I have an Audi 1999, quattro 2.8 liter. I am starting to hear a whining noise (from this morning) when I throttle. Gets louder when you throttle more. Runs fine. The sound comes even if the car is in Park/neutral and is not moving which means that the sound is not from transmission/differential, which is a relief. Where do you think its coming from - fuel pump??? Experts out there - please comment…What have I overlooked??
In park, the the whine change when you give it gas? If so, not the fuel pump. Where’s it coming from? Have you opened the hood? Maybe a belt?
You are right. Its the belt running the water, ac,pumps etc. The mechanic quoted me 337 with parts for the repair. Is that reasonable???
What else beside the belt is he replacing?
nothing else - he quoted 2.5hrs labor and two parts - belt and fastner
Dealer? If so, find an independent shop. That sounds high.
No he is an independent who supposedly charges reasonable rates. I thought 2.5hrs was high but he would not budge to reduce even half an hour. His hour rates are better than dealer mechanics in san fran. Dealers charge close to 150/hr. He charges 80.00. However he does jack up the number of hours occasionally. What do you think a nominal effort costing should have been? 1 or 2 or 2.5 hrs???
I really don’t know. You might drop by the Audi dealer, they might surprise you with a reasonable estimate.
What about the timing belt situation on this car? Maybe that whine is from inside the belt case and is due to a failing idler or tensioner bearing. If a timing belt goes south then you will really be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
An Engine stethoscope would help isolate where exactly the noise is coming from. These can be purchased at auto parts stores, tool stores, and the like. What I do is take a length of garden hose, listen on one end while I hold the other end at various places in the engine compartment. If you are not familiear with working around running engines, ask someone knowledgeable to help you, as it can be dangerous what with the belts and the fans etc.
Three’s lots of stuff that can cause engine whining. Some serious, some benign. One often overlooked cause, rare, but occurs at times, is noisy fuel injectors. Since your mechanic says it is the belt, I doubt this is the case w/your car.
Start simple replace the belts!
its the serpentine belt that was replaced, not the timing belt in the audi. The tensioner for the serpentine belt was also replaced. The mechanic tells me that the timing belt in the audi is under a cover and it is not necessary to dismantle that to replace the serpentine belt. The labor for each is separate according to him. Is that correct?