Wierd Whining From Motor

[ToF]

Hey guys,

Today out of no where a whining sound relative to my motor's speed came up.

The sound is really hard to describe but it's definitely an off-sounding whine that doesn't sound good. At the same time I could also smell something burning.

At first I thought it would be one of my belts or pulleys but they were all fine.

I was thinking it might be my clutch fan but not sure, how do they sound when they are on their way out??

Anyway I went for a drive and when I got home the whine was gone, so the problem seems erratic/random. The whine sounds very serious and it makes me too scared to drive my car.

Anyone have any ideas what it could be?

Thanks

[FATGTS-R]

The burning thing has confused me but I have had whining three times before increasing with engine speed and the culprits were:

1st. gearbox

2nd. Timing belt idler or tensioner, which was a whining/grinding noise. You said you checked all belts and pulleys but you realise the timing belt is behind the timing cover yes? I removed the CAS, then undid and removed the top half of the cover and shone a torch in and saw metal flakes everywhere. The bearing had shat itself and was grinding itself away.

3rd. Clutch fan. Simple check is when car is off and cold is to try and spin it. If you cant turn it or there is a grinding sound when turning it then its gone. Giving it a flick it wont freespin but should spin about 180 degrees. When first started and car is cold you should hear it roar for about 30 seconds max. Start car in driveway and hold revs steady at say 2,000rpm and you should be able to hear it roaring and then die off.

But like I said, as you also smelt something burning along with the whine it could be something different altogether as none of the above accompanied a burning smell.

[ToF]

The burning thing has confused me but I have had whining three times before increasing with engine speed and the culprits were:

1st. gearbox

2nd. Timing belt idler or tensioner, which was a whining/grinding noise. You said you checked all belts and pulleys but you realise the timing belt is behind the timing cover yes? I removed the CAS, then undid and removed the top half of the cover and shone a torch in and saw metal flakes everywhere. The bearing had shat itself and was grinding itself away.

3rd. Clutch fan. Simple check is when car is off and cold is to try and spin it. If you cant turn it or there is a grinding sound when turning it then its gone. Giving it a flick it wont freespin but should spin about 180 degrees. When first started and car is cold you should hear it roar for about 30 seconds max. Start car in driveway and hold revs steady at say 2,000rpm and you should be able to hear it roaring and then die off.

But like I said, as you also smelt something burning along with the whine it could be something different altogether as none of the above accompanied a burning smell.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

1. It isn't the gearbox, I know this for sure because I just put a new one in and regardless of the input shaft speed (clutch in or out) the whine is still there. So that can be ruled out.

2. I was also thinking it may be coming from the timing belt but as you said you can't check that with the cover over it. Having said this, my timing belt and bearings have only been replaced less than 8 months ago so I highly doubt that would be it. But I really should check to be sure!

3. Clutch fan, not sure if it matters if it's cold or hot but while it was hot I spun the fan and it felt normal, spun freely as usual with no grinding noises. I might check the cold start "roar" tomorrow.

What do you think given this new information?

[180bfj20det]

Is it air-related?

My turbo turbine got hit by a mud wasp's nest after I went for a bash against a GTR a couple of weeks after I had put a new manifold on (the bastards layed their nests in the exhaust ports of my fj overnight when I hadnt had the manifold on and I didnt check inside the ports... but i had a damaged turbine which whined when coming onto boost and it didnt sound nice. No burning smell. Glad I got rid of it though.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

1. It isn't the gearbox, I know this for sure because I just put a new one in and regardless of the input shaft speed (clutch in or out) the whine is still there. So that can be ruled out.

2. I was also thinking it may be coming from the timing belt but as you said you can't check that with the cover over it. Having said this, my timing belt and bearings have only been replaced less than 8 months ago so I highly doubt that would be it. But I really should check to be sure!

3. Clutch fan, not sure if it matters if it's cold or hot but while it was hot I spun the fan and it felt normal, spun freely as usual with no grinding noises. I might check the cold start "roar" tomorrow.

What do you think given this new information?

[ToF]

Is it air-related?

My turbo turbine got hit by a mud wasp's nest after I went for a bash against a GTR a couple of weeks after I had put a new manifold on (the bastards layed their nests in the exhaust ports of my fj overnight when I hadnt had the manifold on and I didnt check inside the ports... but i had a damaged turbine which whined when coming onto boost and it didnt sound nice. No burning smell. Glad I got rid of it though.

Nah this isn't air related. The whine is directly related to motor speed (RPM).

Anyone have any other ideas?

[Simon-S14]

other things to check.

- Altenator: the bearings might be stuffed or the bushes failing, hence the burning smell..

- power steering pump: again, bearing related.

- water pump: bearing also... but wont explain burning smell

all the above will increase a whine with the revs.. if they are failing/failed.

try disconnecting belts one by one off each item and quickly start motor/rev and switch off to see if it still whines or goes away... one way to diagnose it

[ToF]

other things to check.

