Loud whiney sound

Hey guys, wondering if you can help me diagnose this one. I have a 98 Intrigue with the 3.8 in it. I'm getting a loud whining noise coming from the Engine...more specifically somewhere along the serpentine belt. It just started happening yesterday and I peaked my head under the hood earlier today and its coming from the Bottom front corner of the serpentine belt...Is that the alternator down there? I'm not having any electrical problems with the car right now, Just this really loud whining noise and it happens when I'm just driving down the road or when its idling. It cause's people to turn there head and see whats making that noise. Any ideas?

Hi,
I have not experienced this with my intrigue ('99w/3.5l) but have dealt with it on two Ford vehicles. I assume the whine changes intensity with engine speed? On the Fords, in both cases it was an idler pulley. Usually held on by one center bolt, they have a race of bearings that are not sealed and become dry. I repacked one set and that helped for a while but ultimately replaced both idlers with new ones from NAPA.
I found that locating the exact source of the noise was difficult. Perhaps a car stethescope (sp?) would be helpful. In any case, starting simple with the idler might be wise.
Best of luck

does it change pitch when you turn the wheel. If so it is your p/s and your fluid is probably low. If it goes away when you turn on the air conditioning, it is probably the A/C clutch.

does it change pitch when you turn the wheel. If so it is your p/s and your fluid is probably low. If it goes away when you turn on the air conditioning, it is probably the A/C clutch.


No, doesn't change any pitch when I turn the wheel...Only gets louder as I rev up the engine. I drove it for about 25 miles today and the sound was no longer there...But its come and gone 5 times this weekend...It usually lasts for the entire drive also. When the sound was happening I turned off everything in the car...the heater, Stereo and still had the same pitch.

No, doesn't change any pitch when I turn the wheel...Only gets louder as I rev up the engine. I drove it for about 25 miles today and the sound was no longer there...But its come and gone 5 times this weekend...It usually lasts for the entire drive also. When the sound was happening I turned off everything in the car...the heater, Stereo and still had the same pitch.

I have a 1998 Intrigue with the 3.8 with the same problem. On mine it is the powersteering pump. When I originally checked the power steering fluid, it was totally black and burnt smelling. I used the turkey baster method to change the old fluid with new fresh fluid. This helped a little. It has done this for a year now. The only thing to do is to replace the power steering pump or live with it. It is more of an annoyance than a real mechanical problem.

Well I brought it into the shop today and it was making that same whiney sound, just not near as loud...The Mechanic said that its coming from the AC Compressor...He recommended that I get the entire AC Compressor along witht he clutch...Pretty spendy. He qouted me at about 2 1/2 hours of labor...Then qouted me some prices on the part...Brand New $460 Reman $360

I called around for some remanufactured ones...

Napa $270
Carquest $334
Bumper to Bomper $261

I have a 99 Olds Intrigue with a 3.5L engine that only has a whiney sound when the engine is under medium to hard acceleration or when the engine is required to produce more power, no matter what the speed. This also occurs when the cruise is engaged and the engine is required to keep that speed while going uphill.
I think that I have it narrowed down to the power steering unit. When I take the cap off the resevoir, the noise gets louder.
Can anyone help with this?

i have a whining sound too, but mine sounds like a vacuum more than anything, but its to loud for that. i is nly noticeable when accelerating but stops when at cruising speed, checked belts/pulleys no problems, anything else

I have a 99 Olds Intrigue with a 3.5L engine that only has a whiney sound when the engine is under medium to hard acceleration or when the engine is required to produce more power, no matter what the speed. This also occurs when the cruise is engaged and the engine is required to keep that speed while going uphill.
I think that I have it narrowed down to the power steering unit. When I take the cap off the resevoir, the noise gets louder.
Can anyone help with this?


Sounds like a probem I had with my hyundai sonta. It was a bad seal where the exhaust pipe meets the exhaust manifold. under pressure gas would shoot out. Mine almost sounded like a little turbocharger.

Hi!

I have had the same problem with a slight whiney sound when I would accelerate. Just this morning My tensioner arm and wheel seized up. My serpantine belt went off track and I lost my power steering. I am just now trying to find a way to remove the wheel and arm to see if they need to be replaced or just reset. It looks like something set the wheel of balance. It's not sitting straight on the rod. If anyone knows what kind of bolt attatches the tension arm to the engine maybe I can figure out how to take it off and fix it.

