Chirp noise when starting

[jefe]

Is it the starter? I noticed it being much worse in the very cold weather. It's kind of a chirp/vibration type sound right when the car starts. When it happens in warm weather it only last for a split second immediately after starting. In extremely cold weather there is a 1-2 second pause, then the noise for a longer period (maybe 1.5 seconds) then it stops.

91 3sfe automatic. 260K miles. Original starter.

I thought it might be the starter, but I found this thread and it seems like it happened some after he replaced the starter.

90 Camry Wierd Starting Noise

Thanks, Jefe

[Tom 2000]

Check your drive belt tension. It may be loose.

[jefe]

Originally Posted by Tom 2000

Check your drive belt tension. It may be loose.

I will, but it didn't sound like the more continuous whining I got when my alternator belt was going a few years back.

[marc780]

Without seeing or even hearing the car here are some wild guesses:

1 - starter installed wrong, dirt or a washer or an object lodged between starter and bellhousing, making starter misaligned
2 - worn out, broken or missing teeth on flywheel
3 - abnormal starter solenoid or starter noise - it might be worth a try to put in a junkyard ditto to see if the noise goes away
4 - timing belt idler running dry?
5 -water pump noise (not likely because it would probably make noise all the time)

[TBayToyotaBoy]

I get this sound in all three of my Camrys (two I4s and a V6). It only happens for me in extremely cold weather (like, as in -13 degrees Farenheit). It's been very hard to isolate, as I cannot convince my beautiful assistant/fiancée to help.

As near as I can tell, it's the alternator bearing complaining in the cold. Even with the block heaters plugged-in, and the block nice and toasty, I still get the sound.

It's possible on your camry that it's another bearing making the sound, though. How cold has it been where you live, lately?

Edit: Sorry, just saw that you're in MN, not far from here (and just as cold). I'm guessing worn and cold bearing.

[toyrolla]

It happens to me every morning and evening.

I changed my belt while doing maintenance at the end of summer (right after Labor Day weekend), and after a few weeks I noticed the noise upon start and as I drove away.

When it grew to be more frequent, I checked under the hood and found that it was coming from the belt.

I thought I had tightened it, but I guess it wasn't tight enough so I did that and it went away.

Well, since the winter, especially during very cold mornings (I fire it up every morning around 5:30am), you can hear it go "screeeech" then it goes away.

The difference between the loose belt scenario and the cold weather scenario is that it "screeched" longer when the belt was loose. When it's cold, it only happens when starting up.

Hope this helps...

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Maybe you'd better post a vid with good audio so we can hear this sound...

[jefe]

I thought I remembered an old thread (that I can't find) talking about this. I thought the starter engages the flywheel and then should retract away from it and when the starters on Gen 2's age they don't retract as quickly and as the more slowly move that causes the noise. If left for a long time it eventually causes the flywheel teeth to wear down...

[Mike Gerber]

I changed my belt while doing maintenance at the end of summer (right after Labor Day weekend), and after a few weeks I noticed the noise upon start and as I drove away.

When it grew to be more frequent, I checked under the hood and found that it was coming from the belt.

New belts will stretch a bit after a few hundred miles of driving. This is especially true of aftermarket belts. The smaller diameter power steering belt seems to stretch a bit more, but both belts can stretch after some initial usage.

Mike

[argojos1]

It happens on my 90 camry v6 only when it cold out.