New D22 - slight engine whining

[Uniden]

Hey folks!
Brand new d22, just over a week old. Done 320km's.
Basically, sometime, during a drive yesterday, or after, i noticed a quiet engine whine.
Whether i'm just being ultra paranoid, or not, but i think the sound wasn't there prior to yesterday. Popping the bonnet and having a look around and all oils, everything seemed ok, but it was hard to distinguish where the whining was coming from. Makes me question my self if it's normal or not.

Basically sounds just like a feint whining noise, on top of the regular diesel tiga-tiga-tiga-tiga sound. This morning, during start-up, it wasn't there, but after another short drive (5 ks or so) it somewhat returned. It whines up and down with the engine revs at idle. I've been driving it in "burn-in" mode. Basically, didn't rev it beyond 3k, take it on the freeway or anything. And all trips were less than 8k's. Although no turbo-timer, i have been waiting a few minutes after each trip until shut-down. So i've been trying to do all the right things. Haven't pushed the car at all so far.

I'm not in a position to take it back to dealers tomorrow (until tues) , so, just thought i'd post here and see if anything you guys might think of the top of your head.
Sorry if it sounds a bit paranoid/girly but yeah, just cautious rather than concerned.

 

[scottybobcat]

is it the turbo spooling up

 

[Uniden]

is it the turbo spooling up

You'll have to excuse my mechanical ignorance when it comes to diesels or turbos for that matter. Spooling up, as in, winding up ?
If so, then, i wouldn't know. Assuming thats a normal thing, makes me wonder why i haven'' been t hearing it before.
Once again, that sound could have been there from the start, i'm just being too paranoid haha.

 

[scottybobcat]

If it is doing it to engine revs I would say it is the turbo but it never hurts to check it out.
Be paranoid untill you know your car.Brand new cars arn't cheap and I would want to know what a sound is also,but don't feel silly asking these questions this is what the forum is for.If your worried about it take it past your dealer and get them to check it out,it may be the difference between an easy fix or dealing with Nissans warranty and being without a car for however long.

 

[Uniden]

Well, blokes at nissan service don't think much of it. Some don't notice it and think it's normal. One bloke thinks theres something creating a sound. It's noticable when you listen to it through the front grille. I guess i'll keep an ear out on it until the 1k service then see what they say.

 

[Old.Tony]

I wonder if it's just the belt on the front of the motor. Other things it could be: alternator, water pump, cooling fan, air conditioning compressor.

Try these things:

* turn on all the lights, high beam, borrow some hair dryers if you have to, just consume power. If it gets louder -> alternator

* Crank up the air conditioning. If it gets louder, check the compressor.

* Check it first thing in the morning. The water pump will be turning over but the thermostat will be closed, limiting its pumping ability.

* with the engine OFF, manually turn over the fan. Is it really, really smooth? It ought to be.

 

[Uniden]

Hey Tony.
Turned the fan over while engine off (obviously), and it's turning over fine no issues. Pretty smooth. Then i tried the power up everything trick and, nothing out of the ordinary, the so called whining was still present but no change. Tried the air-con thing too, and like-wise. No change. I'm beginning to think it's just me... But who knows.

 

[Old.Tony]

I suppose you could take it along to the next NOG meeting and let other ears hear it too.

I know I'd rather be comfortable knowing what a noise was, than kept in the dark with a potential for failure!

 

[Uniden]

I suppose you could take it along to the next NOG meeting and let other ears hear it too.

I know I'd rather be comfortable knowing what a noise was, than kept in the dark with a potential for failure!

I will be definitely getting a second opinion on this. Family friend knows a mechanic working at ARB servicing pretty well who "supposedly" knows his diesels. So i'll see what he says tomorrow morning. Wish i knew someone with a fairly recent D22, to compare the sounds.

 

[Uniden]

* with the engine OFF, manually turn over the fan. Is it really, really smooth? It ought to be.

Hey Old.Tony. I've sort of narrowed down the (i think).. where the whinings coming form.
In regard to this fan... There is 2 fans. One all the way on the front (smaller one) and theres the engine one. The white one pictured here i took a photo of before.

This white one is not free-turning / smooth as you mentioned. I have to give it a bit of force to actually turn it by hand. But i cannot fling it into a free-spin. It's as if the brakes are on it. Somethings holding it back.
How normal is this ?? ? And how freely / easily should this be turning when turned by a hand etc?