- Altenator: the bearings might be stuffed or the bushes failing, hence the burning smell..

- power steering pump: again, bearing related.

- water pump: bearing also... but wont explain burning smell

all the above will increase a whine with the revs.. if they are failing/failed.

try disconnecting belts one by one off each item and quickly start motor/rev and switch off to see if it still whines or goes away... one way to diagnose it

Good idea, but would it still be them if the whine is intermittent?

[tiesto]

mate I got exactly the same problem

a weird rubbery burning smell followed by some screeching/whining coming from around the alternator/fan area

I am thinking its the waterpump but i'm not too sure

did you manage to find out what yours was?

[ToF]

Never figured what it was but just last week my alternator died. Not sure if that was the cause of the whine because the bearings were still fine.

[tiesto]

well I'm going to get another clutch fan and the center bit of the fan, and also another waterpump to replace it.. I hope it fixes it

does yours still make noises? and smell?

[Psymon]

I got this exact same weird burning rubbery/plasticy smell yesterday and a screeching relative to engine noise. Pulled over and checked straight away expecting a PS or Alt belt to be slipping.

Found smoke coming from my timing case. So i've ordered a new belt and just gotta pull the timing cover off and check whether it was the tensioner or the idler. I'm expecting it to be the idler. I will let you know. Also both pulleys were replaced about 50 000 ago.

[ToF]

I got this exact same weird burning rubbery/plasticy smell yesterday and a screeching relative to engine noise. Pulled over and checked straight away expecting a PS or Alt belt to be slipping.

Found smoke coming from my timing case. So i've ordered a new belt and just gotta pull the timing cover off and check whether it was the tensioner or the idler. I'm expecting it to be the idler. I will let you know. Also both pulleys were replaced about 50 000 ago.

Any way to check this without pulling off the CAS, etc...

I haven't been concerned enough to pull part everything to check as I only just got all my belts, tensioners, and idlers replaced recently so I would assume they are still all good.

[Cubes]

Unless you bought the tensioners/idlers and replaced them yourself do rip off the top timing belt cover and have a look in.

I trust no one, in the past had the odd bad experience. (full gearbox rebuild where they only just replaced a couple of syncro's resulting in a box that still had layshaft rattle and the worse part, they charged me 1.2k)

[Psymon]

Had a quick look and i think you have to pull the CAS to get the timing cover off. So you'll probably have to mark the position its in so you get it in the right spot when you put it back.

[tiesto]

I can suss out that it cannot be the alternator in my situation, as it hasn't been more than 10,000km I got it replaced.

I didnt see any smoke coming from the CAS or timing cover so hmm.. I think Ill give the clutchfan or waterpump a go at replacing

What are the effects of a waterpump going?

[ToF]

Unless you bought the tensioners/idlers and replaced them yourself do rip off the top timing belt cover and have a look in.

I trust no one, in the past had the odd bad experience. (full gearbox rebuild where they only just replaced a couple of syncro's resulting in a box that still had layshaft rattle and the worse part, they charged me 1.2k)

I was there when he did the whole job

I can suss out that it cannot be the alternator in my situation, as it hasn't been more than 10,000km I got it replaced.

I didnt see any smoke coming from the CAS or timing cover so hmm.. I think Ill give the clutchfan or waterpump a go at replacing

What are the effects of a waterpump going?

Your car should start to overheat if your waterpump is going, you might notice it leaking as well.

[tiesto]

ok well the temperature gauge has been the same as always, but I guess can't really trust that.. would be better off having an aftermarket temp gauge. but hm, what is the piece in the center of the clutch fan (assuming this is the big one with white fins and used to hit my fmic piping ahha)..? cause It seems the noise is coming from there.. is it possible to replace that bit or you would need to replace the entire fan? Im not sure if that would explain why there was a burning rubbery smell from there aswell..

[Psymon]

With mine it was near impossible to distinguish where the noise was coming from exactly. And the burning rubber smell would more than likely be the back of the timing belt sliding over the siezed pulley.

[Gunr32]

Hey guys,

Today out of no where a whining sound relative to my motor's speed came up.

The sound is really hard to describe but it's definitely an off-sounding whine that doesn't sound good. At the same time I could also smell something burning.

At first I thought it would be one of my belts or pulleys but they were all fine.

I was thinking it might be my clutch fan but not sure, how do they sound when they are on their way out??

Anyway I went for a drive and when I got home the whine was gone, so the problem seems erratic/random. The whine sounds very serious and it makes me too scared to drive my car.

Anyone have any ideas what it could be?

Thanks

hey mate i got da same problem wit my R32.. i been told by mechanic dat the Timing belt idler or tensioner had shit itself and da pulleys r comon stuff ups on R32's..

[dangaz]

I had a similar prob....it turned out to be thge belt tensioner.