Jetta won't stop whining!

[Calabi]

Okay, the timing belt on my Jetta was just replaced at around 65,000 miles and since then (or at least in my mind), there has been a noticeable whining noise being made by the engine during acceleration. It's almost similar to the sound of a supercharger, but more whiny and noticeable. I'm pretty sure it disappears after the car is run for a while. I doubt it's causing any harm, but as someone who shakes his head when people drive by in funny-sounding cars, it's kind of annoying.

Anyone think that the timing belt is at fault? Will it go away after the belt is broken in more (the car is at 67,600 miles now)? Thanks guys.

[Mr_Diesel]

Is your car an automatic??? Torque converters whine like that... If it was the timing belt it would whine all the time and would hardly be noticable. Is it high pitched or is a whine like a high speed fan?

[Calabi]

No, it's a manual.

The whine is only noticeable when accelerating because that is when it changes pitch the most. I guess it may also be whining when cruising at the same speed, but like you say...it's not noticeable. It is a high(er) pitched whine, but not that high.

[Mr_Diesel]

No, it's a manual.

The whine is only noticeable when accelerating because that is when it changes pitch the most. I guess it may also be whining when cruising at the same speed, but like you say...it's not noticeable. It is a high(er) pitched whine, but not that high.

Does it sound like a gear whine??? You might possibly consider checking the gearbox fluid... If you get under the car you can see an access plug on the transmission (on the differential I think?). You can unscrew that (dont' worry fluid shouldnt come out...) stick your finger straight in and then down a few milimeters... If there is no fluid on your finger then it's too low.

That is how they check manual gearbox fluids at Jiffy Lube... atleast that is how they taught me.

It might be the tranny cause it only does it on accelleration (or, as you said, worst when under accelleration.) If it's anything with the engine, then it should do the same thing when in neutral. I would go outside start the engine cold, then pop the hood.... open up the throttle with your hand and listen for the whine... If it whines then it's something with the engine, and you can listen to see if you can pinpoint the source of the sound.

This would be a good way to determine if the tranny is on the fritz or if something in the engine is jacked.

HOWEVER, my car has so many miles on it that it still makes a little tranny noise when in neutral, and the car is stopped.... Taht is just a characteristic of a high mileage transmission, but I doubt this is yoru problem considering you probably have far less than 210,000 miles.

Remove the engine cover... put your ear near the timing belt cover and give it a rev.... listen for the whine.

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Other possibilities, that I doubt are the problem:

1. Don't think I am insulting your intelligence by asking this cause you probably would have noticed it before this but, I do know that there is a very large fan inside the alternator that makes somewhat of a whine.... I doubt this is yoru problem, but it's a whine that would increase with engine speed.

2. Could be a pulley or the serpentine belt. I had a ford car once... it had a serpentine belt and the belt tensioner was a ball bearing tensioner. When that started wearing out it made significant noise and there was a lot of play in moving the tensioner pulley.

3. Mabey the secondary air injection pump (if equipped) is on the fritz?

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Whatever the problem, good luck in your diagnosis... It's nerverackign when you can hear the problem but can't figure out what's causing it... I've been there, and it's like pulling teeth.

Whatever the case, let me know... i'd be interested to know what you find out based upon my advice above.

[Calabi]

Wow...awesome suggestions. Thanks a lot!

I opened the hood and removed the cover for a cold start in which case I heard no noises (started and remaining in neutral). So I was starting to believe you were right about the Transmission fluid. However, I noticed that when I actually started driving the noise came back. It wasn't until I got to the rec center that I noticed a very similar noise occurred when turning at low speeds (i.e. turning into a parking spot). That made me believe that the power steering fluid might be low.

I'm almost positive that the sound occurs after a turn has been made and might disappear after the steering column has not been turned for a length of time. Tell me what you think of this hypothesis.

EDIT: Now that I think of it...this noise seems very similar to when the Jeep was low on steering fluid (though in that case there was no question that is was low).

[Calabi]

Followup:

From what I can tell, after adding more Power Steering Fluid the noise is virtually eliminated. It makes sense now, but I'm glad I got that solved before it got worse.

Thanks for the advice, Cody. That really got me thinking about all the possible sources of the problem.

[Mr_Diesel]

Ahhhhhh yes.... So would you classify it as more of a grinding noise instead of a whine??? Ahhh the classic sound of a hydraulic pump low on fluid.


Edit: while thinking about it, you might want to check to see if you are loosing any PS fluid... This is not something that is consumed... The fluid level should NEVER go down.... Get under there and check all of the connections and clamps to make sure it is not leaking.... Running the pump low on fluid will eventually kill the pump, and possibly the rack.... And I'd imagine those are pretty expensive on new cars.

[Calabi]

Probably more whiny than grindy, but maybe they're almost one in the same.

Unfortunately, right now I don't really have a jack and my car sits pretty low to the ground...so I probably won't be getting a good look there for a while. I doubt the presence of a leak, but it does sound su****ious.

Worthy of mention is that nowhere in the VW manual does it say anything about changing/checking the PS fluid. I wanted to know if it needed a special type of fluid, but just went with a generic type since I didn't find any specifics.