Where is this engine whine coming from? w/video

[sman83]

I have this whine in my 1999 Mountaineer for awhile now. I tried alot of different things to try and fix it including:

replacing the IAC
cleaning the MAS
replaced the alternator

The belt is in good condition with no cracks in it either.

Here is a video I made of it, its a little dark out but watchable, I had my girlfriend press the gas while I was recording it.

http://s285.photobucket.com/albums/ll66/warmonger507/?action=view&current=moutaineerwhine.flv

Thxs for any help !

 

[Blee1099]

Does the sound change any when you turn the wheels? Try getting a long screwdriver and place it on the power steering pump and see if the sound will travel thru the screwdriver.. I would honestly try that with the alternator, AC compressor, etc till you find it

 

[sman83]

will try

The only time the sound changes is with the RPM's..accelerate and it gets louder..decelerate and it gets quieter. So no sound difference when I turn the wheels.

I already replaced the alternator because I was getting background noise the stereo.

I will try the screwdriver trick tommorow when I get up, as it is dark tonight and hard to see in the parking lot.

Thanks

 

[Fordnatic]

Sounds like the power steering pump. Is it full of fluid? Try some Lucas oil treatment or something similiar in there. Also a possibility is the idler pulleys on the belt, you could spray some lube on their bearings and see if it changes it.

 

[sman83]

Tried the power steering..

It is full of fluid I just checked it recently, I did put some of that Lucas stuff in there awhile back when I was trying different things to see if that was the problem, it still has the same amount of fluid which is good.

Are the idler pulleys the ones without any engine components on them? Are they just things that the belt is wrapped around?

Thxs again

 

[Fordnatic]

That's correct, just a pulley that the belt wraps around. Sometimes the bearing goes out and causes a squeal.

 

[Lizard]

Remove the serpintine belt then start grabbing and spinning every pulley that it turns. Sometime you can feel the pulley binding or even squeeking when it's bad. Run the vehicle for a minute and see if the sound has stopped. This will rule out major engine problems ie., crank bearings, etc., and confirm that the offending part is one that the serpintine belt turns. If still not found, try the "screwdriver to ear" test to narrow down the culprit. Or try that first before removing the belt, but even with a good mechanic's stethescope, I've still found it hard to track down noises.
--Lizard

 

[sman83]

Sounds good

I dont have to be in to work until 3pm so I will try these methods out and head to Autozone or the like to grab the parts. I hope this is the problem cause this whine is getting old and I am getting tired of trying to find it.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

i thought it would of been ur power steering but i guess that was not it anyways do u got hids on ur mounty

 

[Black92LX]

get a new serpentine belt!!

I had the exact same problem. I had a brand new belt and it caused a horrendous whine just like that. Replaced the belt the noise was gone.
I put the belt on another explorer and it caused the same whine.

Though this all after I changed out all of my pulley's and put a new alternator on.
But in the end it was a belt I had just pulled from the package.

 

[sman83]

hids on my mounty? lost on that one


The serpentine belt would of been my first guess, but this was my parents car first and my stepdad had changed the belt to try and correct this problem and it still did it, he said it wasnt worth doing again but I am getting annoyed so I will pick one up along with the pulleys today and see what happens.


All of the help is appreciated thanks !

 

[sman83]

Found it I think

While I was trying to change the oil pressure sender, but couldnt get my hand in there, I tried the screwdriver test.

I tried it on the ps pump, ac pump, alt and so forth and didnt hear anything different. I crawled under the car and started testing spots under there. I found it on this spot:

I have never changed the oil on it myself, but I am assuming this is the oil pan. It was scary to listen to it with the screwdriver.

Any ideas what it could be?

 

[skoal_mint]

I sounds like the pwr steering from the video, but your saying the sound is coming from the oil pan,,wow....maybe you have a spun bearing

 

[sman83]

will recheck

Alot of people are saying the power steering so I will double check it just in case. Funny thing today I was checking the idler pulleys and the front of the power steering pulley came off ! It has 3 bolts and a threaded area in the middle for the bolt.

I went to advance auto parts and got a bolt for it, it fit the cover but not the front of the pump, its like the bolt tapers off into the front of the pump. Any ideas?

 

[sman83]

fixed one prob

The peice that was loose was part of the clutch on the AC compressor got the bolt and and it works fine.

I am thinking about taking it somewhere to have it looked at like a dealer any thoughts or should I try a mechanic around my area?

 

[MrClean98]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but did you ever track this down. I have the exact same whine.

 

[sman83]

Idler pUlley

It was the idler pulley, once I replaced that it was as quiet as could be.