Engine whine

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110Matty

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Somerset
Hello, two posts in one if that’s ok. Can’t find answers already posted, so apologies. High pitched / unbearable whine / whir from engine. Directly relates to rpm, whether stationary or driving. Plenty of power, noise at anything other than tickover. I have a video / audio but not sure if I can upload to the forum?
2nd thing, which is occasional light clunk from rear when accelerating/ gear change - I’ll do some more searches, I’m sure it will be easier to find out what it is than the whine. Cheers, Matt.
 
110Matty said:
Hello, two posts in one if that’s ok. Can’t find answers already posted, so apologies. High pitched / unbearable whine / whir from engine. Directly relates to rpm, whether stationary or driving. Plenty of power, noise at anything other than tickover. I have a video / audio but not sure if I can upload to the forum?
2nd thing, which is occasional light clunk from rear when accelerating/ gear change - I’ll do some more searches, I’m sure it will be easier to find out what it is than the whine. Cheers, Matt.
Click to expand...
The clunk is probably your a-frame ball joint
 
Take the belt off and run it and see if noise has gone, if so check condition of all bearings that the belt runs on.
Don't leave it running too long with no belt.
 
Anaconda said:
Take the belt off and run it and see if noise has gone, if so check condition of all bearings that the belt runs on.
Don't leave it running too long with no belt.
Click to expand...
Do you mean alternator belt - sorry I’m a novice re TD5. What if the noise stops? Cheers.
 
Yes, it does the alternator, power steering, water pump fan and air conditioning if you have it. It may be the bearings on one of the pulleys that's getting noisy.

There's a lot of things that can clunk in a Land Rover transmission. As well as the Rear ball joint I find the splined joints where the half shafts go into the drive flanges can make a good deal of noise and new flanges (they wear faster than the half shafts) quieten it down a bit. I've also had one of the rubber bushes where the radius arms join the chassis develop some slack too. Plus all the other bushes, of course. A worn propshaft joint can give the same sort of symptoms, but you'd probably notice vibration while you're driving it around as well.
 
110Matty said:
Thanks, would it be picked up on MOT as an advisory to confirm?
Click to expand...
Maybe not.
We shouldn't rely on the MOT failure sheet to tell us what to service. MOT can miss a thinks that we should be checking.
With reference to the belt any of the bearings/pulleys it runs on can be worn, spin them and also check them for any noise or movement.
Had tto replace my tensioner and idler bearing. Aftermarket don't last long apparently, I bought genuine as not particularly expensive.
 
Last edited:
Brown said:
Yes, it does the alternator, power steering, water pump fan and air conditioning if you have it. It may be the bearings on one of the pulleys that's getting noisy.

There's a lot of things that can clunk in a Land Rover transmission. As well as the Rear ball joint I find the splined joints where the half shafts go into the drive flanges can make a good deal of noise and new flanges (they wear faster than the half shafts) quieten it down a bit. I've also had one of the rubber bushes where the radius arms join the chassis develop some slack too. Plus all the other bushes, of course. A worn propshaft joint can give the same sort of symptoms, but you'd probably notice vibration while you're driving it around as well.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'll have a look, never removed any form of belt really - i think i need to lever off the tensioner to slacken the belt before it can be removed?
 
Anaconda said:
Maybe not.
We shouldn't rely on the MOT failure sheet to tell us what to service. MOT can miss a thinks that we should be checking.
With reference to the belt any of the bearings/pulleys it runs on can be worn, spin them and also check them for any noise or movement.
Had tto replace my tensioner and idler bearing. Aftermarket don't last long apparently, I bought genuine as not particularly expensive.
Click to expand...
I agree that the MOT shouldn't be used as a maintenance guide. As a novive, it will take time to confidently perform my own regular checks and investigations.
Regarding your tensioner and idler pulley, did yours sound really loud? Mine is a mechanical whine, rather than a whoosh, whistle or hiss or something air related. I read someone else referred to it as like a supercharger, that's what mine sounds a bit like (i think) and it is very noticeable and unbearably loud at higher revs (nothing at idle). Cheers
 
Do you have a selection of tools?
You can buy a couple of big spanners on Ebay to remove the fan for about £25.
If I remember correctly to remove the belt you turn the tensioner with a socket and ratchet rather than a bar.
Once the belt is off it was obvious on mine the idler bearing had gone as it was very noisy when you spun it.
The tensioner a bit less obvious as there was a tight spot on it where the pulley would move in and out.
Well done for giving it a go, YouTube can be quite helpful for guides to carry out your own maintenance.
 
