Annoying whine
 

OK since installing my new engine over a year ago I have had an intermittent whine from the engine area. It sounds just like belt whine/squeal but is coming from further back than the accessory belts and alternator.

It occurs at idle, intermittently (although once it starts on a journey it will be there much of the time at idle) and goes as soon as you raise the rpm above about 1300rpm.

When installing the 2L we found the SS friction surface on my aluminium clutch to be slightly warped but didn't have time to stop and replace it. I thought it might be the pressure plate not dis-engaging fully all the time due to the warping making the whine/squeal. When it started slipping this summer and I replaced the flywheel and clutch recently I was hoping that the noise would disappear (definitely seems to originate from the rear of the engine). It hasn't.

I have replaced the accessory belts (just in case) but am now at a loss. Anyone have any ideas where else to look or had a similar noise?

Car details in link below.

Steve.
www.slowmx5.com

the only wine i ever had was when i put my new belts on and the alternator wasn't tight enough for the belts like it was to much to the right of the motor so the belt was loose, so i just pushed the alternator back over to the left and tightened the bolt on the back and so then the belts weren't loose and it stopped squeaking, i haven't had any other squeaks.

mine sounds like a supercharger, i assume i tightened the belts too much.

aha prob when there loose they squeak really annoying! And when there tight they wine, if you know what i mean:cool:

you sure your new engine dident have a supercharger? Any unexpected acceleration?


haha but really, try checking belt tenshion, or put some loob on the clutch release fork, that could be it too. Does it go away when you push the clutch?

You can get an intermittent whine from the idler or tensioner bearings on the timing belt.

I also had a similar whine for the first 15K miles after changing my water pump until it clearanced itself by ejecting unwanted metal bits into my cooling system.

The car has a turbo (custom GT3076R) - so no SC whine.

I'm certain I have eliminated belts. Pushing in the clutch does not affect the whine at all.

It is very irritating. Convinced it is from the rear of the engine bay and the idler pulleys are new, so I'm pretty sure it isn't them either.

The car is running a TECgt in full sequential so I have a Mk1 CAS on there - it is one thing that is not 'stock' on the Mk2 engine. It was on my TEC3r powered 1.6L turbo though and no whines when installed on there.

Any further ideas? Pretty desperate to find a cure!

A check through my website might turn up something that may be a cause, but I can't think of it right now.

Steve.
www.slowmx5.com

It could very possibly be a bearing.

A bearing has also crossed my mind but after 4000miles it has got no worse and if it were cap bearing etc then I would have expected a failure by now?

Has anyone used a Mk1 CAS on a Mk2 head and had a similar noise? (grasping at straws....)

I could swear my engine had a supercharger at times.

However, the whine (exactly like a blower) was coming from the SPEAKERS progressively sounding louder/higher pitch (it wasn't super loud, but noticeable) as RPM's raised.

Probably not your cause, but worth a check. Obviously goes away at low/zero volume.

Thanks. Just tried that one to be sure - and its not the radio. I don't have it on very often to be honest.

listen just before i make the u-turn....

If I have got the right noise you are referring to it is a higher pitch than what I am hearing (what is it BTW?). Mine sounds much more like a mild belt whine, the sort you get when the belt is slightly miss-aligned. I just can't think of anything towards the rear of the engine that could be causing such a noise.....:confused:


Nice video BTW........

If it sits and does it at idle, get a stethoscope and locate it closer. No stethescope available? Try a long screwdriver with the handle to your ear. First stop; turbo bearing.

Yeah, good advice. It's just catching the noise (as it's intermittent) with a stethoscope or screw driver to hand. I'll have a go tomorrow if I get the time.

I've had 2 turbos on there (previously GT2860RS) and it did it with both - still worth having a check to eliminate the turbo bearing.

I might also swap the CAS to see if that gets rid of it.

When mine got a whine like a supercharger it was the timing belt overtensioned. All I did was let the spring tension it up but seems as though that was too much tension, so I pulled it apart and took a bit of tension off and it was sweet.

Interesting - at what rpms/under what conditions did it whine at?

This was pretty much just like a quiet supercharger, it got louder with more revs.

Tim

I'd highly suspect that's the issue. never did it before. I'm not too worried about it.