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I took my vehicle in for the cam-belt service drove back home and noticed this whine/supercharger noise which increases in loudness when I press down on the throttle.

I suspect the cam-belt is too tight but the mechanic says that can't be because the tensioner is self tensioning.

What could the problem be ?

I took a video of the sound see video

Update: The vehicle is a 2010 model with 67000 odd KM on the clock. Also, as others have stated, the vehicle is turbo charged.

Update 2: Looks like it may be a bad belt tensioner. New one is being ordered.

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  • I assume the car doesn't have a supercharger? – Zaid Jul 13 '16 at 9:35
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    It's hard to tell from the video whether the noise is aerodynamic or mechanical. For a quick test could you take off the serpentine belt and blip the throttle to see if the sound goes away? If it goes away you will know the source of the sound is an auxiliary running off the belt and not the engine. – Zaid Jul 13 '16 at 9:58
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    I believe the STs are turbocharged. Though the noise is probably belt related. The tensioner may be self tensioning, but it doesn't mean it's doing it's job correctly. You should check the belt tension. If it's fine, then it may be that the belt itself is at fault. I've heard that some belts have a tendency to whine even though everything is fine. Probably related to material/texture. – I have no idea what I'm doing Jul 13 '16 at 12:32
  • I'd love to take the aux belt off but I don't have the experience and time to attempt this at the moment. I am taking the vehicle back on Monday and will put forward your suggestions. Also, I spent a few hours on Youtube listening to all the faulty/whiny sound related belt problems ranging from fan belts, aux belts, misaligned belts, over tightened belts, worn bearings on aux components and the types of sound each of these problems produce. The videos with overtightened cambelt's matched the sound my vehicle is making, so I'm sort of hoping that's the only problem. – TheLegendaryCopyCoder Jul 14 '16 at 15:15
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    Also worth checking that the belt or no moving parts are fouling the belt cover. – Steve Matthews Jul 14 '16 at 15:44
up vote -1 down vote

probably its that supercharger bearing which is faulty

U should replace it and after learn it that vehicles with super or turbo chargers should be given time after starting and before starting of about 5 minutes to allow the lubricant rise to the bearings or flow down to the sump respectively before accelerating the vehicle. This will maxumise the long life span of the charger

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  • 4
    I am pretty sure this vehicle does not have a supercharger on it ... the OP is just using it as a description of what the sound is like. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ Jul 13 '16 at 10:49
  • This vehicle is turbocharged --> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… – tlhIngan Jul 14 '16 at 0:43

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