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Engine whine...

34K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  deeduck4 
#1 ·
Anyone have a problem with their TB whining? My engine makes a whining noise. its not the tranny b/c it does it in park and neutral. Anyone have any idea? It almost sounds like a honda going in reverse.
 
#2 ·
itchyfishnv said:
Anyone have a problem with their TB whining? My engine makes a whining noise. its not the tranny b/c it does it in park and neutral. Anyone have any idea? It almost sounds like a honda going in reverse.
I think the worst part of that is it could sound like a Honda in any form or fashion :eek:
 
#6 ·
Take the drive belt off temporarily and run it to check for one of the accessories making the noise, like the alternator, power steering pump, idler pulley etc.

You musta forgot to "test listen" to it first before you bought it!
 
#8 ·
I think Tblazed is most likely right on and its something on the accessory drive making the noise.

What year is your TB?....They begain using an AIR pump when they went to the larger CAT in 2004 or 2005 and every vehicle I've owned with one made some noise when cold.
 
#9 ·
Bump...I've been having the same problem. The whine follows the engine revs, sorta sounds like a supercharger :raspberry but it's really annoying. What belt do i remove to check?
 
#10 ·
You could release the tension on the serpentine belt tensioner by pushing it down (see pic below) Pop the belt off & give every pulley a spin that will spin by hand. The 'normal' wear items here would be the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley (under the alternator). This could also be a bad bearing in the waterpump, alternator, P-steering pump or a/c compressor.:duh: :mad:

G/luck
Joel
 
#11 ·
Mine does the same exact thing...I just picked it up brand new about 3 weeks ago and ever since the first morning I noticed a persistent chirp for a couple minutes at cold start then it would go away but when i drive i hear a faint whistle which comes upon acceleration. Dont know if the latter is just because of wind noise but I know something is up with the serp. belt or a pulley because it does it every morning and every time i leave work just sitting in park at idle. Just have been waiting for the 1000 mile mark which i hit tonight so i can get the first oil change done at the same time because i hear that the oil filter is on super tight of the assembly line. After that, I'll do it myself...ill leave an update after it gets taken care of at the stealership...but id put money on a serp. belt or adj. pulley problem...
 
#13 ·
UPDATE - Well I dropped it off at the dealer yesterday so they could have it this morning to hear the noise. They told me the problem was that there was some paint that got onto one of the pulleys so they cleaned it off and put the belt back on. Gave me my keys and I started it up in the parking lot just to hear the effing chirping again! ARRGGHH! Went right back in and told him it wasnt fixed. They huffed about it saying they heard nothing, but they siad they would try putting a new serp. belt on it which they did while I waited. Started it up at the dealership and it was quiet because the truck was warm. Just started it right now outside and the effing noise is back yet again. Guess who I'll be calling first thing tomorrow?!?!? :crazy:
 
#18 ·
TBlazin7 said:
UPDATE - Well I dropped it off at the dealer yesterday so they could have it this morning to hear the noise. They told me the problem was that there was some paint that got onto one of the pulleys so they cleaned it off and put the belt back on. Gave me my keys and I started it up in the parking lot just to hear the effing chirping again! ARRGGHH! Went right back in and told him it wasnt fixed. They huffed about it saying they heard nothing, but they siad they would try putting a new serp. belt on it which they did while I waited. Started it up at the dealership and it was quiet because the truck was warm. Just started it right now outside and the effing noise is back yet again. Guess who I'll be calling first thing tomorrow?!?!? :crazy:

I had this excat same problem on my 05 Envoy. When it was cold it would whine. When hot it was ok. Turned out to be the power steeing pump. once they replaced it everything was ok. Hope this helps.
 
#19 ·
TBlazin7,
Leave the vehicle @ the dealership overnight so the vehicle can be started cold. A technician with the condition present and a stethscope should be able to pinpoint the condition within a minute or so.
I might take a close look @ the belt idler pulley. Good Luck.
P.S. If it turns out to be a idler pulley, I would expect the dealer to install it @ no charge (You pay for the part only). They "threw" a belt at the problem & missed. If you must pay labor, please be advised that the factory pays 18 minutes to replace that pulley. The dealership is not obligated to perform the repair at this price, but their pricing for this repair should be at or near the 18 minute mark.
I work in a Chevrolet Service Department and everyone is human. How one corrects an error is how one should be judged. In my position, I would even consider a free oil change for the customer @ the next visit...Hell, I inconvenienced the customer once...
 
#20 ·
04TBEXT said:
TBlazin7,
Leave the vehicle @ the dealership overnight so the vehicle can be started cold. A technician with the condition present and a stethscope should be able to pinpoint the condition within a minute or so.
I might take a close look @ the belt idler pulley. Good Luck.
P.S. If it turns out to be a idler pulley, I would expect the dealer to install it @ no charge (You pay for the part only). They "threw" a belt at the problem & missed. If you must pay labor, please be advised that the factory pays 18 minutes to replace that pulley. The dealership is not obligated to perform the repair at this price, but their pricing for this repair should be at or near the 18 minute mark.
I work in a Chevrolet Service Department and everyone is human. How one corrects an error is how one should be judged. In my position, I would even consider a free oil change for the customer @ the next visit...Hell, I inconvenienced the customer once...

Well, thats what I did. I left it there overnight so they could leave it in a bay and cold start it in the morning. I work right down the road from this place so I pull in that next morning @ 5:30AM and guess what? The truck was right where I parked it the previous afternoon. Thats the kind of service I've been getting since I bought it brand new a month ago. Got a great deal and a handshake but thats where it stopped. Waited 5 weeks for plates! I already left a message on the service mgr's voicemail letting him know ill be back next week. Should be fun...good times! :no:
 
#24 ·
I just picked my new envoy up a couple of weeks ago and just started noticeing a whine at a cold start. Its deffinatly something attached to the serpentine belt dont know what as it gets worse as you accelerate. Goes away in a couple of minutes. The vehicle was a demo Has about 7300 miles on it now so dont think it will go away.
 
#27 ·
do it yourself, very easy to do

draw a diagram of how the belt goes back on
put wrench on tension pulley
move pulley out of way
remove belt
put new pulley and NEW belt back on

this is one thing you do not want to let it go until it fails, i did that with my Jeep and the pulley shattered and hit a sensor and broke it, the belt broke, cost alot more than if i would have done it earlier
 
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