Aloha! I have a 97 SL2. I notice recently there is brief high speed spinning sound (sounds like steam escaping) coming from the belt area once the car starts. It started after driving for DoorDash making deliveries for extended periods, park overnight, then start the car the next day to that sound. It's so brief that I cannot isolate the location. Car runs fine, just that sound is concerning. Anyone else experienced this and how did you fix it? Mahalo!

 

Sounds like the gear from the starter is not retracting quickly enough once it disengages from the flywheel.

Does the spitting sound decrease in pitch as a function of time or is it at one pitch then stops?

 

It's at one pitch then stops. Like I said the sound is brief, less than a second. Noticed it does this on cold start up, but once the engine warms up it stops.

Funny you mentioned the starter. I just replaced it about two years ago. It only started doing this recently.

 

Serpentine belt squealing when cold? Bad bearing on one of your pulleys?

Remove the serpentine belt and start the car when it is completely cold. Running it for a few seconds won't hurt anything. Turn it off after you hear or don't hear the sound.

Let us know the results please

Can you take a 3 second video or have someone take a 3 second video when trying to start it with the belt on? Then post it to YouTube or upload here?

 

I'll see what I can do and post what I find here. Stay tuned!

 

Sorry for the late reply. The sound came from the water pump. I changed it a few years ago but just recently, after dealing with cooling issues with a cracked reservoir, coolant began leaking from a hole outside the gear of the pump when I pressure tested. Replaced, pressure test solid, burped the system, now good to go. Sound no longer present.

 

Thank you very much for coming back and closing the loop on this one.