My engine whine was not the alternator...

[Size1]

What brand of belt?

 

[Kaldek]

What brand of belt?

I,um, I forgot. I'll need to ask MitsFix. I didn't take pictures - herp derp. It wasn't the Mistubishi belt.

 

[Wiggles]

Mitsfix use both Gates and Sun belts.

I'd say you got a Sun belt as the gates ones are around $150 on top of the Sun belts

 

[Kaldek]

Hrm. Wondering if I care enough about this to warrant buying an OEM belt.

 

[wintertidenz]

Funnily enough if you look up the part number on the OEM one, it's a Sun belt.

 

[Kaldek]

I'll pull the covers and take a look. Only a 5 minute job.

 

[Kaldek]

Latest update: performing a more thorough investigation on this because I'm not sure the whine is the belt. Concerned it might be a turbo.

 

[TME_Steve]

Did you rely on the pin to set the tensioner or what i sent you?

 

[Kaldek]

Did you rely on the pin to set the tensioner or what i sent you?

Yeah I rotated it a couple times and checked it.

Did some thinking about the gap measurement and I think the reason they say "3.8-4.5 mm" is that those are the gaps that you could potentially get depending on the thickness of the pin you use to hold the piston while you adjust the tensioner pulley. A thick pin that barely fits would get you right on 3.8mm while a thinner pin would let the piston extend a little.

Having more experience with the noise now, I can see it is not rpm dependent. It's louder when cold initially, goes away at idle when warm but comes back at odd times like at high rpm and when coming off revs.

Some other things which have started to happen over time as well are the sound when the BOV opens is a wail/whistle. Previously it was just the ever so subtle "Pssh".

 

[slickd1]

bugger, maybe ask steve? its a rattle on mine at idle, sounds similar to lifters, but from a different spot. Dut depending on how the bearing is failing the noise could vary significantly I'd imagine, you can't hear mine when in the car, but its only just started to let go.

 

[Kaldek]

Hey folks, bit of an update. Driving the Leggy again as I've got her back from being on loan to a mate. The whine was very noticeable today, particularly on deceleration but if I turn off the Air Conditioning, the noise diminishes to the point you can barely hear it.

Specifically I should say that while decelerating in gear the whine was very loud, but if I suddenly turned off the AC during deceleration, the noise almost disappeared.

My video from late July shows me demonstrating the noise with no drive belts connected, but that example was definitely quieter than when it's really bad.

So, right now we have the following symptoms:

• The whine is apparent as soon as you start the engine
• It tends to diminish in volume as you let the engine warm up
• It appears to be louder when the AC is switched on
• It appears to be louder when there is a high electrical load

So....erm...something in the harmonic balancer? I was thinking timing belt for a while because the sound is almost identical to timing belt whine (as compared to the various YouTube videos showing this). The load on the timing belt would be the same regardless of the load on the harmonic balancer, right? I mean, timing belt load should be affected only by water pump drag and the resistance of the valve springs.

 

[mookers]

Stoopid question but... do you have the stereo turned on during these tests? Does the whine go away with it turned off? By "off" I mean completely off, not just switched to a disconnected input like USB or Bluetooth.

My cheap $80 Aldi head unit produces exactly these symptoms. I always knew what it was, but didn't realise until the other day (newly warm weather) that it is so much louder with the A/C turned on.

 

[Size1]

Check alignment and squareness of all pulleys and idlers too. Also check pulleys for wear.

 

[NuffNuff]

Stoopid question but... do you have the stereo turned on during these tests? Does the whine go away with it turned off? By "off" I mean completely off, not just switched to a disconnected input like USB or Bluetooth.

My cheap $80 Aldi head unit produces exactly these symptoms. I always knew what it was, but didn't realise until the other day (newly warm weather) that it is so much louder with the A/C turned on.

i think hes hearing it outside of the car rather than just inside too, his makes a slightly different noise to mine, mine is more of a wurble than a whine since a belt/pulley change

 

[mookers]

i think hes hearing it outside of the car rather than just inside too, his makes a slightly different noise to mine, mine is more of a wurble than a whine since a belt/pulley change

Ah ok. I did say it was a stoopid question

 

[Kaldek]

Stoopid question but... do you have the stereo turned on during these tests? Does the whine go away with it turned off? By "off" I mean completely off, not just switched to a disconnected input like USB or Bluetooth.

My cheap $80 Aldi head unit produces exactly these symptoms. I always knew what it was, but didn't realise until the other day (newly warm weather) that it is so much louder with the A/C turned on.

It's a good question. I mean, if you Google "engine whine" 99% of the returned links are related to alternators.

But mine isn't the alternator. The radio is off and I can hear it when I wind down the windows. The noise is also evident - albeit quieter - when all the drive belts are removed (as per my YouTube video in an earlier post).

 

[Boblobsta]

Hi Kaldek, Did you get a result chasing this down?

I am experiencing something very similar which I've just started investigating, although I think my whine / rattle could be a vibration in a heat shield or worst case.. a turbo.

 

[Kaldek]

Hi Kaldek, Did you get a result chasing this down?

No mate not yet. However there's definitely a dodgy rear turbo (albeit not blowing oil and still holding boost) diagnosed using my det cans as making a knocking sound. I promised myself I would swap it out in the next 3 weeks before the kids go back to school as I don't need the car to be on the road much until then. I also intend to use my det cans to see if I can find the source of the whine while driving around.

If you can record a video with decent quality audio and upload it to YouTube I'm happy to listen to it and tell you if the sound is the same as mine.

 

[Boblobsta]

Hi Mate,

I suspect my sound is coming from the front turbo, but I haven't inspected it yet so that's just a hunch. Boost is ok and oil also good - same as yours.
I will get a vid this weekend, the sound is obvious when the revs are falling while just sitting and being given a little throttle. It also has very faint nasty sounds when spooling up, but it would be very hard to record these I think.

AC switch doesnt make any changes to mine.

My car was tuned at TME a few months ago and Steve said that the sound (it wasn't as prominent back then) seems like it could be an exhaust heat shield which is loose, which definitely fits the bill. I'm also on a pretty much stock everything so when the exhaust gets replaced soon I'll take the opportunity to have a looky from the underside too.

Bob

 

[Boblobsta]

Sorry just to clarify too, I only matching the second half of your symptoms, ie the sound that occurs as revs fall off - not the initial whine that you reported.