98 malibu whining sound

[sswpriz]

I have a 98 Malibu with the 3.1 V6 with 135000 miles on it. Just recently I noticed a high pitched whining noise that the tome and intensity goes up and down with the RPM of the engine. I've had it to my regular mechanic and from the outside, ou can not hear the noise. You can only hear it froim the inside of the car. My regular mechanic could not hear it. I then took it to a reputable transmission shop and the mechanic drove with me and he said he could hear the noise also. He eliminated 80% of the transmission, since the noise is still there when the car is in park.
I was thinking possibly some bearings someplace. I just had the alternator replaced, so hopefully that is ruled out.
Has any one had any other experience such as this. The car seems to be running alright except for the noise !!!

as of 11-11-05, noon, I am driving the car and there are no whinging noises anymore. I have come to the conclusion that there are 3 possibilities:
1 - the car has magically repaired itself
2 - little elves snuck in and fixed it for me
3 - if it was a bearing, it is now fried and no longer making any noises and the whole thing will implode at the wrong moment

Since 1 & 2 are unrealistic, I am waiting for #3 to take effect.

I hate cars, LOL

[steve_o]

I have the same model, year and engine but lower mileage.

I recently replaced my alternator and shortly after had to replace my serpentine drive belt. It started to whine as the RPMs increased. It started out just when the car was started cold and eventually went silent as it warmed up.

Have you relaced that recently?

[dyardley]

I had a whining/grinding noise as well. The bearings on the a/c compressor were worn. they had to replace it. once they did the noise went away. the a/c worked fine and their were no other performance problems during the time the noise existed.

[sswpriz]

I had a AC man take a listen. He could hear the whine, but he said it was NOT the AC unit.
the noise seems to be more prevalent when the motor hits about 2000 RPM, the noise starts at about 1700 RPM, literally no noise at 1500 RPM.
Hmmmm, 3 mechanics and not a clue !!!

[sswpriz]

updated, see top thread

[rdhl]

Originally Posted by sswpriz

I have a 98 Malibu with the 3.1 V6 with 135000 miles on it. Just recently I noticed a high pitched whining noise that the tome and intensity goes up and down with the RPM of the engine. I've had it to my regular mechanic and from the outside, ou can not hear the noise. You can only hear it froim the inside of the car. My regular mechanic could not hear it. I then took it to a reputable transmission shop and the mechanic drove with me and he said he could hear the noise also. He eliminated 80% of the transmission, since the noise is still there when the car is in park.
I was thinking possibly some bearings someplace. I just had the alternator replaced, so hopefully that is ruled out.
Has any one had any other experience such as this. The car seems to be running alright except for the noise !!!

as of 11-11-05, noon, I am driving the car and there are no whinging noises anymore. I have come to the conclusion that there are 3 possibilities:
1 - the car has magically repaired itself
2 - little elves snuck in and fixed it for me
3 - if it was a bearing, it is now fried and no longer making any noises and the whole thing will implode at the wrong moment

Since 1 & 2 are unrealistic, I am waiting for #3 to take effect.

I hate cars, LOL

I have a 98 malibu as well, I have the same problem, I did however replace all idler pulleys, alternator, power steering pump, tensioner pulley, water pump and serpentine belt, it made a great differemce as these items become loose, rattly and noisy over time. I still have a slight whine though at the same RPMs as you, so if you find out let me know please and I will do the same! [email protected]