Help! Belt/Pulley high-pitched whine WITH SOUND

[themightyquinn]

Hey guys, need a little help here.

I have a very VERY loud high pitched whine coming from my engine compartment.

Definitely rpm related, not engine cold/warm related, and not loaded/unloaded related or sitting/driving related (ruling out transmission, etc.). Whine is less loud but present at idle right from startup, and increases in loudness with rpms. Sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine (looking at it) right at the belts. More on the right side (looking at it) near the alternator.

I need belts anyway, but figured if it's not solely the belts (IE tensioner or something) I might as well do that at the same time (the noise is incredibly loud and annoying, I need to fix it ASAP). Figured I'd post up some sound clips and see if someone who knows more about these cars than I do could help me pinpoint this.

First clip is in-car startup and rpm rev. Second is out-of-car rev. Third is out-of-car idle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSBgqB-nYcs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQngRK9EBw8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ZS1e8AlVg

Thanks

[dave45056]

Sounds like a supercharger.
or the bearings in something.
First make sure you have power steering fluid. I'm pretty sure you would have mentioned if it got louder during steering, but just in case.
Next turn on and off the AC and see if the noise changes.
Next I would drop the belt and make sure the sound goes away. Keep in mind this will shut off your accessories and you will get an idiot light for the battery, but you can start the car like this.
If if does go away, turn off the engine and spin the alternator, water pump, PS, AC, and the idlers. See if they feel sloppy or make noises.
Good luck

[CirrusSR22]

This just went bad on mine: http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=25257

I second dave's advice. Remove the belt and spin the various pulleys by hand (idler, tensioner, alternator, power steering).

[cooljess76]

Haven't even listened to the vids yet, but I'll say that your description sounds similar to what happened to me a while back. I had more of a chirp which I later associated with the belt tensioner. However after soaking the belt tensioner with various lubricants, I came to the conclusion that it's supposed to "chirp". This may have been an audible aid to alert you that the water pump or other bearing in the belt drive system is bad. I replaced my water pump and the chirp went away, however when I manually moved the tensioner, it would still chirp. In your case, a high pitched whine, I think your alternator might be the culprit. I also had a whine AFTER replacing my alternator for another electrical issue that arose later. Keep in mind, this was a brand new alternator and it did sound a little like a supercharger, but it functioned flawlessly and the noise was tolerable. I even became comfortable with it as it sounded somewhat healthy. I'd recommend taking a short piece of garden hose and try to locate exactly where the noise is coming from by using the hose as a stethoscope. You could also test your alternator with a digital multimeter. If you place the leads on either the positive battery terminal and a ground, or on each of the two terminals on the back of the alternator, you should get a reading of 13.5-14v. If it's higher, then your voltage regulator(built into the alternator) is bad. If it's lower, then you may have worn brushes or perhaps the same problem that I had which was a bad engine ground located on the passenger motor mount to chassis. As for the noise, I'd make very certain that it isn't your water pump bearing and if you haven't already done so, perhaps it's a good idea to replace your water pump anyway as they are known to break and cause more serious problems. Best of luck to you, I hope you find this helpful.

[cooljess76]

okay, after listening to the vids, I'll say that your whine is nothing like my whine, lol. With the engine off, you could apply pressure to the belt by hand, enough to move the belt tensioner and you should be able to hear the chirping that I mentioned. It sounds like you have a bearing issue, where exactly, I don't know. Possibly the alternator, but I would also check to make sure it isn't the timing chain rubbing on something as this would be very bad. Definitely do the garden hose thing, sorry for the double post, just trying to help in any way I can.

[themightyquinn]

thanks for the insight guys, i'll def check things out with a section of hose and see where that takes me

[Mallard]

i think the generator´s fubar´d mate

it sounds like something is scraping/vibrating the coils in the generator..

[spidertri]

I met up with Quinn and listened to the sound the other day. As soon as the turned the car on the noise sounded like it was coming from the alternator/stuff right in front of it. It was very clearly coming from that side of the engine as opposed to the timing chain/case.

I have never heard a messed up alternator before so I wasn't sure if that was it or if it was a belt/pulley issue.

[Mallard]

alternator / generator..

tomato tomato..

[spidertri]

I was agreeing with you Mallard, c'mon, you think I don't know my euro lingo...

I was replying to Jess as he suggested it could be the timing chain/case and I just wanted to offer a first hand account of the sound.

[Mallard]

easy tiger

im just kiddin´ !

[themightyquinn]

Yeah like Dave said, it's definitely coming from the alternator area. Mallard you think it very possibly could be that? Suppose I should just pony up and pick up another, huh.

[Mallard]

i does sound like a high pitched abrasive noise to me

I think its the bearing of the alternator where the wheel is on personally

Just for shiggles, try to get a shot of WD40 or somekind of lube oil behind the belt wheel, just to see if the wining stops?

[themightyquinn]

Haha, yeah, I'd say you were spot on with that assessment

I'll try some wd40 tomorrow. Can I buy just a new wheel and pulley? or will I have to suck it up and buy a whole alt.?

[Mallard]

if the bearing is done , then its a new alt.