Help! My whining Previa give the wife a headache

mike_here
Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:32:55 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

1991 Previa, 188,000 miles, original owner

My wife borrowed my van while I worked on her Subaru. The ingrate complained about the high-pitch whining from my car. Said it was so loud it gave her a headache.

The van emits a high pitch whining (screech) when I accelerate. The whining stops when I stop accelerating. The pitch and loudness increase with acceleration, and step down a notch when the transmission upshifts . No whining noticeable when idling in the driveway. I heard no whining when I supported the rear with jack stands and revved the engine up to 60mph (previa is rear-wheel drive). The whining has been occurring for at least 10,000 miles (2 years driving for me).

Yesterday, I replaced the two belts (pwr steering/alternator and air). No change in the noise. The pwr steering, alternator, and a/c compressor are original. Alternator seems to be performing it’s electrical functions.

The van is running fine otherwise. I’d like to eliminate the whine, but don’t want to shotgun parts, especially if there is a possibility this is incipient tranmission failure.

Suggestions?

6 posts - 5 participants