soys1

I just bought my first V8 and I am really excited about it when I first started driving the car I notice when it idle it sound like it was wining. I know the car is suppose to sound real throaty. Now it seems like the wining is happening all the time. I was told that it could be a hole in the vacuum or my power steering pump is going. I don't think it would be the power steering because this noise is going even when I;m driving straight.

jasonface

probably is your PS pump, but to check, just remove the belt and start the engine (don't drive the car, just listen to see if the sound stops). If the sound goes away, it was the pump. May also be air in the PS system instead of a bad pump. Any time I've had the PS system apart, it's always "whined" on startup untill I bled the air out of the system. To bleed the system, raise the front of the car off the ground and support it on jackstands. Start the engine and slowly turn the sterring wheel lock to lock a few times. If there's air in the system, you'll notice small bubbles appearing in the reservoirjust repeat the process untill there are no more air bubbles.

Injuneer

The serpentine belt idler pulley will also cause a "whine", as will bad alternator bearings.

When you say "the car is suppose to sound real throaty.", do you mean the exhaust? Its that where you hear the "whine"? Or is the whine in the engine compartment? If so, what doesn't sound "throaty".

I don't think they said you had "a hole in the vaccum". What they probably said is that you may have a vacuum leak. The "vacuum" is simply the negative pressure in the intake manifold, and anything that allows air into the intake manifold (other than the throttle body) represents a leak.

I'll move this to "LT1 Based Engine Tech", since this is not an "Advanced Tech" topic.

soys1

I found out that my bearings in the alternator where going out. Replaced that to day and the noise was still there. Had some one else look at it and the power steering pump is going and thats where the noise is coming from.

Injuneer

Did you try removing the serpentine belt and verifying that the noise disappears? This would prove it is a rotating component that is driven by the belt, including the idler, the PS pump, the alternator or the A/C clutch.

That simple test would be a lot cheaper than listening to someone who is probably just replacing parts until he hits the right one.