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whine from engine bay on very cold start

34901 Views 20 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  traildogck
so as the temps get colder, into the teens around here at night, my car has been making an odd whining noise when i first start her up in the morning. i don't know how to describe the noise, other than that it sounds like a stall horn in a cessna, though only anyone whose flown in one would know what i'm talking about.. it's not a super loud whine, but it's definitely audible over the engine noise. the pitch of the noise goes up and down with RPMs, but oddly, it also is effected simply by moving the steering wheel. stumped as to where to even start looking, but i almost sounds like a very mildly squeaking belt, if that is possible.. it goes away after the car warms up a bit, then runs perfect after that.

wondering if anyone else has run into this?

what i need to do is wait until this weekend and pop the hood after i start it to see where the noise is coming from. i have not had time to do this in the mornings before work... so really just putting "feelers" out there to see if anyone else has seen this, i will post more info tomorrow.

what i ultimately need to do is put the ol scoob in a garage! :D too bad i don't have one.
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This is my first winter with a Subie.

It was about 7 deg. F. here yesterday and mine did the same thing.

Lots of noise upon startup from the p.s. pump, and would become louder while turning the wheel. It eventually went away when it warmed up.

I'm sure it's never had the p.s. fluid changed in its 90k miles. As soon as the weather warms up enough for me to work in the garage I'll probably change the fluid over to some Mobil1 synthetic ATF.

Anybody see a problem with that? That stuff is like water compared to normal ATF's.

Has Subaru had any bulletins about p.s. fluid?
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The noise did go away on my Subie once it was warmed up.

It was definitely the p.s. pump as it would get much louder if I turned the wheel while parked.

The noise was present while driving and rpm related. As I said though, it did go away after about 5-10 minutes of driving.
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