Need help. Whine inside cabin

B6/7 S4/RS4
#21

I thought it may have been the oil cooler system as well but last week my buddy said he started the car with all the lines disconnected and the noise was still there. When outside the car its very faint and you really cant hear it. Under the hood if you bend down and listen to the passenger side area you can hear it but the loudest is in the car with the windows up.

Im wondering if its the belt and tensioner as well. BUT they are both pretty new as i put a new tensioner and 6 rib belt on last year when i swapped motors.

Saki i dont think its the manifold because we smoked tested and nothing was leaking.

Any ideas/clues would help at this point. Next idea is to maybe try and isolate to see if it is the tensioner or alternator.

Its driving me nuts. The worse part is sometimes when i stop (at a light or stop sign) the noise is very bad and loud and other times it wont be as bad. And this difference can happen within 50 feet between stops. I almost wonder if something is loose and vibrating really bad. i cant figure it out.

As far as logging, ill see about getting some logs in. Right now im chasing an O2 sensor from the header install (think i need a new one gonna swap sides and make sure codes move with it) and i do have one other small issue, when i first start the car is runs pretty rough. Idles hard like its misfiring but no codes seem to pop up from it. Once the car is warm it runs smooth. I was waiting to figure that issue out once the 02 was in and i changed all the coil packs and plugs (which ill be doing here in a few weeks).

The whine is similar to a pump dying (like power steering) and ive even had one comment that is sounds like a supercharger. The aux radiator delete and oil cooler (along with the IM install) was the only thing we did and it started happening after that so it has to be something related to putting it in service mode and installing it.

#22

I did the IM, oil cooler and 6 rib conversion all at the same time as well and the only issue I had was getting tension correct. I over tensioned it, causing the tensioner to bend. Even then I only ever had a squeal with the belt.

Did your buddy take a look at the pulley and tensioner yet?

#23

It sounds like a belt noise to me like the belt is over tensioned and dragging.

I have heard a bunch of dying power steering pumps on NA 3.0 V6s and that doesn’t sound like that. If anything it would be louder on acceleration. Also I don’t remember the last alternator that made that sort of noise. Usually they just quietly fail and undercharge the battery.

Plus with what you are describing from the location of the noise then I really have to assume that the issue has to deal with the belt somehow.

#24

Thanks Jimmy. Should i order the JHM auto tensioner and new belt then? If it was the belt it would eliminate the noise and any further mess ups with tightening right?

#25

Yes, I would. The tensioner isn’t expensive.

I really like the JHM automatic tensioner. So much so that I am switching to it for my SC.

#26

Update

JHM auto tensioner installed with new belt…NOISE STILL THERE!!!

i had my transmission flushed, center diff flushed (installed automatic trans cooler) and installed the Auto tensioner and new belt. When i first started the car no noise. Within 5 mins of driving the noise was very very faint, by the time i got home 20 mins later the noise was back and making the usual whine and sound.

So, any other ideas? Would it be the power steering pump? i would assume no but is it driven off the belt which would cause it to make noise if it was beginning to fail or a crack in the line? Car is going to back and they are going to try and search again. Would love as many suggestions as possible.

#27

Power steering pump is very very plausible. I have issues with it whining in the cold. Check your PS fluid level. Then drive around for two or three minutes and open the PS reservoir and see if there are bubbles in it

#28

So my whine was pinned down to my new oil cooler. The shop was confident it was coming from the cooler as they listened to everything in that area, and with a stethoscope said it was isolated to the cooler. Did you put a stock cooler in or an aftermarket job? I didn’t re-read your initial post, but did you put aftermarket lines in as well?

#29

I used the JHM oil cooler. SO aftermarket lines and setup. My buddy who works on the car and put it in thinks its the oil cooler as well. However, ive spoken to a few people and they dont have the whine, which led me to believe it wasnt the cooler. He plans on pulling the front end off and tyring to isolate the noise.

Does you shop have any idea what would make the cooler make the noise?

#30

I have a JHM oil cooler and I get whine too. But mine is more rpm dependent so I thought it was just the alternator belt.

Could be the newer thermostats that JHM includes with the kit. The new ones might cause whine whereas the old ones might not whine

#31

Are all you guys married or have long term gf’s?

#32

HA! That HAS to be the source! Thank you!

#33

took me way too long to get that

#34

One does what one can…

#35

The whine i have is more RPM dependent as well. Glad to know im not the only one. I asked JHM and Aroderick here and both of them said no wine. JHM there shouldnt be a whine and Aroderick said he doesnt have one so i assumed i was an isolated issue. I’d love to know WTF is causing it.

#36

SAI system…pump stuck on?

I really wouldn’t rule out the PS system either…what’s your fluid look like?

#37

Its hard to say what it is without hearing it in person. Koolade made some good suggestions and to be honest i cant see how the oil cooler would even cause a whineing noise. You did have to drop the motor to do the headers and some of the other work. The PS needs to be bled a few times before it will be silent. I would consider checking that and someone had posted pulling off the PS cap and looking for bubbles. That would be a good start

#38

Cant say what it is, but at least u keep your car very clean on the inside:)

#39

They aren’t sure what would cause it other than some strange resonance in the system. They used a stethoscope and went along the lines and it was most prominent at the cooler. I’m going to take my bumper off next week and do the same and see if that’s the same result I get. I need to take my bumper off anyway because they put it on the wrong way as everybody seems to do

#40

Is the cooler mounted with rubber isolators? You could just be hearing resonance in the cooler. The PS cooler is up front as well…and the PS pump & oil pump both ride the same set of shafts. On the RS4, the way the main oil galleys are set up, even if there is restriction in the oil cooler/lines, oil would just flow through the oil/coolant block…

Do you have any audio clips perhaps? That may help us diagnose it…