engine is whinning

[Gunner]

93 3.2L ATX. When the engine starts, it creates a very distinct whine and the pitch and noise level corresponds with rpms. Power steering pump maybe? Thanks for any leads, I'm not a mechanic so I know I'm probably asking a dumb question.

 

[Vsho93]

Dude I don't want to scare you but before my sho went into a coma it also had a whine ( it got worst as time went by , only lasted 4 months before it wouldn't start anymore), sounded like a supercharger followed with a gradual loss in power . The sound came from the power steering pump area but it was actually something very serious, Crank Cancer!
I hate to say it but to be safe you should have the crank, timing gear and woodruff key checked asap, it might be happening to you also. Hopefully I'm wrong cause boy was it an expensive repair but my SHO is finally on the road as of last week ( was down for exactly a year ). I wish you the best of luck.

btw in my situation what caused the wine was the woodruff key broken and mangled slowly damaging the crank itself.

heres a link to the thread I started when I got the problem : http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=65520

 

[Bizzy]

First thing you need to do is narrow down whether the whine is coming from the belt side of the motor or not. Being as your car is an ATX, you're only going to have 2 belts....the serpentine belt and the timing belt.

If the sound is coming from the belt side, pull the serpentine belt off and start the car for a moment to see if the whining is still present. Do not leave the car running for long as the water pump and alternator will not be functional. Taking the serp belt off is a snap and only takes a minute to do. It's a good place to start.

If the sound is not present with no serpentine belt then you can narrow the sound down to something on that belt, ie: alternator, water pump, power steering pump, idler bearings, ac compressor.

If it is present, then you know to look to the timing belt and those part associated with it.

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

So what she is saying is, before you start worrying about anything, check the belts. I find is unlikely that your car is going to just up and slip into a coma.

 

[TicoSHO]

, it creates a very distinct whine and the pitch and noise level corresponds with rpms.

i had the same, turned out to be the idler pulley, not that expensive of a fix, maybe $300-$400.

 

[Vsho93]

So what she is saying is, before you start worrying about anything, check the belts. I find is unlikely that your car is going to just up and slip into a coma.

Exactly what I'm saying but yes mine slipped into a coma 3minutes after she was turned on....... but follow the steps they posted in above earlier to trouble shoot... again I hope I'm wrong as it wasn't fun for me hopefully it's something silly instead.good luck

 

[HotRodKid]

take something long (screwdrive, prybar, broom handle)
place against a section of the block
place against ear
move someplace else
repeat
repeat
repeat

youll find exactly where its coming from if you just slowly figure out where the noise is loudest

 

[Off Road SHO]

Bad alternator bearings is my guess.

And as to Hot Rod Kids suggestion; make sure you place your ear against the HANDLE end of the screwdriver, not the business end.

I bought a cheapie stethescope from Harbor Freight and it works great. I modified it once to accept a tiny funnel instead of the test probe; so now I don't have to actually touch the part that's making the noise, just get close to it.

Tom

 

[1993MTXSHO]

MY mustang makes a whining noise, and its my tranny, Its the tranny clutches starting to fall apart and clogging the screen, its your tranny crying for air. Hope its not that and odds are its not but its one thing you can check out.

 

[Gunner]

Just a follow up on this for you.....my mechanic also thought it was alternator bearing but upon further review it turned out to be an idler pulley bearing. Just wanted to share that and thanks for your input.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Dang! Missed another one.

Tom

 

[weewajr]

How loud do you figure your whining was? could you hear it with the radio on? my car whines as welll, but it is very faint. So i am wondering if i could be having the same issue?