SHO sounds like a Saturn!!

[rendyx]

Is this the end of the SHO? I went to start it this morning (about 8 deg farenheit) and it struggled a little. No problem, I let off of the starter for a second and tried again. I'm trying to remember exactly what it did. The second time it started, but made a thump noise, and may have struggled to stay alive. I went to clean the snow off, letting the car warm up for a minute, and then I tried starting it again. Same problem. I also checked for the usual fuel pump hum, and it was there. As I backed out of the driveway, the motor stalled. This may have been because I could not hear it very well over the defroster, and dropped the RPMs too low. Anyways, as I pulled away, the SHO, I noticed, had aquired a Saturn-like whine noise! I drove along, and this continued. I noticed it whined as I slowed down with the clutch in (engine at idle, transmission?), but this may have been the snow tires. I popped the hood and revved the engine slightly to hear the sound. It made it, rather quietly. All I can think of is:
1. Alternator dying? I've heard they will whine then. I have had belt slippage problems lately, is this just the evolution of the same problem?
2. Transmission?
3. Someone suggested simply the cold. But this seems a little dramatic for just a cold start.
4. I washed the car yesterday, could something have frozen?

Thanks for any help, this is really bothering me today. If you need any more info to make a suggestion, let me know.

 

[Mishney]

I had similar symptoms with the whine from a failing alternator. I am on my 4th now and hoping this one lasts more than a year. If the whine is consistent with RPM it's likely either the alternator or one of the idler pullys. If you do replace the alternator, I recommend getting a rebuilt with a LIFETIME warranty, for some reason our cars seem to eat these damn things!

Hope this helps!
-Matt

 

[projectSHO89]

I had a turbo-like whine from my 89 last winter.

Noise was coming from the power steering pump. A purge fixed it.

Steve

 

[unterhausen]

It's funny, I thought mine had all of a sudden started sounding like a Honda.

I was wondering if it is the cams because I get a metallic buzz at 2 rpms, 3000 and 4000 or thereabouts. Anytime the engine is at one of these two rpms, the buzz will occur. Interestingly, I have noticed a certain reluctance to turn right, maybe mine is the pump. I though it was mechanical, but a perfunctory inspection didn't reveal anything.

 

[rendyx]

Well, here's some recent news. I went to start the SHO again when it was warmer out (maybe 20), and it started, then stalled itself. I started it again and it was fine. No noises, except for what I suspect are the snow tires. Tomorrow I'm going to take a trip to Autozone and see about having the alternator tested. As for the P/S, I recently flushed the system out, so I'm ruling that out for now.

 

[unterhausen]

rendyx, I was wondering if your car overheats? The drivablility problems kinda sound like what my car is doing, although the saturn-like whine has turned into something more buzzy.

I was watching the temp gauge, and the buzz seemed to correspond to increased temps

 

[jthomas68]

Cold weather does very strange things to cars.At the end of the season every year,my PS shutters when i turn sharply.I run Mobil 1 full synthetic ATF fluid,and flush it every year.It only does it with the extreme cold temps.Also,today i have to move my SHO about one foot.I started it for the 1st time in over a month,and the clutch would barely grab.The 1st try,it didn`t grab at all.Being so cold,it just took a bit.

 

[rendyx]

Alright, I went to Autozone today, and here's the result:

Voltage: about 13v
Current: about 34 amps! eek! (should be 90)

So I have to buy a new one, it's $170 from Autozone with the lifetime warranty, as Matt suggested. Hopefully this will solve the problems. I'm still wondering, would that have caused bad fuel economy (still got to check the O2 sensors!), clunk upon a couple starts, sudden stall after start?

Thanks for your help again!

 

[Mike Kopstain]

If the bearings in your alternator were bad they could have been stalling the motor. That's bad times.

 

[Mishney]

Just be glad it was low. My regulator somehow smoked one of the times and ended up putting out WAY too much voltage and amps and actually boiled out my battery. I had to replace the alt. and the battery. Im lucky I caught it before the battery exploded. By the time I got to it, the battery sides were plenty bulged out and it was hissing. I wish you the best of luck, especially since mine hasn't been so great.

-Matt