My car is a 2005 Limited N/A and I'm getting a whining noise from the drivers side of the engine bay. It sounds like a transmission low on fluid but the fluid is fine and I took the serpentine belt off
and started it and then its was quiet. I figure its either the power steering pump which good on fluid and doesn't leak or the ac compressor which I've never heard one whine like that or the tensioner pulley. When I took the belt off I checked each pulley for play or roughness in spinning and all seemed to be good. I'm going to the Spring Dragon in April and would like to figure this out and fix before I leave. I'm pushing more for the power steering pump but how would I know for sure? Thanks, Pat

 

I have a mechanic’s stethoscope to help locate those kind of noises but a long screwdriver can work pretty well also.

 

It could be the pump, but I'd be more inclined to look at the pulleys and the tensioner. They all fail like this. If you have more than a few miles, be sure to replace the complete tensioner, too. Almost required preventive service on these cars.

 

I have not heard of the tensioner itself failing, the puller fails though.
A stethoscope is recommended to solve these problems, if a screwdriver slips you will have a sore head at the least.

 

I see you live in MD and we've had some very cold days lately. Did you start this car up in the cold after an extended park and just now notice a whining noise that wasn't there the last time you shut it down? Start it up, drive it around, bring it back up to full operating temp then let it idle in the garage or wherever so everything in the engine compartment gets warmed up and comes up operating temperatures. That whining noise may vanish on its own. Cars that get stored and are left to sit make all kinds of noises when you first start them up again... especially in the cold. If you've been driving it regularly and this sound just showed up, it should be investigated. If it has been sitting for a while in the cold and this sound just showed up, drive it around and heat it up and see what happens.

 

I noticed it at the end of the summer last year but now its a little more noticeable as time goes on. I'm going to use the stethoscope method to try to figure it out but I'm still thinking its probably the power steering pump.

 

A quick noise test that I do is to spray some WD40 on the belt while engine is running. If it's the belt making the noise you will notice an abrupt change in the level of noise. If there is no obvious change then with the engine off spray some WD40 on the idler pulley bearings (mounting screws). Then start the engine and see if the noise changes. If it does, change all the pulleys and install a new belt. Keep the old belt in the trunk as a spare.
If the noise persists then it is probably coming from either the PS pump or the alternator. Depending on the mileage of your xfire you could try flushing out the PS fluid and installing new before replacing the pump. The alternator could have a dry shaft bearing which can be replaced by an alternator rebuilding shop. Hope you solve your problem.
Jack

 

After months of listening to this whine I finally figured out what the problem was. The bearing on the AC compressor was going bad. I put a racing serpentine belt on that bypasses the ac compressor and the whine went away so today I replaced with a new pulley and clutch kit and all is well. I used a mechanics stethoscope but still could not find anything that pointed to the problem. Thanks for all the replies and possible solutions.

 

Thank you for coming back in and letting the membership know the solution. That troubleshooting tip can be applied with others so an informed decision can be made @ repair options.


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