Audio Recording of Whining Sound from Engine

[Sustain26]

small sample MP3 file (158 kb) available here -

zSHARE - Mustang.mp3




Audio Recording of Whining Sound from Engine

Hello!
Please go to
Free file hosting by Savefile.com

You may have to create an account, and download the File named 2_data.zip, Description: Mustang.
Next, download the Audacity version compatible with your OS, here -
Audacity: Download

Open the zip file, and use Audacity to open the only file with the extension "aup". It's about 12 minutes long or so, and the whine is more noticeable during the second half.
What is causing the whining?
Thanks!
Sustain26

 

[Sustain26]

Whine From Under The Hood Heard Only While Car Is Being Driven

Whine From Under The Hood Heard Only While Car Is Being Driven

Hello!
There is a whine from under the hood heard only while the 2001 V6 manual coupe is being driven. I recorded the sound and the five or six second recording is available in MP3 format here:

zSHARE - Mustang.mp3 (Please wait a few seconds for the page to load.)

Mustang.mp3 is the name of the file - there's an initial rush of engine noise followed by the whine. The whine varies in pitch with the speed of the motor in rpms.

What is the source of the whine and is the part replaceable?

 

[junior19]

What were you doing to make it whine? Were you pushing the acc. pedal, driving, or just parked in neutral???

 

[Sustain26]

Reply to Junior

Junior wrote:
What were you doing to make it whine? Were you pushing the acc. pedal, driving, or just parked in neutral???

The car must be in motion, RPMs winding down or accelerating. I added some PS fluid already. It sounds like gear whine (it's a manual).
Thanks
Sustain

 

[junior19]

check your transmission fluid it might be low. you also might wanna check that all vacuum lines are connected or at least not coming out of place.

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

Does it make this noise in every gear? It sounds like a few different things. First, it sounds like PS whine, but then you said it only makes this noise while the car is moving, so that is out of the question. Second, it sounds like a tensioner pully going bad ( I had this problem) , again that is ruled out. Third, gear whine, which is generally heard only in 1st ,2nd and 3rd gears. But the thing that bugs me about the gear whine possibility is that the noise I'm hearing sounds too sharp on the high end. It sounds more like the first two than the third. The only other possibility is that your trans fluid level is nearly empty, thus causing much more noise than usual. The fluid would normally muffle most of the noise. Also you may want to check your differential fluid. excessive noise will be heard if all gear oil has leaked out or is highly contaminated.

 

[cantbuytime]

i know this is old but,

what was causing the whine?

i have the same noise and its only noticeable while rpm's are ascending and descending..

To me it sound like a power steering pump, alternator or tensioner. i do not want to replace them all. the PSP doesnt whine when i turn the wheels so i dont think its that.

 

[Aeroman]

If it is linked to RPM of the engine then it could be from any auxilliary component driven from the engine. Check Alternator, power steering pulley bearing, drive belt tensioner, a/c compressor etc. Alternator bearings make a continuing medium pitch whine, engine load will not affect it but Electrical load may make it change slightly. Worn Power steering will do this loudly as you turn the steering wheel regardless of engine RPM,s. Drive belt tensioner or idler pulley would be directly related to engine RPM;s also. Take off the drive belt & then start the engine temporarily, if the noise is gone it,s likely one of the above components. Try rotating all the engine pulleys with the belt removed feeling for tight or rough spots or excessive play ( any movement you can actually see is probably too much). Finally you can often amplify the noise by probing with a large screwdriver close to your ear & moving it against the various bearing housings (NOT ANYTHING THAT MOVES) be vary carefull when doing this , but it will really help to locate the source of the noise.

HTH, Aeroman.

 

[cantbuytime]

TY

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

That was how I isolated the noisy tensioner pulley I used to have. Even though the thing was noisy , I couldn't tell if it was the compressor or maybe the water pump. So , while the car was running, I got underneath in front and pressed the palm of my hand flush against my ear till it closed of outside noisees. Then while holding my hand there, I raised my elbow and pressed it against the very bottom of the tensioner ass'y (carefully). And bam, I found the source. Elbow acted like a cheap stethiscope (spelling). Pulley replaced, noise gone... after dealing with it for 4 years.

The best place to hear any bearing noise on something the rotates is the safest closest spot to the bearing. On the idler pulley, its the bolt in front. The tensioner has a bolt on front put it's too hard to source it that way without having something slip into the pulley itself (not good). The large metal bracket for the PS isn't very useful. Most of the sound is isolated from it. I just hold a capped off piece of metal pipe against the metal fitting on the high pressure line and you can hear all the noise from it.

A bit off, but just a couple more cents I added...
The problem with locating a noisy pulley is that almost all the pulleys are capable of creating the same sound. A bad tensioner pulley can sound like a very bad PS pump. The noise is VERY similar. I don't know if it was the pulley or what, but I noticed that when I took the pulley off and turned it around to the other side, then mounted it, the loud whine was gone, but it still had real noisy bearing. I had a thought that maybe the pulley should only be mounted one side only... spin it slowly the other way and it creates a rapid clicking noise

 

[eriknjd]

i have a whining noise that sounds like it coming from my front driver side speakers. when i first turn the engine on it will make the noise for a second or 2, the it goes away if the radio is off. If i have the radio on, the noise wont disappear and its a consistent level of sound at idle. While i am driving the noise matches rpm, almost sounds like i have a supercharger. Now if i turn my radio off while driving, i can't hear the noise anymore. But if i turn it back on the whining starts again. Weird thing is that it only makes this noise when the engine is on. If i just turn the radio on, everything is fine, no whining noise. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Its a 2004 40th annv. with mach460 stereo.

 

[wmburns]

Check the radio interference capacitors on the front engine timing cover.

 

[Aeroman]

Did you use ignition suppressor wires.