OK the car is a 1991 Honda Accord with 180,000 miles and yesterday for no reason this sound started. It starts as a chirp and then escalates to a whine and then it starts to gurgle. It almost sounds like it is coming from around the timing belt/ water pump area. It is not any of the accessory belts that was the first thing I checked. Today I removed the upper timing belt cover and the belt looks good, no cracks.


The car is NOT overheating. Is this what a failing water pump sound like?

 

Take a look at the water pump weep hole to see if there is a slow leak of coolant.

Every 90K miles or 7 years, the timing belt is due. Is your car due soon for a timing belt?

 

Check the lower timing belt cover bottom bolts. They can back out, rub against the crankshaft pulley and make that squeaking sound.

 

Ok thanks for the reply. I'll check both of those things

 

Another possibility is a timing belt or balance shaft belt tensioner bearing. Water pump seems most likely, and may be difficult to sort out which. However, water pump requires removal of timing and balance shaft belts, so you'll be able to spin the tensioner bearings and check.

good luck

 

just as an update, it is no longer squealing but is it still growling, now it growls all the time. I checked to see if the lower timing cover was loose and it did have a little bit of play, but I couldn't find the bolts.

I think it is either a tensioner or the water pump.

 

I think I may have finally narrowed it down to the crank pulley. But is there any quick tests that I can try. Like run without belts and see if the noise is still there.

 

Definitely remove the accessory belts and run it to see if the noise goes away.