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Whining noise front of engine


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Well, I've had my first, hopefully minor, problem w/ my truck that started a few days ago. I'm getting a whining noise from the front of the motor. You really notice it taking off from a stop up until the truck shifts out of 2nd gear (it may be that road noise masks the sound when up to speed). The sound itself is a little like the whine you hear from a small car shifted into reverse that is backing out of a parking space. Really freaked me out when I heard it thought it might be something in the tranny, but it does it in neutral or park and seems to be coming from the alternator, fan area of the motor.

 

I've had truck back to dealer yesterday and they said it was alternator and they replaced with new alternator, but still have the noise. I listened to two other 04's w/ the 5.3 this afternoon along with my salesman and we both agreed the noise wasn't just in my imagination.

 

I've made another appointment w/ the dealer for Monday, but I was just wondering if anyone had experienced something similar. Maybe I got another bad alternator? Belt tensioner? pulley? fan clutch? any ideas. Any help appreciated. Even though they are very cooperative, my dealer doesn't have reputation be being real successful in service dept; they probably need all the help they can get and a place to start might be helpful. Thanks again

 

vroten :banghead:

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My old truck with the 5.3 has some sort of whine during acceleration, but it would come for about a week and go away. Kinda like what you were saying. Never thought about it.

 

What was weirder is if I freshly Hypertech'd my truck it immediately did it for about 5 days. Lets say the whine went away and I changed transmission shifts inthe HPP3, the whine would come back for a few more days.

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My '04 Suburban makes a similar noise. You can hear it pretty well at idle and during acceleration from a stop if the radio and fan are off. Like yours, mine either goes away at higher speed or I just can't hear it because of wind/road noise. It almost sounds like a power steering pump kind of a whine. I've got almost 16k on it so far, and it has made the noise pretty much from day one. It runs great, drives great, so if it's going to blow up, I hope it does before 36k :fume:

 

I'll be interested to hear what your service department finds out. Good luck.

 

Ozzie

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I would think that it could be any one of the accessories (ps pump, adjuster pulley, etc.) at the front of the engine...easiest to find with a stethoscope or long screwdriver. I've replaced both my upper and lower adjuster pullies, but not for a whine...the top one squeaked and the lower one sounded like a jackhammer.

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I may be able to offer some advice. I don't know where you live, but I live in SE Wisconsin. On my 2004 Sierra with a 5.3, I notice at cold morning temperatures, my power steering pump SCREAMS. We're talking about 15 degrees or colder. As I drive it and warm it up, it goes away.

I know I could get a brand-new pump under warranty; but it doesn't bother me.

 

If you have colder outside air temperatures, you may want to listen to the p/s pump.

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I have an 05 and also have a whine when she is cold. When I leave for work in the morning, and again when I leave to come home. It's hard to tell where the sound is coming from but I thought it was the tranny or rear end. Once I go about 1/2 mile the whine is gone, so my theory was cold, thick fluid. When it's warmer out it doesn't make any sound. Guess I should try and figure out where this is really coming from.

 

Good luck, let us know the outcome.

 

Lisa :fume:

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GM-Tech-

 

Is this noise just a characteristic of the pump, or is it a problem that needs to be fixed or replaced? The noise doesn't really bother me, so unless it's a serious problem, I can live with it. I had an '01 Tahoe that was silent, no noises at all. I'm guessing GM changed pumps at some point over the last couple model years, or I just got a noisy one this time?

 

Ozzie

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Is this noise just a characteristic of the pump, or is it a problem that needs to be fixed or  replaced?

 

All of the above. :fume: We've replaced noisy pumps and quite honestly, didn't accomplish much. Some were better than the ones that came off, others had just as much whine.

 

I have not seen any of them get worse or develop any other problem. They're just a little noisy.

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Well here's the followup with the dealer. In short DEALERS stink!!!! At least mine does. After an initial service appt when the dealer replace the alternator for the same sound, I stood beside my salesman last week listening to my truck. We compared it to another 04 on the lot and his 00 silverado, both with the 5.3. There was no comparison as to the noise level. His exact words were, "yeah there's definately something going on about yours." So made the appointment today and dropped off truck.

 

Got a call around 1:30 that they had brought other 04's and 05's in and my truck was as least as quiet or more quiet than those on the lot. :) Lying *@'s!!! Last week, even though nothing has changed as far as the noise coming from the motor, the dealer thought it was bad enough to replace the alternator under warranty. Changing the alternator did nothing other than cost GM a couple of hundred dollars. It's not like I'm imagining this, as I said it's very noticable to anybody who's around the truck. Anyway, the dealer returned my truck to my job site. (parked within 6 inches of another car---jerks) :confused:

 

Anyway, after work I took the truck by the local GMC dealer. Even though he's not able to do Chevy warranty work, he's a good guy who I've known for almost 10 years. He used to be the shop manager at the local Ford dealership when I was a member of the dark side. Anyway, he said he'd take a look. Just like you guys said, and without me suggesting anything, he said it's definately a power steering pump.

 

So now I've got to find another Chevy dealer who'll work with me on the warranty even though I bought my truck somewhere else. It's only a little thing, but I absolutely hate to be lied to. Maybe I'm overreacting, but when you buy a $39 K truck you'd think someone would appreciate your business enough to shoot straight. If you don't have a tech that can figure it out, admit it......

 

Anyway, here's another example of how good this forum is. I described the noise on the board and the members here could figure out what was going on better than my dealer who can look at the truck. Thanks for all the help guys. I know this is a little thing that will get taken care of, but it's nice to know you all are here for when something bigger comes along.

 

vroten :seeya:

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Finally was able to get the truck to a dealer in neighboring county. They decided it was, as most in this discussion said, a bad ps pump. Pump is ordered. Now if they can install it correctly. (I understand it is important they bleed the system well before start up) Hopefully this will end this minor problem. I'll let everyone know what happens when the pump is installed. (had to order pump.) Thanks again for help and advice on this one!!

 

Vroten :cheers:

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AS GMTech said - Its probably the power steering pump. My wife 04 Tahoe has the same kind of whine. Come warmer wather - I am going to drain the fluid and put in a synthetic type of Power steering fluid - IF I can find some....to see if that will quiet it down some ??

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