Whining Sound

Hey,

My friend asked me to take a look at her car (2000 Maxima) today, before work. There is a faint whining sound coming from the general area to the right of the header. It's a bit difficult to pinpoint; clean, high-pitched whine. Doesn't sound like grinding or anything like that.

It occurs when the car is off. She said when she went to leave in the morning for work the Maxima was already whining. She came to work, turned her car off and it was still whining. I went out here and found the whining was still going on. When I turn the engine on, it either goes away or is so muffled I can't hear it.

I also noticed her coolant reservoir was very low (almost nothing in there). Could this be a problem with the water/coolant pump? I was thinking about going and getting some coolant for her @ lunch. Would a leak or low coolant cause the pump to whine?

And a slightly maybe-related note; her car has also been idling very rough for the first couple seconds after she starts it up. Could this be related? It will fluctuate between ~500 rpms and ~1000 rpms before settling down to around 800 rpms for about 15~20 seconds after she starts her engine.

Thanks for your help guys.

Low coolant has a cause, the whining is one result, heads warp, burned valve$ will soon follow :( ... Dont drive until leak has been found & corrected.