odds and ends questions

hey all, i just recently purchased a 97 Grand Prix GT with 103XXX miles and the 3.8 engine and ive got some questions. 1. ive got a whining coming from my belts (somewhere in there) and i was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. it doesnt seem to affect the way the car drives but it sure is annoying 2. what is a U-Bend delete and what does it do? ive heard of people doing this and i was curious. thanks for the help

Welcome to AF!!!

This is a common problem and usually indicates that one of the idler pulleys or the tensioner pulley is dry or going bad. They can be replaced fairly easily and inexpensively.

If you look under your car behind the resonator you will see the second O2 sensor mounted to a U shaped piece of pipe. This is the U-bend. It creates and exhaust restriction that will decrease performance. If you remove it and install the proper piece of pipe it decreases back pressure and therefore increases performance of the engine.

I had a slight whining in mine once and it was the water pump. Alternator going south will make a whining noise sometimes. Mine is a 97 also and I have 303,000 miles on it and waiting for weather co-operation to change out hub bearings as I have a loud whine in mine now.

Try taking a can of spray lubricant, and hit the center of each belt driven accessory one at a time until the noise quiets down and you found the whiner. If it's an idler pulley or water pump, fairly easy fix. If its the tensioner, the pulley is easy (the center bolt is left hand thread), but the tensioner assembly itself has coolant running through it, and is a little more difficult. The alternator is easy, but the AC compressor/clutch is not a DIY job, unless you know what you're doing.