Anaconda said:
Do you have a selection of tools?
You can buy a couple of big spanners on Ebay to remove the fan for about £25.
If I remember correctly to remove the belt you turn the tensioner with a socket and ratchet rather than a bar.
Once the belt is off it was obvious on mine the idler bearing had gone as it was very noisy when you spun it.
The tensioner a bit less obvious as there was a tight spot on it where the pulley would move in and out.
Well done for giving it a go, YouTube can be quite helpful for guides to carry out your own maintenance.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the encouragement Anaconda. I have plenty of tools and am OK with a spanner, better with electrics and trim and all the non important stuff! I've owned classic cars in the past and have imperial as well as metric tools (some of my previous cars built in the mid 70's e.g Triumph TR6 and Stag had fixings of both types on the same car, out of the factory !!). For me it's a case of learning something absolutely new with the Defender - something i have been / am looking forward to, but don't want to make any costly errors in time or money, especially as the help is on here to draw on. I'll get my head in and see what's lurking around and what looks to be the easiest path to moderate success - i am also lazy by nature but at the same time i don't want to pay anyone else to do potentially easy and rewarding maintenance! Cheers.
 
110Matty said:
Thanks for the encouragement Anaconda. I have plenty of tools and am OK with a spanner, better with electrics and trim and all the non important stuff! I've owned classic cars in the past and have imperial as well as metric tools (some of my previous cars built in the mid 70's e.g Triumph TR6 and Stag had fixings of both types on the same car, out of the factory !!). For me it's a case of learning something absolutely new with the Defender - something i have been / am looking forward to, but don't want to make any costly errors in time or money, especially as the help is on here to draw on. I'll get my head in and see what's lurking around and what looks to be the easiest path to moderate success - i am also lazy by nature but at the same time i don't want to pay anyone else to do potentially easy and rewarding maintenance! Cheers.
Click to expand...
You will do fine then, especially if its a 2nd vehicle so not wholly reliant on it.
 
Anaconda said:
Thinking about it take the fan off and take it for a run with the fan off before taking the belt off.
Click to expand...
Just thinking about labour costs at garages / specialists - is it worth buying those fan spanners and check that first by running the engine, then if that doesn’t cure it, remove the belt and replace all the pulleys and new belt as routine maintenance, refit the belt and test again. If the noise is still there, does that mean it’s the alternator, or could it also be something else like water pump or something. I don’t want to keep throwing at it if there is a way to test each potentially faulty item in turn. I also don’t know if the aftermarket parts are actually better than 125k mile (In theory) originals? Also, from a you tube video I saw, it looked like a special socket might be needed to remove the tensioner pulley?
 
110Matty said:
Just thinking about labour costs at garages / specialists - is it worth buying those fan spanners and check that first by running the engine, then if that doesn’t cure it, remove the belt and replace all the pulleys and new belt as routine maintenance, refit the belt and test again. If the noise is still there, does that mean it’s the alternator, or could it also be something else like water pump or something. I don’t want to keep throwing at it if there is a way to test each potentially faulty item in turn. I also don’t know if the aftermarket parts are actually better than 125k mile (In theory) originals? Also, from a you tube video I saw, it looked like a special socket might be needed to remove the tensioner pulley?
Click to expand...
Update - I’ve just found a you tube video with the very sound my engine is making. For anyone interested, it’s a you tube video by Dagson67 (in an EU language) titled Land Rover Defender idler pulley noise.
 
Yes, it's worth having fan spanners for the TD5. It makes lots of things easier if you can get the fan off, like changing the fan belt. Whilst it's possible to prize the idler pulley back far enough with a lever, it's easier to put a socket on the pulley nut and flex it away from the engine to slacken the belt.
 
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