Whirring buzz from under the hood, take a guess

[Realism]

Woohoo. we are back in the 2024 season with my now 20 year old Envoy saying hey, I dont like you. lol

It is currently cold and snowing like frosty never dreamed of. Went out to start her up to get myself down the lane to warm myself with a good hotty toddy from the store, but lo and behold what do my old ears hears. A rackus, a ruckus, a dying moose?
NaY, It be sounds from under the hood of my 2004 GMC Envoy.

Its cold, its dark and wet, so I will inspect more, but I did take a video of the sound,

Decided to play a little game,

"What's that Noise!?'

Is it the power steering, is it the tensioner, could it be the water pump, or maybe the alternator saying its going to ghost me like my last Tinder date, or maybe the cold shoulder from the AC. Who will know, who can guess, come right on down and take a hand on this episode of "Whats that Noise?!"

Ignore the squeak, I know that one, but that lovely whirrrr my brrrrr, my good sir. I have a good feeling what it is already, but hey lets make a game out of it.

 

[Mooseman]

Video is marked private.

 

[Realism]

Video is marked private.

video issue fixed, thank you for letting me know it was set to private

 

[mrrsm]

Sounds Like...

(1) Possible Bad Power Steering Pump Bearing.
(2) Possible Bad Water Pump Bearing.
(3) Possible Bad Alternator Bearing.
(4) Possible Bad Carrier - Idler Pulley Bearing.
(5) Possible Bad Belt Tensioner Pulley Bearing.

Suggest eliminating Internal Engine Component involvement by removing the Serpentine Belt and Starting the Engine... Running the Engine for only a Minute or Two B4 Shut Down to avoid Over-Heating the Motor while listening for the Whirring Noise. Then... Hand Spin ALL of the Components on this List feeling for "Bearing Growl-Roughness"... and any Wobble ... especially from the Water Pump and its Attached - Enclosed Plastic Fan at its Outer Orbit by Rocking it Back and Forth in a Nose to Tail Direction.

 

[Mooseman]

Sure sounds like the power steering pump. Is it low on fluid? Does it get worse when you turn the steering and/or is stiff? Sometimes cold can affect a weak pump and improves as it warms up. Condition of fluid?

@mrrsm 's suggestion is good, just add the A/C pulley bearing to that list. The fan/water pump does look wobbly but it rarely makes noise unless it's really out to lunch.

 

[northcreek]

I would wait until you see smoke....Generation X method ...

 

[Realism]

Sounds Like...

(1) Possible Bad Power Steering Pump Bearing.
(2) Possible Bad Water Pump Bearing.
(3) Possible Bad Alternator Bearing.
(4) Possible Bad Carrier - Idler Pulley Bearing.
(5) Possible Bad Belt Tensioner Pulley Bearing.

Suggest eliminating Internal Engine Component involvement by removing the Serpentine Belt and Starting the Engine... Running the Engine for only a Minute or Two B4 Shut Down to avoid Over-Heating the Motor while listening for the Whirring Noise. Then... Hand Spin ALL of the Components on this List feeling for "Bearing Growl-Roughness"... and any Wobble ... especially from the Water Pump and its Attached - Enclosed Plastic Fan at its Outer Orbit by Rocking it Back and Forth in a Nose to Tail Direction.

Yeah. I was playing a game with this one. I took the belt off this afternoon and spun the system by hand. They are all going at normal, least the ones I can reach, f the AC pulley (clutch needs replaced anyways). The voltage on the idiot dash for the battery seems lower than usual, I should have measured battery before I started. Alternator bearing seems a tad slower than others but that could be me, its cold as hell out right now.
No noise while running without belt on, and wouldnt you know it, the sound is mysteriously gone this afternoon LOL. darn gremlins are messing with me again. Tested battery with meter and it is showing 14.8 V, which is weird, I expected it to be a bit lower given I thought it was alternator, Idiot dash says 14v, Blue driver says 14.5 so meh, its running, will post a second video.
Yeah I know the water pumps needs replacing but Ill try to run it till spring. Im too darn old to be working on vehicles like that in the winter, I have the pump and the fan clutch already, was going to do it this past summer if I had the time.
Im still leaning towards the alternator as telling me, hey buddy, Im going to ghost you.
Either that or my Envoy has hit the point where it refuses to work right unless the temp is higher than its age lol.
It was single digits last night. its 22 now.
This summer or spring I will likely do a full pulley system replacement. 160k, its due.
the rising cost of living here has made it difficult to keep up on things for vehicle.

Sure sounds like the power steering pump. Is it low on fluid? Does it get worse when you turn the steering and/or is stiff? Sometimes cold can affect a weak pump and improves as it warms up. Condition of fluid?

I didnt check the PS pump fluid. Didnt turn the wheel. last night it got worse when I gave it for fuel and increased the rpm. But you are right, it is possible the colder weather could be slowing down a bearing just slightly. It doesnt normally get this cold here.
Went out for some nom noms later afternoon. No noise on steering wheel turn. And that noise comes back for the briefest of moments upon start, maybe lasts a second

I would wait until you see smoke....Generation X method ...

If I did that, we might hit 200k. lol, This platform is a bloody beast when it comes to longevity

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noise comes back around for a brief moment on start up.

 

[mrrsm]

Forgot to make mention that having a Serpentine Belt of an Incorrect Length can also induce issues like this to occur if it is either Too Long ...or...Too Short.

 

[c good]

Power steering pump as Mooseman and Mrrsm mentioned.

 

[Realism]

Mooseman for the Win.
Started it up and that noise came back full force. Had all my faculties today, remembered to check the power steering fluid level.
Didnt even register on the dip. So i take it a block over to autozone and put some in. Noise went away. I could have swore it was full when I last checked it, but who knows there has been a little spotting here and there.
Lesson learned, instead of jumping to worse possible cause, I forgot to keep it simple.
What is funny though is that with it being that dry, I didnt get any noise increase when turning the steering wheel or any issue with driving that would indicate a lowness.
Topped it off and will monitor it over the next few days to see how its going. Im hoping since the extent ive driven it since that noise came about is less than 4 miles, that nothing was damaged.

 

[Realism]

Think I may have discovered where the leak is. After being parked for abit and all. I noticed a big leaky spot coming from the front left under bumper. where the secondary cooler fin are located. IF i recall, the Power steering flows from pump through that cooling center. I thought it was just for the Transmission, but I could be wrong, I wil consult Haynes, but if this is the case, then over the last week, I lost a chunk of fluid to a connection down ther, will check ATF in morning, but damn, I have a bleeder, someone one call tampax

 

[Mooseman]

It circulates from the rack, through the cooler and then to the pump reservoir. It's likely the cooler. Very common rust through issue there. The Dorman replacement is made of aluminum. I found one at a pick n pull.

 

[Realism]

It circulates from the rack, through the cooler and then to the pump reservoir. It's likely the cooler. Very common rust through issue there. The Dorman replacement is made of aluminum. I found one at a pick n pull.

Yeah, its def rusty, one line wasnt on there all the way which was weird, almost looked like someone gave it a yank at some point, Darn squirrels really working over time to sabotage me.

Definitely made a large mess though. Judging by what I saw, Im thinking the rubber lines themselves need replaced. It looks like its still dripping from the upper one even though its on there pretty good.

New cooler is only like $20 and lines I think are about the same price per, So I might as well just replace the whole thing while I have it off.

I'm positive I have hit that mileage point where Im going to need to start watching for the little things like this. 162k