briremo

What's up ya'll?

2002 RX300 with about 140k miles. Tranny has not been replaced.

when cold, engine makes a very loud whine sound that sounds very similar to a bad power steering pump but the sound is coming from the right side of the engine compartment. and there are no accessories there. Sounds like its coming from just beneath the throttle body.

As the engine warms up the sound decreases in loudness or becomes less noticeable. The "whining" increases/decreases with frequency as the engine revs up and drops when the RPM drops as well. the sound is present whether the transmission is in gear, park or neutral.

So you can be driving at say 30mph, throw it in neutral and let rpms drop to idle and the intensity of the sound also drops. Completely associated with engine RPM.

A mechanic we brought it to says its the planetary gear in the transmission but I'm dubious. Thought Id ask the experts!

ATLs460

Well I can say that when you need help diagnosing a "noise" and you ask it through text...kiiiiiiiiinda makes it hard to confirm...


Can you take a video of the noise and post it?

kalali

If the noise is coming from under hood and it changes with engine speed, then it must be coming from a rotating object. The rotating objects are belts/pulleys on the right/pass side or the valvetrain near the middle near the top. Look/listen closely with the hood open and report back your findings.

briremo

the noise definitely comes from the driver side of the engine compartment. You can hear a little belt noise when she cranks it up cold, but it abates rather quickly.

That whining noise you hear will subside as the engine warms, but its always there.

Let me know what you guys think!

timmui

Oh boy, that is one unhappy sounding RX. I had to turn down the volume before you moved to the passenger side. If you haven't done so already, please check the fluids, both the level and appearance/smell. More specifically, oil and ATF are the ones to check. Oil should be checked with engine off and will be light brown and translucent. ATF should be checked with the engine running and should be (assuming T-IV) cherry red and not smell "burnt".

The fact that the noise wound down as the engine slowed down isn't something I'd associate with the transmission. It may be a bad starter motor clutch. I have to say that I am a reluctant DIY'er and not a mechanic, so take that into consideration.

Bobster999

use a mechanics stethoscope to probe until you hear the noise the loudest.

2KHarrier

Maybe something to do with the VVT solenoids?? Just a guess..

timmui

+1 on the scope. I should have remembered. I knew an old mechanic who used to take a 18" slotted screw driver and touch it to parts of the engine while holding it against his cheek to feel for vibrations. I was always too scared to do that with all those moving engine parts.

I want say that the VVTs would have caused a CEL to go off, but I don't know for certain. It does sound like part of the engine is starved for oil, but I hope not, because that would be very bad news.

thomas1

I wonder if yu have sludge.? I would pull front valve cover and see if it is present. The engine may have clogged oil passage ways.

briremo

So we finally broke down and dropped the car off to get fixed. One of the benefits of having a backup "fun" car is there's never a rush for repairs.

Turns out the planetary gear was the issue. Apparently the gear is made mostly of aluminum but the pins that hold them in are steel. Over time the pins start to "Waller" the seats out and the vibration starts.

Seems we caught it soon enough to just weld the pins in place and we should be good for another 150k miles according to mechanic. We also had a new rear main seal done and rebuilt the torque converter. $1800. A big bullet to bite but better than the $3500 numbers we were getting from Aaamco. Hahahaha!

Hope this helps someone else!

Also, mechanic was a friend of a friend so were told the project would've been a bit more for others. YMMV

timmui

So it did turn out to be the transmission. I would never have imagined that. What was done to the TC?

And to clarify for me, the planetary gear is or is not the part that the starter motor gear drives?

hypervish

No, the starter drives the flexplate/flywheel.

RX300CE

Humm, I thought only 1999 and 2000 planetary gears with aluminum set ,2001,02,03 Planetary gears with the updated steel set , I have 2002 Rx300 156K miles as well , transmission shift gears perfectly smooth .