Help! Squealing on cold start

[kunkstyle]

Crosspost from rennlist:

Started the car about a month ago to an unpleasant sound. Upon startup it made a squeal (which sounded to me like a belt or pulley), but after warming up and driving a few blocks it faded. If I start it up overnight in approx 10+C conditions it's a faint sound that goes away, but if I leave it out below that it's a rather loud squeal, then goes away, always at operating temp.

Any ideas what this could possibly be or where to start troubleshooting?

'00 C2, manual, 103k kms, no engine mods.

--- update ---

Did some digging today. Bought a stethoscope, the whole 9 yards. The pulleys all sound fine. Lubed a few of the noisier ones. Power steering fluid is at the max line, coolant is topped up, no oil leaks, belt is in superb condition...

Still squealing. Goes away after I hit operating temp, and won't do it again untill the car has been sitting for hours in the cold.

While digging I found it odd that the noise was more prominent from the wheel wells than at the engine.

I'm at a loss. Anyone?

~thanks

Edited December 1, 2008 by kunkstyle

[kunkstyle]

Another update:

Had someone over here today looking at it with me. He suggested it may be the clutch release bearing. When I push the clutch in the noise does not reduce, but it does change in pitch/frequency. Any idea if that's a DIY replacement? Or does that require an engine drop to get to?

Also, I found out that running the car with the MAF unplugged not only gets you a check engine light, but also disables PSM and ABS.

[Clovis911]

Crosspost from rennlist:

Started the car about a month ago to an unpleasant sound. Upon startup it made a squeal (which sounded to me like a belt or pulley), but after warming up and driving a few blocks it faded. If I start it up overnight in approx 10+C conditions it's a faint sound that goes away, but if I leave it out below that it's a rather loud squeal, then goes away, always at operating temp.

Any ideas what this could possibly be or where to start troubleshooting?

'00 C2, manual, 103k kms, no engine mods.

--- update ---

Did some digging today. Bought a stethoscope, the whole 9 yards. The pulleys all sound fine. Lubed a few of the noisier ones. Power steering fluid is at the max line, coolant is topped up, no oil leaks, belt is in superb condition...

Still squealing. Goes away after I hit operating temp, and won't do it again untill the car has been sitting for hours in the cold.

While digging I found it odd that the noise was more prominent from the wheel wells than at the engine.

I'm at a loss. Anyone?

~thanks

My '01 Cab also makes a squealing noise when it cold at start-up. I park in an underground garage so i can really here it. Only when it bone-cold though. My car is a tiptronic though. Any answers yet?

[Loren]

Check the polyrib belt first.

[kunkstyle]

Check the polyrib belt first.

Ran it with the belt off to eliminate the possibility of bad belt/pulleys.

Turns out it was the throwout bearing. Got a new clutch and bearing installed. Sounds great now!

[flyingpenguin]

Check the polyrib belt first.

Ran it with the belt off to eliminate the possibility of bad belt/pulleys.

Turns out it was the throwout bearing. Got a new clutch and bearing installed. Sounds great now!

Glad you got to the root cause of this.

Before reading your last post my first reaction was, that your starter might have gone bad. The original design in my 2000 C2 has a simple end cap with some grease in it instead of real bearing. If the grease dries out, you get a horrible squeal that lasts for about 5-10 secs upon cold start, and cold start only.

Replaced the starter with a reman one for less than 200 bucks and all is fine now.

Although this reply obviously does not apply to you, I hope that someone will benefit from this in the future.

Joost