first off a big thanks to all who give nothing but positive feedback and opinions...

now my question...

when i start my car in the morning or after it has sat and the engine is cold,upon start up i get the nastiest grinding like whistle sound ,high pitched and loud...after about 20 secs it goes away but then when i drive i get it a lil again at low rpm....my power steering whines also when i rev the car the whine revs with the engine but i dont think thats the problem...its almost like a metal to metal sound...the cars going in the shop in the begining of feb. for a timing belt , valve adjustment, replace drive belts ,and a flush and filling of all fluids( oil change,mtf,chang,power steering,and brake fluid)but untill then i want to figure out whats causing this sound, it been going on for about a month or so(since the temperature outside has really dropped,and when its fairly warm out i never hear it...any ideas as to whats causing this sound ,has anyone heard of anything like this,all positive comments and opinions are welcome...

 

Sounds like it could be a belt slipping. They get harder in the cold and can lose grip. I'm not sure about the "grinding" your hearing, but the belt would definitely give you the high pitch squeel.

 

ive heard belts squeel before and it doesnt realy sound like that...the belt must get hard as a rock overnight to squeel like what im trying to describe..its more of a whistling sound almost like those dog whistles...can u notice a difference in driving if a belt is slipping (power steering, a/c, alternator belts) can the power steering belt get that hard to sound like metal to metal grinding when rotating on the power steering pulley...ive trie belt dressings etc...dont do a thing for them...can the belts just be that old that they remain pretty hard and dry....thanks again people...

 

Since you say it's grinding noise, i would suspect the bearings in one of the pulleys going bad. See if you have a really tight belt, as that usually causes bearings to fail in hte alternator, PS pump, etc.

 

ive cheched the tightness of the belts so many times...they dont seem to be to tight..the have play in them not to much but not to tight either...like i stated ive tried just about everything to figure the sound out and its just been a headache...any other ideas will be a great help...thanks

p.s. im trying to diagnos this prior to taking it to the shop to avoid the process of elimanation the shops tend to use...."well lets try this first" that wasnt it "ok lets try this "that wasnt it" meanwhile im paying for the "lets try this and that" which can get expensive...im sure you"s understand what i mean....thanks..


[Modified by teg-your-it, 10:26 AM 1/22/2003]

 

Does it fluctuate with RPM?

 

actually ,yes it does...the power sterring whine goes revs with the rpm..but the whistling sound im concerned about will go away if i tap the gas to bring th rpms up a lil then comes back when they drop back down...it doesnt get any louder though if i rev the rpms...its just at the cold idle that it does this...and occasionally hen i first pull of after the car has warmed up but the sound is very low compared to first start up...thanks

 

i would almost bet $20 that its the bearings in the distributor. mine went out in my accord and it was making the exact noise that you are describing. sounds horrible and embarassing, right??

 

very horrible and embarassing,but its from the drivers side of the engine bay near the power steering,sometime i think it from under the valve cover but the sound is to loud and sharp to be from under the valve cover which i think would muffle it a lil...wheres my 20 bucks..j/k ...thanks...where narowing it down

 

well, dang dude, maybe its thu carbeeratur....... j/k, and no $20 cause i said, "almost" ha ha. oh well, thought i would put in my .02 . i would think it had to be some bearings- either P/S, A/C (probably not since its got a clutch), or probably alternator, most likely. pull off a belt one-by-one and see when the prob goes away

 

Agreed. As you take each belt off, sping the respective pulley's by hand and see if they bind. I'm guesing Alternator. Sadly, that's your most inboard one.

 

ha ha. i was thinking the same thing.

 

unfortunately i cant do that...too cold here now(in the low 20"s the past week) and i barely have the time to work on my car...i guess when it goes in the shop begining of feb. i"ll let them deal with it....thanks a million fellas..

 

ha ha. 20"s. jya jya. man i wouldnt give up and spend a bunch of money on having a shop do the work, and who knows what quality of parts theyll use?? im sure they wont buy expensive stuff. i just think takin it to a shop for something like that would be a total waste of money

 

would u like to do it for me..i"ll pay u well...like i said i dont have the time to work on my car like i would like to (taking my time to do it right the first time)...or the patience when things start aggrevating me....thanks

 

ha ha..... sure bring it on over, i got a heated 3 car garage at tha crib. you in new jersey?? long drive to alabama, but id be happy to figure it out for you, im a bored ****

 

whoa...i would need new belts anyway by the time i drove there...lol..thanks for the offer though ... if i had a local that has the time experience and know how to give me a hand...that would be a blessing....

 

so no more ideas as to what this sound may be or where it may be coming from...if ya do post away..if ya dont..you all have been very helpful and its appreciated...thanks...