middle of engine, drivebelt side.

its not the belts, not the alternator,

disappears under higher rpm, loudest at idle, constant kind of whirring/whining sound, not too-high pitched, but high, not a squeal.

thought about power steering, but dont know how to confirm or rectify the issue. thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated.
thanks,
tom

 

ive got a whine too when in low rpms in first gear. I think its cool though, it sounds kind of airplane-like. Sorry I'm of no help though.

 

proboly power steering pump. mine whines at cold startup but goes away after about 30 secs

to confirm just remove the power steering belt and start engine if the sounds goone thats it

 

In my particular case, the whine was coming from the AC compressor belt tensioner. It actually seized up! I removed the belt for the winter since I obviously did not need the AC. Just last week, I replaced the tensioner with one that I canned from a local junk yard—after I “refurbished” it—and all is well. No whining noise. As a matter of fact, sine the AC belt tensioner failed, I am going to replace the one that provides belt tension for the PS pump belt. I am not saying that is your case, but it is definitely something to investigate.

 

One of my three has a whine and it is definitely the power steering pump.

 

does it whine because its going out? or just because it likes to drive me crazy

 

Not sure, but probably is going out. My daughter had a hose leaking that she didn't tell me about so the fluid got pretty low. By the time I got the hose changed it started this whine--hasn't gotten any worse for 2 months tho.

 

i looked through the old service records and it seems the car has been making this noise for.... 6 years? what! forget it

 

I agree, my daughter has gotten used to it. I only notice it because I drive the red 92SE and hear the difference when she comes home. Of course she wouldn't notice gallons of any color fluid running under the car. She notices the stereo and luckily so far, the gas guage.

 

old fashIoned s t e t h o s c o p e: Screwdriver on engine, ear on handle. Easy to pinpoint mech noises.

Could be also u chain.

 

May sound like a stupid thing.. but you did check the fluid level and top it off if it was low in the PS resevoir...Might be the first thing you did but just checking.

 

i think its the bearings that make the niose

 

Take care: Next project engine whine ttrrroubleshootin...

 

Hey I'm resurrecting this! Anyone track down the problem conclusively?

I started hearing the noise a few weeks ago between 500-800 RPM, and immediately thought: p/s pump. The fluid was at about half so I topped it off but there is no difference.

After reading this I'll check the belts and see if I can track down a possible leak as soon as I have a chance.