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PLEASE HELP! -High pitched whining buzzing noise when cold!

40K views 42 replies 15 participants last post by  mongrelEB 
#1 ·
Hey guys, happy Easter.

Anyways, you all know how much I love my car, and its getting on 5 months now that i've had it, I treat her like a queen however suddenly, strange things are happening. and its breaking my heart.

for about 4 weeks now, when starting the car cold, Along with the engine/exhaust noise, the car is making this HIDEOUS loud High pitched whiney squeaky buzzing noise which changes pitch and becomes louder as the revs rise. Once the car warms up and's driven for a while (after about 15-20 mins of driving), the noise is gone. But until then, its really loud and frankly quite embarrasing.

When I open the bonnet to listen for the location of the noise it can't be heard from the engine bay, however listening from under the car the noise can be heard to be coming from behind the engine, somewhere around the gearbox area. Its strange and only can be heard when its cold so if I take it to a mechaninc, by the time I get there the bastard noise is gone.

Guys? Can anyone help me? Its annoying the shit outta me big time, as well as worrying me to the point i'm almost going grey! I dont know what it is... I've never heard anything like it before..... I hope someone out there knows what i'm on about.

Thanks fellas, I have faith that someone will help me get to the bottom of this......

-Daniel
 
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#4 ·
my ef is making a whinning sound, ive just found that its the brake pads rubbing on the disk, so im going to get the disks machined. dont know if its the same prob as yours though, as it happens all the time not just when its cold
 
#5 ·
maybe try and make sure that your belts arent slipping. mine makes a noise like that until the belts stop slipping and get traction.
 
#6 ·
Are u using the right grade of oil in the motor???? How long since it has been changed. Its not the starter motor staying engaged is it???????
 
#7 ·
If its manual make sure there is some slack in cable..Or the throw out bearing is always engaged and can stuff clutch as well...
Alternator bearings maybe on their way out ??
Enough power steering fluid in pump ??
Belts tight??
Nothing caught in fan?? Heater fan??
Mother inlaw???
 
#8 ·
hehe mother in law.... the blanket problem that is the cause of everything bad
 
#9 ·
Does it go away as it warms up idling, or only if you drive it?
Any changes with different gears/driving styles?
 
#11 ·
Mate my dad had the exact same thing in his ef ghia, i was at the mechanic picking it up and when i turned it on it just started whining, the mechanic was there and he said the throttle body needs to be cleaned, he said its like the car is choking and cant get any air in, anyways i drove it home and the noise stopped, i got home cleaned out the throttle body with that throttle body cleaner and i never heard it since, that same week i changed the spark plugs and leads although i dont think that affected it. This is definelty worth a try as it will only cost you about $10 for the bottle and if the noise is still there then you know you have a clean throttle body. Also when was the last time you cleaned your injectors? Anywas champ good luck!
 
#12 ·
Thanks boys for your responses,

*Soulreaver - It aint a belt noise

*Grant Porter - Oil was changed last service at Ford, it would be whatever oil that they put in

*BoSSXR8, Yeah, its idling all over the shop at the moment, I might clean the idler. Spark plugs and leads were changed about 2 months ago. dunno when injectors were last cleaned.

*EB XR8240 - Its a Manual and I've had to adjust the clutch twice in the last month, it seems to be losing its feel easily and requires adjustment when it gets hard to shift gears. Im also on the last centimetre of adjustment in the cable as well.
You've also confirmed my suspicions that the whining noise could be the damn mother in law.... Better untie her and get her outta the boot then ;)

*Mongrel EB - I havent left it to idle long enough to hear the noise go, but yeah i think it goes away faster when its driven... Maybe thats because it warms up quicker?

I also have left the car for a couple of days, and I have found on the ground underneath that same area a small couple of drops of green coolant. It could be related or unrelated.... I'm not sure but it was there.

Thanks again,

-Dan
 
#13 ·
If u got coolant dripping u might wanna check what that is. I have a whine in my ef and its when im just starting it up and going for a drive and i stop near the intersection near me and go again it whines. It only really does it when i just start goin from cold. I read the ford manual and they said this sound is abs kicking in after 5km/h (doing a check). Or i sometimes get the sound if the aircon is on which happens to a mates eb. So from what i know its either just normal abs stuff or the aircon
 
#14 ·
ArT1sT said:
i had a similar kinda problem with my EB turned out i just needed to replace my harmonic balancer and idler bearing... but if u can hear it from underneath near the gearbox then proabaly not it
Idler pulley bearing is what I first thought of too, my ED had the exact same symptoms that you are describing. I also couldn't pick the noise with the bonnet open.

Might be worth checking it out.

WD40 will fix anything!
 
#16 ·
Coolant could just be overflow, if yours is a Futura it'll have the low coolant sensor anyway, so you will know before it strikes any trouble.

Cleaning the Throttle Body might be a good start, if its been run on unleaded a lot, odds are it'll be full of crap, and the squealing could just be air trying to get through there?
 
#17 ·
Someone told me that the oil from a New BMC air filter can clog them, Oh and its been running on Optimax ever since i bought it...

How do i clean the throttle body?? I remember seeing a doco somewhere on how to do it but i can't find it now!!
 
#18 ·
Yeah, the oil from K&N's and BMC's does clog them up after a while.

To clean it, just unscrew it (disconnect the sensor first, its just a plug that you can pull out), and run some turps or WD40 through it, then let it dry out really well. Dont try to use a rag or whatever to dry it off, cos anything thats left in there will get into your engine.
 
#19 ·
(forgot to add this)

Do you know how long it was since the injectors were cleaned? Basically if you can get as much crap out of the entire system as possible, the better its going to be and less likely to worry you with strange noises/habits.

I know Holden make some REALLY strong stuff, its apparently so strong that if it isnt all out of the fuel system ASAP it'll start eating away at it, I havent tried it cos Im not game!

One other thing, if you want to find out if youve got a coolant leak or if its just overflow, have a look at your coolant tank, and there'll be a hose running out of the top of it from just next to the cap. Park it overnight, then before you move it, see if theres any directly underneath where the hose lets it out (the hose just points to the bottom of the car, so it goes out onto the ground). If its there, there's either too much in the system or too much pressure thats forcing it out, if it's coming from somewhere else, get your rad etc etc checked.
 
#20 ·
NAh, It aint that, Ive had a water bottle connected to the overflow hose to catch coolant in order to tell where its coming from, it aint coming form there.

I looked under the car last night and found drops of coolant dripping down in between the flat vertical surface where the engine joins to the gearbox. The car is at my Mechanics today, and everything is being looked at.

He also said the squaking noise is some bearing to to with the clutch....
 
#22 ·
If he changed the plug, he must have had the gearbox out. What else did he do while he was at it? Did he replace the carrier bearing? That's the most likely culprit :p
 
#24 ·
Started this morning, and YES NOISE IS STILL THERE!!!!!! Theres also another symptom I forgot to add; When revving the car while letting out the clutch, it makes a ticking noise like the oil tappets when you first start the car, But like I said once its warm, its ok.

It seems to be revolving round the clutch.
 
#25 ·
Just read what you said about clutch needing adjustment constantly. I hope your clutch plate is not worn out and the rivets are starting to contact the flywheel. Either way, if it's the plate or thrust race that has to be replaced, the box has to come out, so make sure you do the lot. Good luck......
 
#26 ·
Well, Tonight, the car is sleeping at Etheridge Ford, tomorrow morning they're gonna check the car out to get to the bottom of this mystery sound.

Its the third night in a row i'm without my car for unrelated reasons.... GRRRR.
 
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