Whine from my mr2

[Ndnhorse]

Hey, I am sure you have all heard this before, so bear with me please. I just purchased a 1991 mr 2 n.a, from a very good friend who is the original owner. It has 28, 000 original miles, with the 2200 engine and 5 speed.It is in mint + condition.There is a constant high pitched whine when the engine is running at idle and in gear.louder and higher at higher rpms.She has told me that it has always been that way, straight from the showroom floor and the toyota mechanics said that that is normal. Before I put too many miles on it, I want to find out if this is correct. Unfortunately the local toyota dealership is a little shady. can someone advise me on this matter? Thanks.

[MR2Jedi]

Wow! Thats really low mileage.
Thats a vague description, but there is no " normal whine" for the MR2. Can you isolate the area the sound is coming from?
1st things come to mind is a belt or alternator shaft bearing.

[Ndnhorse]

Belt side.....the pitch will increase with higher rpms , a/c on or not, fan switch on or not. Thinking it was a bearing going out somewhere, but thing that threw me was that owner said it always did that from day one, and I would of thought that the beading would go before 28, 000. And yes, I trust the friend I bought it from. Thanks in advance for your help.

[MR2Jedi]

I had a '92 N/A. It made a "slight" whining noise from time to time. I tightened the alternator belt via the belt adjuster, and it went away, never to come back.
I would think if it was the alt shaft bearing, it would have failed by now.
You can always lossen the belt and check for shaft play.Then tighten the belt to spec. Maybe even try some belt dressing.Hopefully, that will rid you of the annoying whine.
Please, let us know what you find.

[andyb16]

My old n/a had a slight alt belt whine also. When I got my new built motor, the timing belt tensioner was wonky and it literally made the car sound like it had a supercharger.

Where in Missouri are you?

[MC_BigMike]

Definitely not normal.

Troubleshooting ideas that come to mind...
-I agree on loosening the belts and then starting it up. This will troubleshoot a noisy belt or misbehaving bearings.
-Does the whine change when you cycle the headlights on/off? A whine from the alternator is normal if it is under a large load, and if it is doing this all the time, then you could have a bad battery.
-Does the sound change when you cycle the AC on/off? This will load/unload the AC belt...
Other things that you can't really troubleshoot are water pump bearing, timing belt itself, and timing belt tensioner.

Sometimes it is really hard to really know where exactly a sound is coming from. What I do is I get a long screwdriver (I have a 2.5' or 3' flat head screwdriver) and touch various objects on/around the engine from where I think the sound is coming from -- with the engine idling of course. Then, I'll press the handle side up against my ear with my hand gripping the handle (so both my hand and the handle are in direct contact with my ear). The vibrations will transfer through the screwdriver and straight to your ear. You'll be amazed at how much noise you can hear; it's like having a stethoscope.

I'll quickly move from one surface to another as I hear the noise getting louder and louder, and then when you hit the source you'll really hear it through the screwdriver.

To experiment with this, with your engine idling, hold your screw driver up against one of your fuel injectors, and then "listen" to the injector. You'll be really amazed at how clear and loud you'll hear the injector working and ticking away.

This is perfectly safe to do, mechanics do it all the time. Just be careful with the screwdriver around moving objects, and position the screwdriver on the engine first, and then slowly lower your ear to the handle, you can take your time and be in complete control (don't hold the screwdriver to your hear first, and then lower your head+screwdriver to the engine because you could slip or hit the wrong surface and hurt your head).

Good luck!
BigMike