Hi!

I have had the same problem with my 2001 olds intrigue. I have had a slight whiney sound when I would accelerate. Just this morning My tensioner arm and wheel seized up. My serpantine belt went off track and I lost my power steering. I am just now trying to find a way to remove the wheel and arm to see if they need to be replaced or just reset. It looks like something set the wheel of balance. It's not sitting straight on the rod. If anyone knows what kind of bolt attatches the tension arm to the engine maybe I can figure out how to take it off and fix it.

im still having that sound, it has been going on for over a year. now i have money i will investigate them.

im now getting a bunch of problems.

So I got the AC Compressor in about 4 months ago, The damn thing started on Fire yesterday. I drove the car for only 2 miles, Noticed something was wrong, I was getting really warm air with the AC on. So I pull over to the side of the road and all this smoke starts coming from my engine. I lift the hood and there's a fire on top the the A/C Compressor. I ran across the street to a store and got a fire extinguisher but the fire was out by the time I got back. This car has only given me problems since I got it. The "NEW" mechanic I brought my car to said it looks like the AC Compressor siezed up. So I have a couple options, Replace the AC Compressor again. I can't afford to put another $600 into this car right now, Of check if the bearings are still good in the pulley and just unplug the AC Compressor. I might have to replace the belt because it got melted a little bit with the fire. or my third option would be to bypass the ac compressor and get a shorter belt. The third option would be the cheapest. Anyone see any problems with bypassing the a/c compressor with a shorter belt?

Folks,

Our '98 Olds Intrigue started having this whiny sound also. I removed the serpentine belt and it seems the A/C clutch has a lot of wobble in it. The compressor works fine, so I'd rather not mess with trying to replace it. After some searching, I located a source for the A/C clutch only [IOW, not accompanying the A/C compressor] and the A/C clutch bearing. These should arrive in a few days. Also, I have gotten a AC Clutch puller from the local auto parts store.

I think this should solve the problem, and if it does, it's a $70 [which includes shipping the parts 2nd Day Air] fix instead of a several hundred $ fix...with all the air-conditioning system-related headaches.

Once I am done, I'll be glad to post everything I have learned.....where to get the A/C clutch, part numbers, etc, so everyone can benefit.

Paolo

Hey guys, wondering if you can help me diagnose this one. I have a 98 Intrigue with the 3.8 in it. I'm getting a loud whining noise coming from the Engine...more specifically somewhere along the serpentine belt. It just started happening yesterday and I peaked my head under the hood earlier today and its coming from the Bottom front corner of the serpentine belt...Is that the alternator down there? I'm not having any electrical problems with the car right now, Just this really loud whining noise and it happens when I'm just driving down the road or when its idling. It cause's people to turn there head and see whats making that noise. Any ideas?

I've had two 3800 series engines. Lost a water pump on one. Bearings were loud before it went. Had a alternator problem with another (loud bearings at a certain RPM) Good luck

It might be the alternator. But, I don't know. My 99Lumina had the 3.8 engine, and the alternator was near the top of the engine. However, I just took my 02 aurora in to the mechanic for a "whining noise" and he told me that the bearings in my AC compressor were about to seize up. He said most compressors would be able to have the clutch/bearing assembly replaced. But, in the Auroras, I have to replace the whole compressor.

Good Luck.

Hi
On www.rockauto.com, I went to the "1998 : OLDSMOBILE : INTRIGUE : 3.8L 231 cubic inch V6 MFI (K) : Heat & Air Conditioning" section and bought two parts that arrived yesterday

A/C Compressor Clutch
ACDELCO Part # 154719
CLUTCH,A/C {#06582085} $39.79

A/C Compressor Clutch Bearing
BCA Part # 907257
Harrison V-5 (Variable) {Ball Bearing} $20.79

The bearing has some numbers on it: 6559469, which I see on http://www.polarbearinc.com/PBPC/homepage/product_Bearings.html in row CB-2000. It shows that the bearing has 40mm inside diameter, 62mm outsde diameter, and 20.64mm inner race width


After some attempts to pull the clutch, I bit the bullet and bought a "GM A/C Clutch Plate Remover/Installer for a V5 clutch with metric threads at Pep Boys [I tried all the tool-loan pullers at Autozone but none would fit.

As you can see in the picture referenced below, the bearing was shot. It was a sealed bearing but the seal fell off when I removed the hub, and several ball bearings were missing. Mind you, the whining sound started only very recently.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=369753


One problem I now have is that there was no mention in the "1998 : OLDSMOBILE : INTRIGUE : 3.8L 231 cubic inch V6 MFI (K) : Heat & Air Conditioning" section about a "A/C Compressor Clutch Snap Ring" although there is one in the Bravada section for 1998, but it shows:
**Non-stock item--shipping delayed up to 12 business days**

However, after doing some searching, I found that a standard size for go cart tublar axles is 40mm, and snap rings are readily available. For example, on: http://www.jackssmallengines.com/gokaz_tubularaxles.cfm#Snap%20Ring%20Anchor

There is a go kart shop where I live so I plan to bring [what's left of] the old snap ring and my caliper to the shop and see if I can get a good fit. If the size is the same, I figure that a snap ring that can handle the abuse applied to a go cart axle, it can handle the abuse of an air conditioning compressor clutch bearing.

I'll keep you posted

I agree, my whiney sound has gotten way worse, and it definetly coming from the belt area. im going to replace my alternator this week because i think that it is the loudest part on there. and for preventative maintenance, soon i will get all tyhe other parts replaced down there like the a/c comp clutch and water pump

I have an '98 Olds Intrigue and had that sound also. I took it to the garage and they changed the serpentine belt. Low and behold, the noise was still there but more faint. At first, I had the same noise the original poster is talking about.

Two weeks later on my way to the airport, the idle pulley broke and went rolling on the interstate!

Check your idle pulley, it was only $15.00 for a new one at NAPA. Worth a try to get rid of that lousy annoying noise. Never had a problem since.

you might also check the PCV valve, it makes a god awful whining noise sometimes when it goes bad...if there is any resistance to you removing the oil cap while the engine is running, then your PCV valve is bad..the PCV valve is on the left side of the upper intake if you are standing at the front of the vehicle, the MAP sensor is located on top, to access the PCV valve you will need to remove the MAP sensor carefully, then unscrew the housing with a wrench, the PCV valve lies inside, it looks like a little silver barrel with a nipple on the end of it, if it rattles when you shake it its still good, if not then change it, and get a new o-ring as well if you do change it

i replaced my alternator, and the sound went away, i also checked out my AC compressor, and the clutch is definetly going bad. waiting for some cooler weather before i fix it.

The V5 GM a/c unit has a common well known problem of having its clutch plate and pulley making contact causing scrapping. There is supposed to be a .020 gap between them, but many times this area narrows. You needed to borrow the clutch hub removal and installation tool from autozone or else by one such a the K&B tool. The hub then has to be loosen 1/4 to 1/2 turns in order for the clearance of .020 to occur. A feeler gauge can be used to determine the exact measurement. This all can be done on the car without discharging the system. Many people replace the entire a/c clutch, pulley, and hub which is unnecessary or else the entire a/c. Next time take the the car to Mr. Goodwrench (authorize GM dealer) or to a reputable service facility. There are many post on the internet on this subject by GM techs on pro and semi-pro sites. Google and Ask both produce results when queried using a/c, V5, and noise, etc.

The V5 GM a/c unit has a common well known problem of having its clutch plate and pulley making contact causing scrapping. There is supposed to be a .020 gap between them, but many times this area narrows. You needed to borrow the clutch hub removal and installation tool from autozone or else by one such a the K&B tool. The hub then has to be loosen 1/4 to 1/2 turns in order for the clearance of .020 to occur. A feeler gauge can be used to determine the exact measurement. This all can be done on the car without discharging the system. Many people replace the entire a/c clutch, pulley, and hub which is unnecessary or else the entire a/c. Next time take the the car to Mr. Goodwrench (authorize GM dealer) or to a reputable service facility. There are many post on the internet on this subject by GM techs on pro and semi-pro sites. Google and Ask both produce results when queried using a/c, V5, and noise, etc.

Welcome to AF.

Thanks for your input, however, please check the date and do not resurrect old threads. Thread closed.