Mystery engine noise

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disallow
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Mystery engine noise

Postby disallow » Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:03 am

Hey everyone,

So we are half way through our Florida road trip. Pathy has performed very well. 3200km on the way down, and I spent about $375 on fuel. But we were sporting speeds well above 80mph so I am happy with it.

Now we are in Kissimmee. Noticed the other night that there is a whine at idle when hot. However, if I shut down and restart, the whine is gone. Weird.

So some possibilities :

Alternator, but I just replaced it last summer, and it's not acting up from a charging perspective.
Power steering, but there is no change to the noise if I turn the steering wheel.
Could be belt tensioner pulley, but why would the noise go away on shutdown?
AC compressor?

Also, some drivetrain vibrations I'm noticing. Only apparent on throttle and disappears off throttle, seems to be coming from rear end, but vibrations can be funny that way. I did check front diff before leaving, but the rear diff check/fill port was seized. No evidence of leak or other issues so we left it. Any ideas on this one? Was thinking anything from u joints to worn pinion gear. Or transmission?
Last edited by disallow on Sat May 05, 2018 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.


Joshpath
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reply: mystery engine noise

Postby Joshpath » Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:25 am

I had a similar thing going on with my 2006 Pathfinder what was my issue I had a weird electric sound that I thought it was a pump or a alternator it was actually a oil filter change your oil 10W 30 for hot climates 5w 30 for cool to cold climates. I use preferably Valvoline high milage max replace your oil filter I find K&N to be fine

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eieio
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Re: Mystery engine noise

Postby eieio » Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:33 am

disallow wrote:Hey everyone,

So some possibilities :

Alternator, but I just replaced it last summer, and it's not acting up from a charging perspective.
Power steering, but there is no change to the noise if I turn the steering wheel.
Could be belt tensioner pulley, but why would the noise go away on shutdown?
AC compressor?
Try removing the belt for a short time, and listen for a change.
If it's anything belt or tensioner related, it should make a difference
I don't suppose you have a stethoscope with you?
If not, maybe buy one if possible?
.......hope it's nothing serious.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:07 am

Have you had your upper timing chains replaced yet? If not, "could possibly" be early signs of that issue. As far as the issue in the rear, I would suspect U-joints.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:18 pm

So today the noise happened again. I turned off the AC and it stopped on about 5 seconds. Maybe the clutch. But the AC was working well on the way down and is doing ok here. Hope we can make it home without issue on the AC.

On the u joint I agree, but I just changed it last September so I hope it's not shot yet...

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underworld1001
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Postby underworld1001 » Mon May 14, 2018 9:27 pm

I have a 2011 and have the same noise as well. I changed the belts and tensioner, but it's still there. If it is the oil filter, I usually change my own oil using Wix filters so that might explain it since they're not OEM. I've always thought it sounded like light electrical interference from the radio.


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