High Pitched Whistle At High RPM

[mickburkesnr]

Hi all,

I don't, at the moment, own a Toyota Corolla. Currently driving a Peugeot 3008 and it's horrible. Unreliable, expensive, and the MPG isn't brilliant. Advertised at 55MPG, does 40MPG.

Anyway, friend of the fiancée’s mother is selling her 1998 Toyota Corolla 1.3 car. The bodywork is everything you expect from an 18 year old car. But mechanically it's sound. Doesn't drift, stops properly. Only sign of an oil leak is around where you fill it up for oil, and having driven the car last night for a good 30 minutes on various different stretches of road, the "leak" just seems to be oil that's been spilled.

There is one slight thing I'm not sure about. I was driving on a dual carriageway and hit about 65mph/70mph and I could suddenly hear a high pitched whistling sound. I let my foot off the accelerator to hear the whistle better but it stopped. It came back once I put my foot back on the pedal. I can make it whistle at low speed but only when I'm doing high RPM's.

Is this a normal characteristic of the car, or is there something I should be looking for? I'm buying the car for £250, so it's not a massive investment. I just need something that gets me A to B in a more economical way.

[oldcodger]

Difficult to say without being there, but as it seems rev related then the Aux belt or the devices it drives would be my thoughts.

It might be just an old belt that needs replacing or some of the aux devices , like the idler wheels or pumps might have a noisy bearing... ?

Not sure on your engine if it has a timing belt or chain, seems 1998 was a change over year.

If it is a belt worth checking its service record as to when it was last changed as it and its pulleys could also make such noises.

Also check around the air filter that all is correct and nothing loose or broken that would cause a whistle are the air rushes past at high revs.

Can you make it whistle when stationary with the hood up and revving it up ?

[mickburkesnr]

I never tried doing it when stationary. I was driving at the time, couldn't work out whether it was coming from the front of back of the car, as once my sister had a Clio that made an awful drone sound at high speed which turned out to be a wheel baring.

The engine has a timing belt which was last changed at 61,000 miles in 2005. I could see the belt that drives the alternator and it looks tight, no cracks etc. Wasn't really able to tell the condition of the belt behind that one though which is deeper down in to the engine bay.

The engine, however, at idle sounded alright. There was no whistling.

[oldcodger]

If you are not sure its actually coming from the front, then it could be exhaust related ?

When did it last have its mot ?  

If you want to be sure what the potential problem is, you could get a garage to give it the once over , or better still if the mot is due that should be a good check, though it does not follow they would hear or identify such a high rev noise. Use you local council mot test center for an unbiased test.

[mickburkesnr]

I thought about that, especially as it's only audible when I apply power. The car itself didn't feel under powered and drove really well. It just sounded like the car had some sort of turbo (which it doesn't), and thought it might be a characteristic of the engine.

The MOT runs out in July this year, the tests before hand (saw the last 3/4 years worth) didn't show up anything major. The odd advisory for tyres really. The woman herself has only driven it as far as the local tip (about 7 miles round trip), so it hasn't been hammered or anything like that.

I mean I know these things need replacing like exhausts and belts, and I don't mind doing it on a car that's costing £250 as it's quite cheap for what it is. If it's something serious then I won't lose a lot of money on it.

[oldcodger]

Don't think you could go wrong at that price, if it did turn out to be something really serious you could always sell it for spares or scrap and make more than £250.

Cannot say I have ever heard of any  major/terminal whistling problem with the corollas, though try searching the forum and see if anything similar turns up.

Same with the mpg, I can get 40 - 42 mpg  out of my 1.6, mixed mway /town driving, light footed most of the time; not sure what the old 1.3 is like ?

[mickburkesnr]

I have been looking at various Toyotas on eBay and Auto Trader for a cheap run around, and the Corolla looks ideal. A tyre costs about £40-£45 for a mid range one (compared to £80 for a mid range on this Peugeot). Plus I can do the servicing myself, can't do that on the Peugeot. So those things already make the car look attractive. All of the Corolla's I've seen of that age and mileage have been put up for over £500 so I know I won't lose money on it. There is some surface rust on nearly every panel but you only notice it close up.

