Baby ///M3

Someone please help.

Two days ago my car started making this weird noise. Picture this, it's like a mild hawling noise of an electric motor whenever the engine is running. This noise is particularly audible in the interior of the car. When I am driving, as I push the gas pedal harder, the noise increases in volume as well.

I know It's not alternator whine because I've tried turning off the radio (and my car's completely stock and has no aftermarket alarm/radio equipments, etc.) and the noise didn't go away. It's not the A/C compressor either because the same noise would persist whether I let the A/C run or not.

In other words, this noise is very similar to the noise that any car makes when you go fast in reverse gear. It also sounds like an electrical remote control car running.

I've tried three different mechanics and none of them was able to give me an immediate answer to this problem. I've had them sat in my car, listen to my engine with the hood popped open and still, this problem puzzled them.

One of the mechanics, however, did suggest that it may be my bearing or water pump that's going bad.

Other than that, they all said I should be able to drive and it shouldn't be an engine related problem.

Does anyone have had this problem before? Please help... I am afraid to drive my car now because I don't want to break anything.

And by the way, my belts are all tightened. Power steering pump and radiator were replaced 30k miles ago.

Thanks in advance.

Jon

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

only when you are moving?

Ok, if at idle also, and you know it isnt your belts, it may be the section conecting to the torque convertor.

Baby ///M3

Actually, I can hear it whether I am moving or not. But when I am moving/giving it gas, the noise definitely becomes more audible.

This noise is particularly noticeable from inside the cabin of the car.

Jon

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Could also be the fuel pump. Does it sound like it's behind you or in front of you?

sweetsc400

Did this noise start occuring out of nowhere, or was it nocticeable after some sort of service or repair? Or is there anything else that you can think of that might have caused this noise?

Baby ///M3

Hmmm..

The hawling sound seems as if it's coming out directly from the center dash area, so I assume it's probably coming from behind the engine.

The funny thing is, one of the mechanics suggested that it may be the bearing on the center of the front of the engine. So I am not so sure anymore.

Is there any more symptoms to look for for there's a particular component that's failling?

Thanks.

Jon

Baby ///M3

Hmmm.. not that I can recall.

No major or minor service or repair was done to my car prior to this happening. Not even an oil change.

If there's anything, the only thing that I can think of is that I recently switched my tranny mode from "normal" to "power" to test my gas consumption. Before then, I've always driven my car with the "normal" mode.

Jon

Baby ///M3

I was told that this noise could be my PS pump going bad.

Mine was replaced 40k miles ago but just to make sure, I did a test anyway. I left the engine running and turn my steering wheel back and forth to the furthest it could go for at least 10 times and I could not hear any groans or weird noises.

I also inspected my PS pump reservoirs after this and could not see any bubbles or any sign of damage from it as well.

Now I am really stuck... I do have clips of my engine making this sound for those of you who are interested to check it out.

Please help.. I am going crazy here.

Thanks.

Jon

DontHateSc

i have the same problem, everytime i go faster i get that sound, especially from 3000-5000 RPMs, its like a really small electric motor whistling almost.. i dont know what it is, but it has been doing it for like 2 months now.

D2-AUTOSPORT

about a month before my tranny went I could hear a whine at idle. I figured it was just a belt or something since it was a constant whine, even when the car was not moving. I had removed my 20s to sell them, and I let my brother drive the car so I could see how it looked. That was when I noticed the noise was audible from outside the car and got louder as speed rose.

Well I put my new wheels on, and the noise got LOUDER. My tranny went the next morning.

Just my .02 I HOPE its not your tranny, but have it looked at anyway

Baby ///M3

I see...

Do you hear the noise when the car's idling though? My noise stays constant when the car's idling, and then the noise gets louder as I accelerate.

Thanks.

Jon

Baby ///M3

Hmmm...

I hope it's not my tranny.

I do have a couple of clips that I recorded on my digicam regarding this noise. Is there anyway that I can send the clips to you and have you listen to them?

I wonder how much this whole thing is going to cost me if it's indeed, the tranny..

Jon

webnuts4u

I'm not sure if I'm experiencing the same thing or not. For the longest time, I couldn't even feel this car idle. This summer I started noticing a similar sound, almost a low volume whine. I could also feel a light vibration in the steering wheel. It was worse when the air conditioner was on. Now that it cooled down and I don't run the AC I don't notice it that much, but I can still feel this vibration. I don't notice it unless I'm sitting still idling.

I have noticed that the car has downshifted hard a couple of times as I slowed for a light. I thought it was kind of strange for that to happen.

I had the 90K mile service. The timing belt and the water pump was changed among other things. I don't remember them doing anything to the tranny.

Baby ///M3

Thanks for your input again, guys.

Being stubborn, I went down to the garage again and left the car idling for a while. After the car got warmer I tried to give it some gas with the gear in P... I was hoping to see if I could locate the source of the noise.

And guess what? The noise actually came from underneath my automatic tranny console.

The more I listen to it, the more certain I am that this noise had to come from the bottom of my car directly underneath my tranny console.

Does anyone know if it's the axle? Or is my tranny dying?

Thanks again.

Jon

Frankinaustin

Jon -
If it is your PS pump, you can do a form of diagnosis this way: take a long screwdriver and place the tip on the pump body while the motor is running. Put the other end (the end you hold with your hand) to your ear. You'll be able to hear what's going on inside your pump and differentiate from the other motor noise.

Also, check your PS fluid level AND color. The PS fluid is good ole Dextron III and if it's in good shape it should be red/translucent - sorta like the juice from a jar of mericino cherries. If it looks dark, replace it with plain ole cheap-o Dextron III. The way I change it is this way: I got a turkey baster from the grocery store - it's a big plastic eye-dropper. I suck out the old until the resivour is empty and refile with the new stuff.

As a note of reference - I tried to replace the PS fluid with some fancy Amsoil synthetic tranny fluid and the dadgum PS Pump made so much noise I thought that it was going to break. It's as if the Amsoil was too thick/viscous.

HOWEVER...

You mentioned that the sound is coming from your tranny area. I would suggest the following:
1.) Jack up your car and put it on jack stands for safety. crawl underneath your car to the tranny area and look for where the driveshaft meets the transmission. There should be a fairly large universal joint there. Inspect the area very closly with a strong flashlight just to make sure what you are hear is not somply some debris that got lodged there - like a plastic grocery sack or a small animal. Sounds silly, but you never know. Perhaps some crap just got wrapped around the end of your tranny.

2.) the other thing I'd suggest is to really look closely at the color of your transmission fluid. It should be red. However if it's dirty or worn out it will be dark - maybe brown or even purple. (i'm color blind).

- Has someone serviced your transmission and put fluid other than what is specified for your tranny? I can't remember if you drive and SC400 or not, but the v-8 engine has to use special tranny fluid called Toyota Type IV.

If your fluid looks crappy or if you suspect that the wrong fluid is in your tranny, change it. Change it this way. With your car up on jacks, drain the 2 quarts from the pan via the drain plug - just like changing your regular motor oil. Replace the plug. Add the exact amount back into the tranny that came out of the pan - usually 2 quarts. You refil the tranny fluid thru the pipe that the dip stick goes down into. You'll need a special funnel that you can get from a regualr car parts store. After you've refilled the tranny, start your engine and let it run about 2 min. Then drain your tranny pan again. Do this process 3 or 4 times. You'll end up changing about 50 - 75% of your fluid. you'll need to have bought about 12 qts of tranny fluid.

If this doesn't solve your noise, then consider this: Drain your tranny pan once again and take your tranny pan off. There are about 20 ten milimeter bolts that hold the pan to the tranny. You'll need a rubber mallet to bang the pan loose, since it's glued onto the tranny with silicon.

Once you have the pan off, there is a screen/filter that you can take loose just to see if it's clogged. Don't replace it with a new one, just spray any crap out of it with carb spray. Also, with the pan off, look into it and see if there's much crap in the bottom. If everything is ok, then there should only be minimal amount of black metalic dust. If there is a lot, then perhaps your tranny is soon to be seeing the Lord. What's a lot of dust? If there is more dust than a handful of beach sand, then you might worry. If less dust than a few ground up asprint, then you are ok. Clean the pan out real good with carb spray and paper towels before you put it back in. you'll need a tube of silicone to glue the pan back to the tranny.

This should take you a full saturday. Start today by looking at the color of your tranny fluid.

PS - I got your email. I totally understand and good luck to you. Frank