Identifying an unidentifiable whine
Discussion
Evening PH. This may need moving to "suspension, brakes & tyres" depending on what it ends up being!
Car has recently developed what I'd describe as a high-ish pitched whine or whirr (almost like a drony washing machine) as follows:
- Increases/decreases with road speed only
- Is noticable above 30mph and continues to beyond 70mph
- Is present regardless of whether clutch is in or out, in gear or not in gear
- Is not affected by braking or steering
- Appears to be coming from somewhere on the front passenger side of the vehicle
For context, the car is a 2004 Volvo S60, manual 2.0T petrol.
My limited mechanical knowledge suggests wheel bearing, but I understand these have a tendency to rumble rather than whirr. I am particularly sensitive to car noises however so it might be before the "rumble" stage begins!
I'm hoping it's not gearbox/diff related. The fact it does it whether the clutch is engaged or not is reassuring, but presumably some bits within the box would still be spinning at road speed regardless (diff) so I'm not out of the woods yet...
Would appreciate any ideas before I start replacing parts! Thank you.
Car has recently developed what I'd describe as a high-ish pitched whine or whirr (almost like a drony washing machine) as follows:
- Increases/decreases with road speed only
- Is noticable above 30mph and continues to beyond 70mph
- Is present regardless of whether clutch is in or out, in gear or not in gear
- Is not affected by braking or steering
- Appears to be coming from somewhere on the front passenger side of the vehicle
For context, the car is a 2004 Volvo S60, manual 2.0T petrol.
My limited mechanical knowledge suggests wheel bearing, but I understand these have a tendency to rumble rather than whirr. I am particularly sensitive to car noises however so it might be before the "rumble" stage begins!
I'm hoping it's not gearbox/diff related. The fact it does it whether the clutch is engaged or not is reassuring, but presumably some bits within the box would still be spinning at road speed regardless (diff) so I'm not out of the woods yet...
Would appreciate any ideas before I start replacing parts! Thank you.
Tc24 said:
I understand these have a tendency to rumble rather than whirr.
It isn't safe to make generalisations like that. The symptoms do suggest it's something downstream of the gearbox so you have output bearings, CV joints, intermediate shaft and bearings, wheel bearings and so on. It could even be something dragging on the wheel. It might be possible to track it down by jacking the wheel up and turning it by hand while you feel for roughness on the various moving components. And if that doesn't work, you can rest assured that problems like this usually make themselves obvious if you wait long enough.Gassing Station | Engines & Drivetrain | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff