine... usually it's a bad stator or diode pack. Idler pulleys will sound exactly like a whine.... you might also hear a belt squeal at high RPMs (Redline) as it momentarilary locks up. I would get a mechanic's stethoscope and check the noise at each pulley, an at each belt driven accessory.

I am getting a whine noise as well, I believe from my top two idler pulleys. When listening with a stethoscope, I notice a rythmic sound. When the belts were off and pulley in my hand, I listen by ear to the pulley spin. It appears to be a similar sound as the whine I hear from the drivers seat - just much less. I don't believe I should hear this subtle grinding hiss sound coming from a pulley when I spin it by hand, should I??

The two lower idler pulleys make no noise when spinning by hand. They just have different pitches when listening through the stethoscope when spinning at full speed.

Are the upper two pulley bearings going bad?

[maxnix]

Yes! Well done! Stress of belts under tension magnifies tiny flaws when the bearings are not loaded.

Any deviation from perfect is failure. Replace with top quality bearings (per TexasOil's posts) so you don't have to go back in until a belt wears out. Why all belts are replaced at once even if some have some more life. It is labor and time that is expensive, not parts.
Modified by maxnix at 7:27 AM 8/17/2008

[goody90q45]

.....The two lower idler pulleys make no noise when spinning by hand. They just have different pitches when listening through the stethoscope when spinning at full speed.

Are the upper two pulley bearings going bad?

It won't hurt anything to run the engine for a minute minus one belt at a time until you find the bad pulley or confirm your suspicions about the top two pulleys. New pulley bearings out of the box are quiet and have some resistance when spinning them by hand. A new bearing might spin only 2 or 3 revolutions with no noise while a good used bearing will spin for 10-15 seconds and quietly. Bad bearings grind.

If you have a used bearing that's binding or making any kind of noise it's time for replacement. It can sieze up at any time and take out a more expensive component with it or go on for years irritating the heck out of you every time you start the car. As Brian said, with tension on the belts the bearing noise will be amplified but drowned out by the engine noise. Your remove and test by hand method is telling you to replace them.

Non-dealership replacement OEM bearings are available for $10-$15 each or less (search) and if you have access to a hydraulic press you'll save yourself big bucks for less than an hour's labor. It beats paying about $90 a pulley from the stealership. Good luck

[xmateo]

Thanks for your input. I just hope the problem is resolved by replacing the pulleys (don't have a press, so that's my next best option). Hope there's not chance this is the water pump or something else I hope.

Unfortunately, I bought the parts in person at the stealership because I couldn't wait for the shipping. I'm saving the labor costs though.

I only tested by hand because I had the belts off - the top two pulley's have to come off to get the belts off. Testing one pulley at a time with one belt proved difficult with the screech of the belts (a completely different story there). I was too hasty to get the belts done and everything put together to see if problem was resolved (I had replaced the fan clutch and fan too).

If at 123k miles, the pulleys lifespan is usually over, then I have no prob replacing. Just trying to spare doing more ($) than I have to for the time.

[xmateo]

stethoscope .... put it around the a/c between the clutch and the compressor and bingo... my stongerst guess is the clutch bearing because when i scoped the compressor housing there was NO noise, but when i brought it to the front of the compressor right where the clutch it, noise... thanks

I had the exact same problem - the compressor clutch is gone. Had originally thought the tensioner was to blame, repaced it and still had the grinding whine. Took the belt off complete, and BAM! No bad noise!

Now we look at the difficulty to replace the clutch - is it a DIY'er? Dealer wants $326 for the part; $247 online. The higher price dealer in town in also install for another $350.

Any one know any specialty AC repair shops in Phoenix? I'm certiain I can do better that the dealership. zer...ote=1#

[mista808]

well i work at goodyear, i work on cars when im not at work so on a scale from 1-10, id say 2... take off the compressor belt, 10mm bolt that holds the a/c clutch to the compressor, gear pull the clutch off, remove the c-clip, then the gear puller to pull the bearing off the compressor shaft... i thought it was eazier than i thought it would be. the bearing i bough from out local jober was like $25....

[xmateo]

So, you replaced the bearing - that's it? Did you use a 3 prong gear pull?

A "2" I assume is "easy". How much time did this take you?