Strange whining sound coming from the drivers side engine area...need help
 

So all of a sudden a few weeks back my '03 X-5 4.4i starts giving me this really weird sounding engine whine (for lack of a better word) during acceleration. Once you get it up to speed and back off the throttle, the whining pretty much goes away but if I blip the throttle I can hear it.

It kind of sounds like one of those tractor pull engines winding up but not loud per se. I'm thinking it's an air leak of some kind coming from either then engine or the exhaust system.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

is it rather a wistle? if it's a wistle and you hear it only on low rpm accelerations (1800-2200), it is a crack in the air intake manifold or intake boot... I have this sound, i like it, i am not doing anything about it... :)

This intake boot I think is on the 3.0i only, which is very common, the 4.4i I don't think has this same intake boot...?

I don't know that I've seen it on a 4.4i before, but the 4.6is torque converter can go out at in such a manner to cause a supercharger-like whine under acceleration. If this fits the symptoms you might want to get it looked at really soon before it causes consequential damage in the transmission.

That is what it sounds like. What should I ask my tech to look for?

He can't look for much if its the torque converter as it sits inside the transmission. The torque converter on our E46 3 series was making a similar noise and it turned out to be an expensive exercise. Hope and pray that it isn't the torque converter

You might be lucky and just need to change the transmission fluid.

The other possibility is the alternator or a pulley of some sort. If it makes the same noise when you rev the car in neutral then its not the transmission and more likely one of the above.

:iagree:

I had this same sound on my '05 3.0 6spd manual, it drove me nuts when windows were down. I had some stuff done to the truck and the sound is gone, but I'm not sure what fixed it. They did front CVs, fixed a power steering leak, and changed all belts. Not sure if this will help but I had told my mechanic about it and when I picked it up the sound was gone and I forgot to ask what was causing it.

It's not the tranny as the sound is the same regardless of whether it's in N or Drive. I guess that's a good thing.

It sounds like the noise is coming from drivers side engine compartment. I'm leaning towards a belt as it's related to engine RPM. The sound is the same whether the windows are down or not.

Dont count your chickens yet!! Unless I'm mistaken there are still parts of the tranny that spin over when in N. Somebody correct me if i am wrong.

If its making the noise in neutral then it wont be the transmission or the torque converter.

My guess is a pulley of some sort or the alternator. The bearings in the alternator can go bad without affected its charging ability so that'd be the first place i'd look.

OK. Thanks.

My next question is; how do you check the bearings in the alternator without replacing the alternator?

get a long screw driver and put the tip on the casing of the alternator. Put you ear against the other end of the screw driver and listen for any odd sounds. Otherwise if you have a second person get them to put their ear near the alternator as you rev the engine.

And oddly enough the long screwdriver method gives more clear sound then the mechanics stethoscopes available in stores... You can use that to check all the belt driven components you can get to Just be careful you don't slip the screwdriver into the running belt, for obvious reasons.

Am i wrong in thinking then that the torque converter and some of the gearbox are still spinning even when in N.

You are right in that it is still spinning, but there is no load on it so it is free spinning. If the noise is exactly the same in neutral it isn't likely the TC.

A quick way to confirm if it is a belt driven component is just to remove the belt and start it and see if the noise went away. Just don't run it for too long with the belt off obviously.

I agree about removing the belt to help find the noise. But can't agree on the TC not making noise when in N. When my TC went it made noise in gear, N, and P when the engine was revved. Had tranny rebuilt and and noise was all gone. Unfortunately my X is back in the tranny shop for the same noise/ issue after only 7 months. The rebuild is under warranty and just waiting to hear back from the shop.

Wow, the new TC only lasted 7 months? Hopefully they used an OEM 4.6is TC at least...

Were you hearing the same thing as I described? It sounds like a turbo booster or a tractor engine winding up but not necessarily loud, just annoying. It is associated with the engine RPM but once I get it up to speed and drive without the acceleration then the noise goes away until I step on the throttle again.

To my understanding they did and it delayed the rebuild by a few days as my original TC was not rebuildable. They sourced a used TC and rebuilt it. I will be paying much more attention to the details of exactly they are fixing/ rebuilding this go around.

Sounds like the same noise. Here is a video I shot of the noise.

P1000846.flv video by turborx7mac - Photobucket

Is that the same noise?

Power steering pump
 

On my 03 the steering pump wss defective and caused a whining sound.

Good luck and let us know what you find it to be the cause?

Thx

I agree with thedweeb. Sounds like your torque converter. If it is and you address it now you might save your self a couple thousand dollars. I had a whine in N and D, which increased with the RPM's and progressively grew louder until randomly one day it got real loud and crapped out. See my thread "Horror from underneath" Someone posted a link to a video on it about the supercharger noise they had. Its identical to the one I had

No, the noise doesn't sound the same. Your noise sounds more like an r/c cars plastic gears winding up. Mine sounds like air flow....hell, I can't describe it. I have found that if I step on the gas a little it seems to go away. Could be a belt, could be a birds nest....I have no clue.

I'm taking it to the Indy on Weds for oil change and inspection. I will have them look at it carefully and report back what they say.

Hey hawkeye...Any update on your visit to the garage?

I'm getting the same sound. I'll post a video of the sound soon.

BTW, I first heard this sound a few years ago whenever my reserve light was on for a while (very little gas left). So I learned not to drive with very low gas and haven't heard the sound since. But after parking the car at the airport for a week, the sound is back and won't go.

When I took it in to the shop they didn't hear the same sound that I was hearing and didn't feel it was the torque converter but it may be time to change the tranny fluids as the X5 is hitting 92k miles. I will try and post a video of the sound to see if someone on hear can diagnose the problem but I have no idea on how to post a video.

I'm also at 94k miles....but am not touching the transmission fluid...too many horror stories.

Post the video on youtube and paste the link here. Also shut your door since the sound can be heard from the inside (footwell driver?).

Yeah I guess I'm a little confused about the tranny fluid change because the fluid is supposed to be 'lifetime' whatever that means. To me, my tranny sounds like it is being stressed or overworked because there may be a load or less efficient transfer of power. I'm hoping that a change of fluids will help solve my problem.

UPDATE: It had nothing to do with the transmission. The problem was a busted fan clutch. I had it replaced yesterday and the sound is gone.

On the bright side, the valve covers are leaking and my anti-freeze reserve tank? has a leak as well. The joy never stops.

for those that have the whining as well, check the intake adjuster unit. Pop the hood, look on the top right side of the engine. Its the little small black piece behind the black rectangle piece. Small little leak in there will do it. Had the same thing. Sounded like a supercharger from ebay.

Did it sound like this? Mine sounds like its coming from the driver's side valvecover, but that could be just an echo.

4.6is engine noise

Bump. Having same problem. Only under load which makes me think its NOT intake related. I'm going to lift the car all 4 wheels and try driving it in the air to see if i can reproduce. First thought was intake though!

Bump. Looking for some more suggestions. jgold 47, did you ever get to the bottom of your issue.

I get a humming/whining sound from the from end when I step on the throttle. Even if it is slightly. It can be heard the most if I am driving about 60 and touch the throttle slightly. If I let off of the throttle, the noise disappears. I have been thinking about disconnecting the front driveshaft to see if the noise persists. Is that even possible without throwing a bunch of error codes?