Squealing Noise At Idle
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 93
Likes: 1
From: Scottsdale Arizona
Squealing Noise At Idle
Hey guys,
I have a question:
When the car is very cold, usually in the morning, right when I start up the car, I get a pretty audible squealing noise coming from under the hood..
It sounds like birds chriping... Its like a "tee tee tee tee" very fast...
It seems to follow the rythym of the engine.
Then after about 10 minutes and after the engine temp indicator is about 40 degrees past 0 or about lets say 100 - 120 degrees the squealing stops..
The colder the engine is, the louder the squealing...
So on a hot day, it may never squeal at all depending on the temp of the engine, but on a cold chicago morning like today, it was squealing very loudly for about 10 minutes, then the engine get's warm, and the noise stops..
I'm worried about this as it is embarrising as the car sounds really ghetto for the first 10 minutes, and I want to figure out whats the cuase of this before I take it to the dealer (I have a warranty)
thanks guys!
I have a question:
When the car is very cold, usually in the morning, right when I start up the car, I get a pretty audible squealing noise coming from under the hood..
It sounds like birds chriping... Its like a "tee tee tee tee" very fast...
It seems to follow the rythym of the engine.
Then after about 10 minutes and after the engine temp indicator is about 40 degrees past 0 or about lets say 100 - 120 degrees the squealing stops..
The colder the engine is, the louder the squealing...
So on a hot day, it may never squeal at all depending on the temp of the engine, but on a cold chicago morning like today, it was squealing very loudly for about 10 minutes, then the engine get's warm, and the noise stops..
I'm worried about this as it is embarrising as the car sounds really ghetto for the first 10 minutes, and I want to figure out whats the cuase of this before I take it to the dealer (I have a warranty)
thanks guys!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,549
Likes: 0
From: MDT
same here. had new belt put on but when the car warms up (circa 10-12 min) the noise stops. the car runs perfectly-----it just sounds like hell when you're going down the street from a cold startup. not sure it means the idler pulley is going in the tank but as long as the car runs ok, i'm not inclined to fix. ????? bub
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 19,105
Likes: 2
From: Paducah KY
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Originally Posted by LB04CE
Belts or Idler Pulley one of the two...When we had our 99 it made the noise,had them both changed
out,, no more chriping......
These would be two good starting places. 
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,641
Likes: 1
From: Location : Location :
Replace Belts and Idler Pulley and that noise will go bye bye, and be shure and do both if one is worn, chances are the other is too.There is no sense in putting a new belt on and not having the proper tension on it from the idler. Good luck 
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,079
Likes: 1
From: Bradenton, FL
Mine did the same thing. I was able to isolate the problem by placing the end of a long, skinny screwdriver on the idler pulley bracket while it was churping. I put the end of the handle in my ear and pushed it firmly against the bone just above and behind my ear canal. It acts like a stethoscope and you will be amazed how it amplifies even the slightest noise. You should be able to tell if the noise is coming from your idler. If it isn't, then I would suspect the belt. C5 Corvettes are notorious for idler pulley failure, by the way. Good luck.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 93
Likes: 1
From: Scottsdale Arizona
thanks for your replies,
It makes me feel better that this is a known issue with other vettes, as I was getting a little worried it was something with the engine..
I really appreciate your help and infromation about this,
I'm guessing that this is covered by the warranty, so I'm gonna bring it to my local mechanic, then to the dealer.
Thanks guys!
Take care!
It makes me feel better that this is a known issue with other vettes, as I was getting a little worried it was something with the engine..
I really appreciate your help and infromation about this,
I'm guessing that this is covered by the warranty, so I'm gonna bring it to my local mechanic, then to the dealer.
Thanks guys!
Take care!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,298
Likes: 4
From: American Canyon Lethal Injection
Originally Posted by vbcorvette
thanks for your replies,
It makes me feel better that this is a known issue with other vettes, as I was getting a little worried it was something with the engine..
I really appreciate your help and infromation about this,
I'm guessing that this is covered by the warranty, so I'm gonna bring it to my local mechanic, then to the dealer.
Thanks guys!
Take care!
It makes me feel better that this is a known issue with other vettes, as I was getting a little worried it was something with the engine..
I really appreciate your help and infromation about this,
I'm guessing that this is covered by the warranty, so I'm gonna bring it to my local mechanic, then to the dealer.
Thanks guys!
Take care!
On that note..I ruined my belts(s) by spilling anti-freeze on them when I changed out my thermostat. SO I eneded up changing out the main serpentine and the A/C belt. Good luck
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Orlando FL.
Oh boy....I just fixed mine not too long ago. It was the idler pulley then the water pump seal. Man I replaced all off them....the idler, the ac pulley , the tensioner and my last "shreeeekky" sound in the morning was the water pump buddy...$400 bones just for the pump and labor.. 
have fun finding wich one it is...
have fun finding wich one it is...
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: Florida
The temperature over here in Central Florida have dropped considerably since Hurricane Wilma is gone (from mid 80s to upper 50s, low 60s). I noticed a squealing noise coming from around the idler pulley/belt when I pulled into a gas station. If my idler pulley is going bad, what should I expect to pay to replace the pulley (part+labor)? Thanks in advance.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,308
Likes: 1
From: The Beautiful Greater Bay Area California
Originally Posted by LB04CE
Belts or Idler Pulley one of the two...When we had our 99 it made the noise,had them both changed
out,, no more chriping......
Definitely examine these two possible and likely sources mentioned above. Good luck to you.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,549
Likes: 0
From: MDT
not to prolong this thread but does the chirping mean that the idler pulley or whatever is slowly going into the tank? if the noise otherwise is harmless & stops when the car warms up, then is it ok? now having said that, common sense tells me that anytime a car makes a noise out of the normal range of noises, it's talking to you about something that needs some tlc. bub
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,641
Likes: 1
From: Location : Location :
Originally Posted by ebubman
not to prolong this thread but does the chirping mean that the idler pulley or whatever is slowly going into the tank? if the noise otherwise is harmless & stops when the car warms up, then is it ok? now having said that, common sense tells me that anytime a car makes a noise out of the normal range of noises, it's talking to you about something that needs some tlc. bub
