Can someone help me diagnose this whine?

[Berty_K]

I've been hearing a whine for some time and I believe its gotten louder.

Here's a video of me switching between neutral and drive with my foot on the brake: Reddit Post 1

Here's another video from inside the engine bay. I spend about 5 seconds in each corner of the bay, starting from driver side back of the engine bay and moving clockwise to each corner. Last 5 seconds is from the rear of the engine bay. Reddit Post 2

As I was in the bay, I also observed my coolant appeared low. I can still see some in the tank, but only just a little. Perhaps my waterpump is on the way out? I doubt this is a faulty head gasket, but don't want to strike out that possibility. I'm going to peak at the radiator to see if that's leaking. Seems possible, especially after reading this thread.

Does this whine sound familiar to anyone? I'll also report back with updates as I self diagnose.

 

[Berty_K]

Well. I definitely have a leak.

It all dried on the radiator. You can see it looks like a tumor.

 

[techno]

For what it's worth, I'm replacing the water pump on my 08 at the moment. When I removed it, there was tons of that same red crusty crap around the weep-hole and from what I read, that is a sign the pump is on it's way out. I also needed to top up the coolant 2-3 times a year recently.

 

[AuSeeker]

For what it's worth, I'm replacing the water pump on my 08 at the moment. When I removed it, there was tons of that same red crusty crap around the weep-hole and from what I read, that is a sign the pump is on it's way out. I also needed to top up the coolant 2-3 times a year recently.

That is not a sign that your water pump is on it's way out, it is a symptom of a bad water pump, it's the seal around the shaft gone bad, it's very seldom that the bearing goes bad or the impeller separates from the shaft before the seal goes bad, these are the only other water pump failures, the seal going bad is the most common failure of water pumps, the "weep" hole is there so it's easier to tell when the seal goes bad, if is wasn't there the coolant would leak around the shaft behind the fan and get sprayed all around and you would never see any coolant leaking down on the ground as evidence.

 

[Berty_K]

For what it's worth, I'm replacing the water pump on my 08 at the moment. When I removed it, there was tons of that same red crusty crap around the weep-hole and from what I read, that is a sign the pump is on it's way out. I also needed to top up the coolant 2-3 times a year recently.

That is not a sign that your water pump is on it's way out, it is a symptom of a bad water pump, it's the seal around the shaft gone bad, it's very seldom that the bearing goes bad or the impeller separates from the shaft before the seal goes bad, these are the only other water pump failures, the seal going bad is the most common failure of water pumps, the "weep" hole is there so it's easier to tell when the seal goes bad, if is wasn't there the coolant would leak around the shaft behind the fan and get sprayed all around and you would never see any coolant leaking down on the ground as evidence.

I had a realization as I replaced my radiator yesterday. When I cold started the car, no whine.

I had the car at about 2k rpm for some time to warm up the engine and get the coolant circulating.

When I came out to the engine again, that's when I heard the whine. I'm feeling pretty confident my water pump is on its last legs.

Based on this tacoma diy doesn't seem too tough of a job... Might tackle it next

 

[techno]

This is what my pump looks like.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

 

[Berty_K]

This is what my pump looks like.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

Nice, thanks for sharing. Considering doing this soon. How'd the job go?

Have the water pump and thermostat in my rockauto cart. I believe this is all I'll need- seems like all necessary gaskets and o-rings come with the parts

 

[techno]

Removal is straight forward. I'm half way through my timing chain job and haven't installed the new one yet.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

 

[Berty_K]

Since I replaced the radiator, my coolant loss has stopped. The whine, however still persists.

If it is my water pump, it doesn't seem like its "weeping."

Talk me into our out of replacing the water pump...

 

[AuSeeker]

Since I replaced the radiator, my coolant loss has stopped. The whine, however still persists.

If it is my water pump, it doesn't seem like its "weeping."

Talk me into our out of replacing the water pump...

Get yourself a mechanic's stethoscope to pinpoint the whine, just be careful when placing the probe on components around moving parts while the engine is running, if it's the water pump you should be able to easily tell with the stethoscope, if not then check all other components until you find where it coming from.

You can get one for about $10+ or so at most auto parts stores, no one trying to trace down noises on their rides should be without one in their tool box.

I have the Autocraft brand stethoscope from Autozone and it works very well.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=yG.....0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.RifFG5w1Zwk

 

[Berty_K]

Get yourself a mechanic's stethoscope to pinpoint the whine, just be careful when placing the probe on components around moving parts while the engine is running, if it's the water pump you should be able to easily tell with the stethoscope, if not then check all other components until you find where it coming from.

You can get one for about $10+ or so at most auto parts stores, no one trying to trace down noises on their rides should be without one in their tool box.

I have the Autocraft brand stethoscope from Autozone and it works very well.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=yG.....0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.RifFG5w1Zwk

That's a great idea. I'll give it a shot this weekend