So lately, my car has been making a "whine" sound from the engine. It is louder when cold, but never completely goes away. I am paranoid it is a bearing spun somewhere, but there is no knocking or any of that sort. I did advance my timing recently, but I haven't experienced any pinging that I am aware of. Thoughts???
Does the whine vary with RPM? I've got a whine in my engine, I'm pretty certain it is a vacuum leak that I haven't been able to track down yet.
It does. My big fear is that its a bearing somewhere only because its a similar sound to my 500SL that turned out to be a spun bearing in the transmission oil pump. That was costly...but then again, its a 500SL.
Lots of things on the front of the engine that can whine. Water pump, idler bearings A/C clutch bearing, alternator bearing, P/S pump, etc. Get a mechanics stethoscope (or use a long screwdriver as one) and try to see exactly what is whining (without getting the screwdriver caught up in anything spinning!!).
Pull all your belts off and run the engine to rule out any of the accessories or pulleys.