engine whine, not alternator

what’s up.
Ok well for a while i have been having this slightly low pitch whine coming from my engine bay. For the longest time I thought it was the alternator, but since it works fine I didn’t bother replacing it. Well today the noise seems a little different. So I decided to do a little eliminating. I removed the serp belt, so I can eliminate the a/c, power steering, and alt. started up and sure enough the whine is still there. Sounds like it could be coming from under the intake in the valve area. Anybody know of any common problems that sound like this?
Tried to do a search but the stupid search engine kept eliminating important words and stating them as too common.

Now, try the other end of the engine. Remove the Water Pump drive belt and see if the sound goes away.

ah yes,
i seariously doubt its the water pump, the noise isnt coming from that area but ill try it out for the heck of it and post in a couple of hours.

i had the same problem, it was the intake gaskets. i was seeing what the new 3L could handle and it "popped" and then stalled. started it back up and a whine was present. i blew a gasket.

Are you sure it isn't the normal very mild timing chain noise? Sometimes called the DOHC song.

lol DOHC song.. quite possibly. the noise wasnt there when i bought the car. I replaced the serp belt with one from pepboys and then it started right after, so thinking it was the serp belt i didnt change it for about a month then went and got a gatorback, and the noise was still there.
It could be the lower intake gasket, i went to clean the intake and noticed my imrc linkage was missing, so figuring i was gonna have to tear it down again i stopped halfway threw and just replaced the uim gasket, and and left the lim gasket since i didnt take it off. but i managed to replace the linkage without tearing the intake down. Maybe that will fix it. it does sound like a mild wisper but it isnt pulsating like a vacume leak would. ill let you guys know when i work that out.

Noise Terminology

Noise Terminology

shavedsvt said:

i had the same problem, it was the intake gaskets. i was seeing what the new 3L could handle and it "popped" and then stalled. started it back up and a whine was present. i blew a gasket.

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A whine or rumble noise comes from a device which has a central shaft of some sort that spins in bearings like an alternator, water pump or AC compressor either due to a bad bearing or a lack of lubrication. This noise will usually vary with the speed of the accessory or vehicle. A gasket leak will not whine. An air or vacuum leak will make a sound like a tire with a nail in it that is going flat. A bad, loose or slipping belt will not whine either but will, depending on the problem, squeal, buzz or make a flapping sound for lack of better technological terms. A ticking sound can describe an exhaust leak or a lifter noise. A knocking sound is usually reserved for engine bearings, be they for the connecting rods or mains. The only devices that can cause a rattle as far as I know would be timing chains, a bad EGR or something broken in the valve train. This is a list of noises most commonly heard from under the hood and not from anywhere else in the vehicle. That's a whole separate list of noises.
Karl

thanks 98svtc thats going into my notpad file for future reference. Its really hard to say what the nois sounds like. I need to find another svt around the area so maybe i can do a sound test. maybe its just all in my head and supposed to be there, because it has been present just abut the hole time i had it. Maybe i just didnt realise it was there until after i put the new belt on..

You want to meet up to compare engine bay sounds?

just act like it's a supercharger

I've got the same whine also. It appears to be the power steering pump. I had replaced it do to leaks and the new one was fine for 500 miles or so but the whine is back.

It tends to be more apparent when the car is cold and seems to dissipates when it warms up.

It definitely isn't the cam whine, bearings. It could possibly be the alternator but we put a brand new one in. Third one.

I thought it could have been moaning from the Vortech Supercharger but that is out of the car for repairs.

It's a real stumper for sure.

I guess what ever blows up eventually, will be the source?

01Roush said:

just act like it's a supercharger

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Funny, mine has a very mild whine always has ,well the last 60/70 thousand miles at least that I've had it .At well over 200k it's never been a problem (knocks on wood ) and it does sound way cool like a supercharger :drool: