Intermittent whining noise-'71 220 W115

[Retro]

Can't place what part of the engine it's coming from but it cuts in and out :?:
Just fixed a water leak from one of the hoses, could it be the water pump :?:
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
BTW I heard one of the belts slip the other week, could this be connected :?:

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I take it you mean a whining noise rather than the squeal that comes from slipping belts? Isit changing with engine speed?

It does seem more like the belt is slipping but not unheard of for water pump to be bad. Was pump new and stored well or could there be a problem with it as in pump bearing is ko?

Cutting in an out though seems to point to radiator fan.....? Have a look at this one too, its possible you still have a cooling problem or may be that the fan is now running normally due to proper coolant circulation!!

 

[190]

Can't place what part of the engine it's coming from but it cuts in and out :?:
Just fixed a water leak from one of the hoses, could it be the water pump :?:
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
BTW I heard one of the belts slip the other week, could this be connected :?:

Best way to check is to remove the fan belt and start the car and if the noise is still there then you will need to look further into things. If the noise disappears then you know that it is either the power steering pump, alternator or water pump I would also check the fan belt. Best of luck.
Ps does this only happen when the car reaches temperature if so it probably is as OlafMaxwell says the fan.

 

[TimN]

If you have power steering and air-conditioning take each belt off seperately and start the car to determine whether the fault lies with one of those components.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Oops forgot about the air con. My Peugeot air con sounds exactly like that as the compressor cuts in and out. The noise is quite distinct but it has never given trouble. When it cuts in the engine speed drops slightly. There is also a loud click as it cuts in and out.

 

[Retro]

This old girl doesn't have the luxury of air con, so that's one thing eliminated
It's definitely a whine not a squeal (the squeal was a one off which was a belt, so I will check the tension and condition of all belts), and I don't think engine speed or temperature has anything to do with it as it happens straight from starting the engine up (I'll see what happens to the whine when the engine is revved though!).
I will try the 'removal of belts' idea and see what happens, thank you for your help guys!
p.s. I'm sure my radiator fan is spinning all the time, is that ok?

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Fan spinning all the time....

If it's an electric [presume it is too] one try disconnecting it, should be a wire you can trace to a connector/junction. It won't harm the engine to run it for a little while to check it out.

Is the car manual or auto? Clutch release bearing on manual...noise would or should disappear if you press clutch pedal...

 

[TimN]

If it's like my old 114 200D it will neither be electric nor viscous coupling but a direct drive. If you have done the test suggested above and eliminated the belts at the front then it might be that the starter motor is not dissengaging after start up. I.E. you may have a sticky solonoid. If this is the case then the noise will definately be coming from the rear of the motor.

 

[Retro]

I was being dumb about the fan spinning all the time...it's direct drive
I took the power steering belt off first and the whining noise was still there on start up, so it's not the power steering pump. I then took the fan belt off and spun the alternator & fan by hand and no there was no noise (should I be able to spin the water pump by hand?). It's not the belts slipping either, as I then put 2 new belts on at the correct tension.
I still get the intermittent whining noise exactly the same as before i.e. on start up and only whilst the car is warming up :!:
OlafMaxwell The car is auto so it isn't the release bearing.
TimN I found a bill for a recon starter motor done very recently by the previous owner (unfortunately the garage that did it didn't put two of the bolts back, but it seems to operate fine).
So..after all this, would I be right in thinking that it's either the alternator or water pump making this noise and if so how do I find out which one it is?

 

[TimN]

Play in the bearing on the water pump is easier to identify then in the alternator. It is usually accompanied by a drip from the bypass hole underneath the stem. I suppose you could do the old trick and make up a temporary belt with an old stocking tying it around the crankshaft pulley and each of the alternator and water pump pulleys in turn. Do the alternator first whilst the engine is still cold and no longer then a few seconds or you may create damage to the engine.

I think that professionals would use a stethoscope type of arrangement to identify the source of a noise. You can make something to do the job but just watch your hands with spinning engines.

 

[Retro]

Latest update-
Put a belt around the alternator and the crank (with power steering belt still on)- no noise, so neither of these are at fault.
Put a new water pump in (as the old one had bad corrosion on the fins), put it all back together with two new belts and guess what, the noise is still there, so now I'm totally confused and fed up.
Could it be something internal e.g. from the crank wheel when under tension from both the water pump and alternator? Or could a moving part from inside the engine be starved of oil until it warms up?
Should I try a service and see if that helps?
Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

[Retro]

Could it be the oil pump :?: If so, where is it and how do I check if it's working properly :?:
I don't think it's the fuel pump as that's more of a buzzing noise if I remember correctly and it would be a constant noise I think.

 

[TimN]

The oil pump is probably directly under the distributor and accessed by removing the sump. It is highly unlikely to be the oil pump as the bushes are continually bathed in oil which is under pressure.