97 SE 5sp, 102k.

Lately I've noticed a noise while the car is warming up - the pitch follows the engine rpm, and poking around under the hood it appears to be coming from the psp. I noticed no suspicious leaks during my last oil change 500mi ago. This morning I also noticed the noise while making a u-turn. Alternator was replaced this Dec.

1) What should I look for to diagnose this? Is a psp failure common? Can I remove the psp belt and idle the engine to see if that eliminates the noise? Will driving it more invite any kind of disaster?

2) Is a psp replacement be DIY? I have changed both belts before so I know how to get around the psp.

TIA

Dave

 

ttt

 

the high pitch noise can be the belts and/or a pulley. My car was making this noise too around 70K miles, i had the pulley, starter, alternator, engine mounts replaced all under warranty! It was completely fixed after that. I dont think you have to replace your engine mount or alternator but the other things need to be looked into. It seemed like the starter was stickin in my car and was spinning with the engine which caused a noise to be created...but the pulley was also adding to the noise. I think its common for the pulley to start making a high pitch sound after the belts are replaced because the new belts usally put more tention on a old pulley which causes it to make noise. This noise can be heard sometimes while turning because the car's RPM is varied by the ECM.

 

My starter is not a source of noise because I've fixed it myself and replaced it. Alternator is also quite new. Engine mounts have never been replaced, but they look good.

So you're saying that the power steering pulley could be source of noise by itself? Is there a bearing in there?

Thx

Dave