Engine whine 2000 Rodeo?

[Rodeo78]

It becomes very noticable at higher RPM's (2000 or so). The whine varies with engine speed. The belt is in perfect shape. The idler pully seems to have a little side to side slop in it. Could bad bearings cause this noise? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[anthonyn]

Originally Posted by Rodeo78

It becomes very noticable at higher RPM's (2000 or so). The whine varies with engine speed. appreciated.

I too had an annoying whine at around 2000 rpm on my 95.5 Rodeo. After much searching I found that it was caused by the power steering pump. Since the pump is attached to the engine the whine resonates throughout the engine bay and sounds like it is coming from the engine.

The trick to isolating this noise is to use a wooden dowel (like a broom handle) as a stethoscope. Have someone rev the engine to reproduce the whine then with one end of the dowel to your ear and the other on the P/S pump and other places in the engine (valve cover, timing belt cover etc), see where the whine is most pronounced. In my case, it was clearly the P/S pump.

I talked to the dealer and they say this is very common and not really a problem unless the pump is leaking. I loosened the p/s pump belt slightly and the problem occurs less often and has moved to a lower rpm. One day I may just replace the P/S pump.

If you isolate it to the P/S pump, then I suggest you replace the belt and experiment with the belt tension.

Good luck,
Anthony

[jolopez]

I had a problem with by serpentine belt on my 2000 Rodeo. You have to buy the premium belt that has horizontal groves every half inch. This allows the belt to take some of those sharp turns near the top. If you buy a cheap belt, when it's cold, it will rub against one of the brackets as it cannot bend properly accross one of the pullies.

JL