Not that, nope not that either, still not that one!

[EKS PYB]

I have a '04, 169,020 miles in it and the alternator crapped out on my last month so I went ahead and changed that. After that incident there's a whining sound whenever on idle or when I step on the gas. But before I left, my indy said that I needed to change the 2 pulleys, AC Belt and the tensioner belt for Alternator, Water Pump and Power Steering so I got the parts and dropped them to get installed.

Went home while the X5 was at the shop and did a search here and found people posting about that whining noise and said that the pulleys, belts might be the culprit. So I was happy to hear that I might have fixed the problem. Now, installation done, I went picked up the car then the whining sound is still there. Told my indy and he said that it might be the MAF or something so I went home, unplugged it, checked my AFS system and no leaks no nothing. So I searched here again and said that it might be the Fan Clutch. I went ahead and got the fan clutch, had it installed and still the whining is still there. Now, I read again that it could be the Disa valve so I went and did this myself with a repair kit. Pretty simple actually, installed it back and still the whining sound is there. So what's next? I'm due for an oil change in a week or so and I might have to have my indy do a full check on hoses or something to see if there's any leaks.

Things replaced but no success in getting rid of whining noise:
Alternator
A/C Belt Tensioner
A/C Compressor Belt
Adjusting Pulley
Idler Pulley
Fan Clutch
Disa Valve Repair Kit

Got any ideas?

[SlickGT1]

I'm gonna say water pump. Based on not being there, and since you haven't changed it yet.

[David.X5]

Dont let your spouse ride in the car??

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by David.X5

Dont let your spouse ride in the car??

[upallnight]

Or it could be that they didn't get the lower part of the fan shroud in the right position and now it's rubbing against the ac pulley.

[crystalworks]

Was there a whining noise before the alternator was installed? If not there is a good possibility they used a cheaply rebuilt alternator and the bearing on it is whining. I speak from experience on this one... took 3 alternators (varying issues) before I finally broke down and just bought a new Valeo unit.

[IX5DOU]

I too have had a new cheaply built alternator whine as well. The bearings whine and heat up, especially if the belt is a bit too snug. Check the temp at your alternator with an infrared temp probe for malfunctioning bearings. You can also locate the squeal with an automotive stethoscope or just a section of garden hose. If the alternator bearings in front are super hot, you may have have a problem there. Check your belt tension and tensioners too. Do the easy stuff first. Then check your power steering fluid level, things rubbing, and then the water pump. Water pumps often can fail after a belt change if it was on its last legs when you change out other belt connected items.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Was there a whining noise before the alternator was installed? If not there is a good possibility they used a cheaply rebuilt alternator and the bearing on it is whining. I speak from experience on this one... took 3 alternators (varying issues) before I finally broke down and just bought a new Valeo unit.

Yeah I am with Crystalworks on this one. You more than likely have bearing noise from one of the components.If it was not there before the alternator crap out then you probably got a defective alternator with bad bearing. I stay away from the rebuilt aftermarket items. You may have to put a stethoscope on the pulleys of the alternator and ac and see what you hear.

[EKS PYB]

Originally Posted by David.X5

Dont let your spouse ride in the car??

LOL! That made me crack up! Thanks for making my day....I still can't stop laughing...

[EKS PYB]

Thanks for all the advice! Will definitely have those checked. No, the sound definitely wasn't there before the alternator crapped out. Alternator is a Bosch 140 amp rebuilt from Pelican Parts just purchased on December 2015.