The smaller fan on the front is much smoother to turn by hand. I'm assuming it's because it's electric.

 

[Old.Tony]

That's the main cooling fan. It should be a little stiff to turn - but it should be SMOOTH. It has a clutch inside that clamps it to the shaft so the engine can turn it over. It should be tight, but it should not feel like there's grit in the shaft when you turn it (that's what I mean by smooth - I don't mean "easy").

I suppose you could look at the tips of that fan. Are there any signs of contact with anything?

 

[Uniden]

That's the main cooling fan. It should be a little stiff to turn - but it should be SMOOTH. It has a clutch inside that clamps it to the shaft so the engine can turn it over. It should be tight, but it should not feel like there's grit in the shaft when you turn it (that's what I mean by smooth - I don't mean "easy").

I suppose you could look at the tips of that fan. Are there any signs of contact with anything?

Ah i see what you mean. Yeh it's pretty firm/solid but very smooth when i turn it. There doesn't seem to be any contact with anything.

Had a mechanic from ARB look at it, took a listen. And he took thinks he can hear a whine. Just something else present on top of the regular diesel sound. But he too, could not point it to anything or section it to a certain part under the hood. He had a D40 there, which we compared to my one (yes different engine setup), but that had a nice clean diesel "tig-tig-tig-tig-tig" sound. Where as my one has that smooth whine in sync with the engine revs.
Very weird.

 

[Old.Tony]

Next time there's a Navara group meeting in your area, go along.

We're having Christmas drinks in Maitland this Friday afternoon, if you're from this area.

 

[Uniden]

Next time there's a Navara group meeting in your area, go along.

We're having Christmas drinks in Maitland this Friday afternoon, if you're from this area.

Nowhere near that area. But will keep an eye out on future local meet-ups. Thanks for the heads up.

I just spent a good half an hour running the engine and hanging over and under the vehicle trying to precise the noise.

When i'm under the vehicle it's definitely louder. And seems to be coming from the bottom of the engine or, towards the back/bottom of the engine.
It's difficult for me to explain exactly since i'm really not familiar with the parts and/or locations of parts of that engine. Apart from the clutch / transmission - what else could be down there thats a possibility?
Could it be something to do with the clutch? Depressing the clutch or changing gears or anything makes no difference to the noise.

 

[Old.Tony]

The oil pump is going to be down that way. So will the timing chain.

I can't imagine those failing so soon. If you can put a stethoscope to the sump, is it really loud then?

Substitute stethoscope: get a large screwdriver. Place the sharp tip on the surface you want to listen to and stick your ear on the end of the handle.

 

[Uniden]

Thanks Tony. Will give that a shot in the morning and see how i go.
Neighbour popped over just earlier and he had a quick listen. And he too can hear something carrying on under the engine. So i wasn't going bonkers after all.
I'm just trying to get as much facts as possible before handing it in for the 1k service, so they don't give me the old "she'll be right, it's nothing abnormal" again.

 

[Uniden]

Had another quick listen this morning using a makeshift steto and yeh. I don't know what to say i put it on several parts underneath including the sump and it didn't seem any louder. Yeh i'm loss for words. Might just take it easy and let it roll until the 1k service in hope they pick something up. Which i doubt.
Edit: Wonder if attempt to sound-record it, if clear enough could give you an idea of what i'm talking about.

 

[Uniden]

Here's a video i quickly put together of the whining just before. Pretty s*** quality but if you listen carefully, you can hear the whining i'm talking about. I didn't have anyone there to tap the accelerator while i record it closer to the source. If you turn the sound up a touch you can definitely hear it. Ofcourse video doesn't mean anything, unless you're there but just thought i'd give you an idea what i'm talking about.

Public :: navarawhining.mp4 video by HEmko - Photobucket

 

[Old.Tony]

It's not exactly in time with the engine RPM, seems to lag behind it a little, just like the turbo would.

I'd take a good listen to the turbo with a stethoscope while someone gently applied throttle. I'd also check the turbo bearing play (shaft wobble) while the engine is stopped (clean hands, don't let anything fall in, not even a grain of sand).

 

[Uniden]

Thanks Tony.
You are right, it does lag behind the engines RPM. Glad you noticed that.
I think i will just leave it for now in hope they pick something up at the 1k service. I don't wanna mess around any more to be honest.