Someone I spoke to suggested there may be an air leak around the air filter or ducting, which in itself wouldn't be too hard to fix. I'll be giving it a service when I get it so I can be more thorough about it then. One thing I didn't mention was that the engine light is only displayed when I start the car but goes off as normal. After the 30/40 minute test drive it didn't come on at all, so in that respect it doesn't seem to be causing any issue with the engine.

From the Parkers website it reckons the official MPG is 40mpg for the 1.3. I wouldn't think it'd be too far out, as it has absolutely nothing other than a standard blower and radio to power. I'm fairly soft when driving anyway, other than when I'm in a rush. From home to work it's a mix of fast dual carriageways and city driving so I do the ideal mixed driving like you do. I was going to ask her what the car is like on Petrol but honestly I think she puts £5 in it every 6 months. That's how little she drives it.

[oldcodger]

Quote

The engine has a timing belt which was last changed at 61,000 miles in 2005.

Forgot to say earlier, regardless of mileage at 11 years old the belt needs changing.

Typical interval 60k miles Or  5/6 year whichever comes first.

[mickburkesnr]

43 minutes ago, oldcodger said:

Forgot to say earlier, regardless of mileage at 11 years old the belt needs changing.

Typical interval 60k miles Or  5/6 year whichever comes first.

Yeah I researched this one in particular. But it's so hard to actually get a proper answer on the life of a cam belt when you look. Some people say it goes by milleage, others (like yourself) say years or which ever comes first. The latter makes sense, rubber degrades over time as well as through use. Couldn't check the belt however but as I said previously the belt leading to the alternator looked fine with no cracks etc.

One thing though with the engine (which is a 4E-FE), it's a non-interference engine isn't it? So if the belt snapped I'd lose power but wouldn't knacker the valves etc? Again, this subject gives back such a varied opinion. People argue that the non-interference can still be damaged, others say it can't etc.

As the timing belt will need changing, can I just change the belts and have done with it? Or do I have to change a whole load of things? I know the Honda Civic I had needed a belt change and a kit had to be used, which meant changing pulleys etc.

[oldcodger]

Do not have the exact recommendations for the 1.3 engine but they are not my 'view' ,  but what Toyota specify in their Drivers Handbook, if your car still has its copy ?

As you say, 11 years is a long time for rubber to degrade.

Establishing which engines are interference or not is not easy and perhaps asking  you local Toyota dealer would be the correct source, or search this forum if no one else comes in with an answer.

If non interference can be badly damaged by a belt break it does rather make a nonsense of the whole point ..?

As for changing tension springs/pulleys along with the timing belt, on my old Avensis I checked with my local Toyota dealer and they said they had never stocked the pulleys etc, as they only ever changed just the belt.

However , their mechanics should know how to check the pulley/bearing for wear.

Get a price for the belt and a complete kit if they still do one, though beware online cheapo copies, they can, for these key parts,  be false economy, over genuine Toyota parts or very good quality well known brand names from motor factors.

There is a forum member /dealer called Parts King aka Kingo, you could mail him for a price / belt / kit ?

[mickburkesnr]

I'll give Kingo a shout, thanks for the help!

[mickburkesnr]

Right, the car is on my drive and I've been able to go under the bonnet and have a listen.

When the car is idling there is a whistle, like air is escaping somewhere. Then when I try the throttle the whistle gets louder. It sounds like there's a turbo in the engine bay basically but it's NA.

[oldcodger]

You may have a leak somewhere on the air inlet or even exhaust outlet  ; can you define it to one area of the engine ?

Are all the hoses; like  the vacuum and breather hoses around the engine connected / not split.

Does it have a standard air box and filter or has someone modified it with a sportier version which are noisier ?

Very hard to second guess from a distance; try and take a video of the engine making the sound and post it up.