*UPDATED 11/1*Can anyone identify this whining noise?

FivepointSlow

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Last week when I went to look at the car it was in the 40s and started making this whining noise, narrowed it down to the front of the motor, maybe belt/pulley related?

When I picked the car up yesterday it was in the mid 50s and the car did not make the noise at all

Today when I unloaded it from my trailer it initially didnt make the noise but then shortly after starting it the noise came back, but once the car warmed up it stopped.

The noise also gets worse when I step on the brake, but is not affected by the clutch.

Video of the noise: Here
 

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yup sounds like a bearing going out I would start with that belt tensioner with all the discoloration on. But take the belt off and see if any of the pulleys are tight and still spin easy.
 

07GtS197

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Typical Ford power steering pump, check power steering fluid level before anything. But yea Scott might be right, Ive never heard power steering whine that loud before.
 

evilcw311

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Definitely sounds like a bearing going out.


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FivepointSlow

FivepointSlow

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Who did the motor swap? I cant help but notice that is not a pi motor.
JD (the owner prior to JBeast) did it I assume. Or he bought it like that aswell... But thats a very good point... I have plug wires, oil fill is on the wrong side, I'll have to check my intake and see if thats even a PI intake... Interesting...
Kind of disappointing and also scary because if thats the original 98 motor and not a swapped one it has ~200k on it.. lol Hopefully its atleast a lower mileage motor regardless of the year its from.
It definetly has 99-04 exhaust on it because it doesnt fit worth a dam in the rear.
 
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FivepointSlow

FivepointSlow

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So interesting update.
I moved the car yesterday and noticed the noise actually varies based on the brakes being pressed, getting louder the harder you press the brakes... how does this make any sense???? HELP! lol

All fluids are good, except coolant is low but that wouldn't cause this noise, I am going to be flushing the coolant system and filling tomorrow anyways, but the power steering and brake fluid are at good levels.

I am still thinking its a pulley but pressing the brakes shouldnt make that louder... should it?
 

07GtS197

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There are build dates on the underside of the valve covers, a little hard to get to though. There might be a build date on the drivers side valve cover on a sticker. If its not making noises and there isnt a lot of slack in the timing chains then I wouldnt worry about it. Also check which runner is first on the intake, thats one way of identifying if its a pi intake or not.

It sounds like power steering whine and pressing the brakes making it louder would make sense because these cars use hydroboost which uses the power steering for power brakes. Hitting the brakes would put a bigger strain on the power steering pump making for more noise. Thats my theory anyway.
 

evilcw311

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07 said it best. If brakes make it worse than I’d say hydraboost aka power steering pump.


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lwarrior1016

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Cam covers, oil fill, and plug wires don’t mean anything reagarding pi or npi. All those parts are changeable to the pi engine as long as it’s the same bolt count on the cam cover. The plug wires swap over because that how the wiring harness is built in the car. Get a mirror and look for a casting number on the side of the head, just above the exhaust manifold. If they are pi, it will say pi.

As for the noise, yes, it’s power steering related. Power steering pump circulates fluid through the brake booster so pressing the brake pedal makes it work harder.
 
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FivepointSlow

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Fluid looks pretty dirty, do you think I can get away with a flush or should I just plan on replacing the power steering pump?

I'll have to take a peek tomorrow at the motor to figure out what year it is... I'm currently gouging my eyes out at the dmv trying to get temp tags for this thing
 

07GtS197

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Try a flush first. It could be as simple as air in the system.

As far as the valve covers go I understand theyre interchangable but I find it hard to believe that someone took an entire 03 motor, threw it into this car and decided to reuse the old valve covers. And if it does have the pi intake it would have to be tapped for the temp sender. Also it has the orange top injectors instead of the pink tops.

Im not trying to be a negative Nancy but I did want to point out that the motor may have been swapped again in the past.
 
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FivepointSlow

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Did a bit of looking tonight, didnt have much time though.
I didn't leave the DMV til 4:30, had to run to autozone to get headlights.

While I was removing the shit show that was the HID wiring, and installing my new bulbs, I took some time to look at the motor.

First intake runner goes to the drivers side, so I am under the impression that is a PI intake?
ayIlPbK.jpg


I will try to look tomorrow and get my little mirror on a pole up in there and look at the heads.

I'd like to know for the sake of replacement parts, honestly wouldnt bother me much if it was an npi motor, I drove it for about 20 minutes today and the thing pulls pretty damn good. It's loud as hell though so I may be investing in some quieter mufflers at some point... Never thought I'd say that...
 

lwarrior1016

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That is a pi intake, and the video shows an aluminum crossover. It does have the old injectors but that would be expected if it isn’t tuned. The swapped in engine may not have had covers or one of them could have been broken.
 

07GtS197

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I just find that odd but it probably is a pi long block. Its almost like a lion in sheep skin lol.
 
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FivepointSlow

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I havent had the time to investigate the heads too much, I did stick my phone down near the firewall on the drivers side head and I do not see a PI stamp under the number stamp, but I read and saw pics on google of a stamp near the radiator on the passenger side head, so I'll have to check that tomorrow if I have time...

In the meanwhile I was just straining my eyes over @JDwhite98gt's old threads, he is the one who supposedly swapped this motor prior to @JBeast owning it, prior to me owning it. And he frustratingly didn't post anything about his swap, no build thread or anything, and all the picture links are dead now that theyre ~8 years old.

He did however post help and SOS threads trying to remedy some issues he had here and there, and he repeatedly mentioned he had an 03 PI motor from his 96 that was totaled, he bought this 98 with a PI heads, cam, intake swap, and he ended up swapping in the 03 from his 96 into this 98.

He also mentioned once or twice that he had coil packs and wires on the 03 motor, and didn't swap the COPs on.

fun fact: I also just read that he had installed a speedcal to fix his speedometer but he had 4.10 gears in at the time, the car now has 3.73 gears so if the speedcal is still installed and I can find where it is (I have never used one so idk how or where its installed) and I can adjust it thats an easy fix for my speedometer now being ~8 mph off at around 40mph
 

07GtS197

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Wow thats convaluted lol. The pi stamp should be on both front and back since theyre interchangeable, correct me if Im wrong.

The speedcal is most likely near the shifter under the bezel. The po of my 02 installed 3.73s and a speedcal and thats where it is. I found it when I was swapping shifters otherwise I would have never known it was there... or that it has 3.73s lol.
 
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FivepointSlow

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Wow thats convaluted lol. The pi stamp should be on both front and back since theyre interchangeable, correct me if Im wrong.

The speedcal is most likely near the shifter under the bezel. The po of my 02 installed 3.73s and a speedcal and thats where it is. I found it when I was swapping shifters otherwise I would have never known it was there... or that it has 3.73s lol.
That is wierd then... I am not really sure what to think about my motor at this point... There has to be some other differences between the NPI and PI motors, are the belt tensioners different? Timing covers? Anything??? Lol

I found the speedcal prior to seeing your post, right where you said it should be(I remembered noticing wiring poking through the rubber shifter boot when I tightened up the bolts on the shifter the other day, figured it had to be related, just posted a thread in the Garage asking for help.. I is confused!
 

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