Ford Escort (1993 - 2000) - 94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Fri 20 Mar 2009 13:03
94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine - snaps
Firstly I'm not overly mechanically minded, so go easy on the replies.


I've recently heard a whining sound when the engine is warmed up. If I rev the car, it "speeds up" with the engine. The fan is coming on, so I don't think it's that. The annoying thing is, it's an intermittent event, so naturally when I took it to a garage, it didn't "perform"
it waited until I got home, then started. This will happen when the car is stationary.

Is there a motor that drives the fan that could be on it's way out? Or could it be something more sinister.

Any feedback greatly appreciated
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Mar 2009 17:36
94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine - piston power
It could be the timing belt or the auxilary belt tensioners or bearings.

You could remove the aux belt and start up elimanating the alternator etc.?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 23 Mar 2009 15:48
94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine - snaps
Got the garage to listen to it today, and seems it could well be the auxilliary belt or the alternator.


Cheers for the help, I'll start saving the pennies now
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Mar 2009 14:21
94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine - Lucky 7
Switch your full beams on while the engine's running and have a listen - if the whining gets noticable louder then that does point to the alternator
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 Mar 2009 16:08
94 1.8 Whining noise on warm engine - snaps
Cheers, will try that one. May cut down on labour time and costs if I can point them in a more certain direction.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide