Tked

Hey guys,

A week after I bought my 2004 ls430 I noticed that on cold starts it makes this weird intermittent sound. It sounds like a power steering whine but it's only for a split second and goes away. This morning it did it again but it would stop for a minute or so then do it again 3 or 4 times. After work today I decided to see if it was the power steering pump by turning the steering wheel back and forth. I could not replicate the sound. I turned on the fan (non ac) because its 77° outside and low and behold, the sound came back. The closest sound that sounds like it is like a psp going out. It makes this, " Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" sound for like a split second then goes away. Could this be a fan bearing about to go out? It does it with or without the ac turned on and only does it (as far as I can tell) when I turn on the air.

Ricklin

Not an expert on LS430, still learning the car. That said I've been wrenching for more years than I care to think about.
That sounds like your A/C compressor is making noise when it initially turns on. I would check the charge level of the AC system.
There is an electric clutch on the front of the compressor that engages the compressor when energized.