why does my car whine?

If you are handy with a no 13 spanner, then jack up the front of the car and remove the auxillary belt ( fan belt ) - it is a dynamic tensioner on that belt.

Then start the car and see if the car still whines.

If the whining has gone then the dynamic tensioner for the fanbelt needs replacement.

From experience I've found that the extra bit of strain put on the tensioner while removing the fan belt during the cambelt replacement can cause an already worn tensioner to become noisy.

If the whining is still there with the fan belt removed then it relates to the cambelt - very possibly the tension on the belt was set too high.

In any case, if the whine is still there with the fan belt removed then get it straight back to the garage that did the cambelt and get them to fix it sharpish.

When the cambelt is changed on peugeots the tensioner and idler roller also get changed.

When the belt is set at the correct tension the pointer on the tensioner should be between the two reference marks.

Then the cams and crank are un-pinned and the crank is turned 8 full turns clockwise by hand (smoothly) and the pointer on the tensioner must still be between the two reference marks. (it makes more sense if you're looking at the actual tensioner)...

Sean
October 2009

Wrong belt fitted, poor quality or badly adjusted idler/tensioner, failing waterpump bearing, badly fitted cover.
Badly fitted auxillary belt, tension wrong, failing alternator/power steering pump, loads of possibilities.
Why have you waited this long to query it? If it was mine it would have been straight back to the garage.
Best get it checked, if the timing belt fails the repair will cost more than the car is worth.

cufc
August 2009