Well I had a radiator leak today and didn't realize I was low on coolant until the "temperature guage" redlined. Had the car towed, fixed the leak, fired it up and now I'm getting a squeeling sound that comes and goes while the car is idling. I pulled all the belts, ran the car again for a few minutes and I'm still getting it so I'm sure it's internal engine. Thinking a spun bearing. Anyway.... anyone have any experience like this or give me any other advice?

If it is a spun bearing I'm prepared to pull the motor, have the block checked and throw in a rebuild kit. Right now the motor just has mild bolt ons. I'm looking to probably throw a 200 shot of nitrous in it, along with a cam in the future. Just looking for opinions about what the best bet is... built motor and swap them? Rebuild kit and throw that in if my block if it's good? One option I'm thinking is just getting another LS1 used (maybe from an '01 or '02) throwing that in, and building my my old motor in the mean time. This will be my first rebuild so I'm looking for any advice people can offer.

Car's a 2000 TA

 

um, unless your oil presure changed you didnt spin a bearing. sounds like a pulley got messed up

 

Wouldn't think it's a pulley, given this statement:
Did the oil pressure change? Any knocking sounds at cold start? Take a piece of hose and listen around the engine for where the squeal is coming from. Try getting under the car while its running on ramps to isolate it, if possible.

Good luck!

 

well if he ran it 'a few minutes' without the serp belt on it i guess he would have some other issues now...

 

I'm not seeing any change in oil pressure, and it's coming and going. Today, drove it about 10 minutes enough to warm it up. No squeal on start up and no knocking. Then stopped at a stop sign for about 10 sec and the squeal starts up. Get rolling and it goes away. I'm not getting any steam, but I'm almost wondering if it's a coolant leak or vacuum leak I'm hearing. I'm gonna try listening with a hose and see if I can't pin point it.

The car was actually run without the belt for maybe a minute or 2 from a cold start after sitting for a few hours. I'm not dumb enough to run the engine for an extended time with no water pump turning.

 

What water leak did you fix? Pressure test on the system?

If it got that hot, I suppose you could have popped a head gasket, but would think you'd see other symptoms.

 

my AC belt squeaked, i replaced it and later removed it, no more squealing.

just drive it untill it actualy tells some symptoms, otherwise you are just on wild goose chase... wait till the goose is squacking and trying to attack you and then shoot it

 

Easy on the metaphors man...

Ben

 

Could it be a cooling fan, maybe something stuck in it or coolant got in the fan motor somehow? Since its coming and going, and not doing it cold, thats my guess.

 

Well here's some more info... after I shut it down when it's good and warm I get a squeal that continues for 5-10 seconds after shut down. It's the same pitch as when running, but with no modulation (doesn't sound like a bad pully/belt slip anymore). Didn't pressure test the system and I'm not getting any visible steam or coolant leaks, although I can smell coolant under the hood. Not sure if it's just left over from the shower it got the other day and me filling it or what. I'm starting to think it might be the radiator cap leaking... maybe the washer/valve in the there got burnt up. I'm also thinking head gasket, but I'd expect steam/leaks outside or white exhaust and I'm not seeing either.... The wierd thing is that it's prone to do it at idle, but it disappears with load above 2500 rpm. I was even tossing around the idea of an oil pump, but I'm not seeing any pressure difference. Think I'll mess with it tomorrow afternoon a little more and try and track it down.

 

What type of issues would these be? As long as he didn't overheat it again the worse that would happen would be a dead battery

I doubt it's an oiling system thing if your pressure hasn't changed. Check the radiator cap, slightly open could cause a squeel but not sure why it would go away underload. Being aluminum heads you might have a slightly warped head (compression test the motor, neven know). It also could be an intake/vacuum leak like you suggested. Search high and low, it doesn't sound like anything drastic, I doubt it's a warped head because you would be overheating still and running like crap. It could be the waterpump itself going bad, my old pump on my 02' Blazer I had did that when it started to go out. Usually they just start leaking but being an aluminum pump you never know

 

I thought the water pump was drive by the belt, am I wrong on this?

 

It is, I'm a dumbass and not thinking before I answer lol. Doesn't explain it when the belt is off

 

Sokay, I'm just as much of a dumbass for getting worried about the bottom end. Turns out the EGR seal on the intake was damaged and the boot that surrounds the PCV was melted. Swapped em both out and no more whistle. Only bad part is now it got me shopping and I'm gonna end up giving a bunch of money to texas speed on heads and a cam. Thats what happens when you shop while Thanks everyone for the input.

 

I was about to post to tell you it was a vaccuum leak, but it looks like you figured that out. I had the same problem once when I accidentally crossed two lines. Good job on the fix, and for the future; a spun bearing sounds NOTHING like that, as I've unfortunately had both problems