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Terrible Whine, Not the Timing Chain, Not Tensioner

10K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  dbeach 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys,

I don't have time at the moment to go through a million older threads seeking out a resolution, but maybe one of you already has and knows the answer to my issue, which would be super awesome.

I've got a terrible whine coming from what sounds like the crankshaft or A/C compressor pulley and haven't had time to investigate fully; I've just crawled around trying to pinpoint the sound. It remains relatively constant and only slightly changes when initially accelerating, then goes back to constant while idle or when driving, so I'm thinking that its bad bearings or something. I know that it's not the tensioner pulley or the belt, those I am experienced with. Here's a link to the video, which is mainly all about the audio. In the video I am directly beneath the pulleys, basically where the skid plate bolts to the crossmember. If anyone knows what this is I would greatly appreciate your help. Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0fCqafN1aE&feature=youtu.be
 
#3 ·
There is no bearings there. Cranks use main bearings which is a whole different animal, and the cams sit on pillow blocks.

o.p: Pull the belt, and then start the truck. If its still there it's your timing chain guides, if it's gone, you know its something belt driven. Start there. Takes like 2 minutes to pull the belt and its way cheaper than guessing.
 
#4 ·
Will be watching this thread. My son's 2006 S has the exact same sound.

Not the timing chain - does not vary with engine speed. Does not vary with turning the steering wheel, either. The sound sometimes starts right away, sometimes about 30 seconds after starting the engine. Other than that, it's a constat drone - kind of like a hive of bees. Like I said - pretty much what you have described.

I'm going to spray some soapy water on the belt to see if it stops. Tow TSBs discuss diagnosis. NTB10-002 and NTB06-072B

Unfortunately, will likely go to dealer here in Laramie, WY as I head home Friday.
 
#11 ·
I initially tried lubricating the pulleys and conditioning the belt, but it never helped with the noise. The advise here is sound - pull the belt and see if it persists, remove the skid plate and lower fan cowling, and if you're like me and had a faulty oil pressure switch, apparently they whine when they fail ;)
 
#8 ·
Update:

Okay fellas, all of you had great advise, and pulling the belt was the next step, HOWEVER... the strangest thing is, now the sound is gone. Let me tell you what I did today:

My oil pressure switch went bad (yet another common failure), so today I figured that since I would be down there anyways I would go ahead and pull off the skid plate and lower fan cowling to get a better idea of where the sound was coming from. I drained my oil, replaced the pressure switch, put in new oil and then took it for a quick spin to get it warmed back up so that the sound would come back (I may not have mentioned that it starts after about five minutes of initial startup). I left the engine running, hopped out and crawled under, but THERE WAS NO SOUND!?!? I checked the lower cowling thinking that maybe when I replaced the radiator I hadn't installed it correctly and the fan was rubbing against it, but there were no rub marks. I let it run a while longer, but still no sound. I re-installed the lower cowling and manually turned the fan to ensure that it wasn't rubbing and it wasn't. I put the skid plate back on and went about my day, but the sound was just... gone, even after driving around for a few hours.

This was only after replacing the oil pressure switch, and I know that it's out there, but the only thing that I can think of is that the switch itself was somehow causing the noise. It is right there near the crankshaft pulley and alternator where the sound was coming from, but I know that it's just a switch, so I have no clue. If it comes back I'll update this thread, but otherwise only God Himself knows what in the hell the noise was.
 
#9 ·
Okay fellas, all of you had great advise, and pulling the belt was the next step, HOWEVER... the strangest thing is, now the sound is gone. Let me tell you what I did today:

My oil pressure switch went bad (yet another common failure), so today I figured that since I would be down there anyways I would go ahead and pull off the skid plate and lower fan cowling to get a better idea of where the sound was coming from. I drained my oil, replaced the pressure switch, put in new oil and then took it for a quick spin to get it warmed back up so that the sound would come back (I may not have mentioned that it starts after about five minutes of initial startup). I left the engine running, hopped out and crawled under, but THERE WAS NO SOUND!?!? I checked the lower cowling thinking that maybe when I replaced the radiator I hadn't installed it correctly and the fan was rubbing against it, but there were no rub marks. I let it run a while longer, but still no sound. I re-installed the lower cowling and manually turned the fan to ensure that it wasn't rubbing and it wasn't. I put the skid plate back on and went about my day, but the sound was just... gone, even after driving around for a few hours.

This was only after replacing the oil pressure switch, and I know that it's out there, but the only thing that I can think of is that the switch itself was somehow causing the noise. It is right there near the crankshaft pulley and alternator where the sound was coming from, but I know that it's just a switch, so I have no clue. If it comes back I'll update this thread, but otherwise only God Himself knows what in the hell the noise was.
You said you drained and filled your oil. Did you change the filter too? Oil filters can have a drain back valve (rubber flap) go bad and cause buzzing/humming/whining etc...
 
#10 · (Edited)
Oh, of course. I always change the filter with the oil; clean the cooler housing too before putting the new one on. Honestly, I've let this go for a while and my oil switch has been out for a while too, so I don't really remember if the sound happened shortly after the part failed or what. What I can remember is that the sound came sometime after I had installed the new radiator, but not immediately, just sometime shortly after.
 
#15 ·
Glad your whine went away. Mine's still there. Spraying a soap solution on the belt had zero effect. The radiator was changed out a couple of days ago, and that had no effect either, so that eliminates something rubbing.

This is my son's car and I don't have access to many tools or garage space here in Laramie, plus I fly home Friday. That makes simple things, like removing the belt, a bit more difficult. I could spin on a new filter, though. Not my style to blindly try things, but might be the right thing in this situation and filters are cheap.

The car goes to a local shop for a leaking pinion next week, so he gets to chase this sound too, if its not the filter.
 
#16 ·
SUCCESS!
This morning I waited a few minutes (3) for the whine to start and crawled undertheath to listen, something I hadn't done before. The whine clearly came from the oil filter. This cannot be pinpointed by listening from above. One oil/filter change later, no more hive-o-bees whine.

Pure luck that Dirty J posted the problem and solution precisely when I was dealing with the same issue. It points out the value of this forum. Thanks!!!

The folks at the local lube stop had never heard of filters doing this. Kind of odd considering the number of filters they must see every month. Maybe they just aren't listening for it.

A google of "oil filter noise" show's it's pretty common, as Surf and Snow says.
 
#17 ·
SUCCESS!

A google of "oil filter noise" show's it's pretty common, as Surf and Snow says.
Glad I could help guys. Like I said, as an auto tech, I've had tons of vehicles come into my shop specifically to diagnose a buzz or whine, and found a bad filter with a collapsed drain back valve rubber flap.
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