Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting High Pitch Whine

My car (98 duratec 2.5L V6, 61 K miles) is making a high pitch whinning noise which is coming from somewhere in the engine. It seems to be coming from the driver's side but it is hard to tell.

This only happens during the hottest parts of the day when i start the car and begin to drive at low speed. It goes away after a couple of minutes and it goes away with higher rpms. It happens with the AC off.

After reading several posts here, i am thinking it might be a loose water pump belt but I thought i'd ask. Any help would be appreciated!!

-Alaric

Welcome. If it is the WP belt, you can easily tell by removing the 3 7mm bolts on the plastic cover between the engine and the radiator. The belt can be easily removed by pushing in the idler pulley. The belt costs about $12 and most autoparts stores have it in stock. If you haven't changed it in 7 years, it might be a good idea to do it. It should take you about 5 minutes to do.

Chongo has a good picture of the WP belt.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1003685&Forum=All_Forums&Words=12463&Match=Username&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=1003556&Search=true#Post1003685


Now, you mentioned that it happens when the A/C is off. Maybe the sound is actually from the passenger side?

Thank you for the help.

I really can't tell where the sound comes from in the engine. It never happens at night or early in the morning when it is cool but i have not changed any of the belts so it probably a good idea even if it does not end the noise.

I had a saturn which emitted a different noise but likewise did it only in hot and humid weather and that turned out to be a belt. I am hoping this is the same thing.