Fan or Blower noise coming from the Engine - Anyone Know what this is?

[jkeen01]

While driving my car the last couple of days, I’ve noticed a sound coming from the engine. It kind of sounds like a fan or something (kind of sounds like doing a drum-roll w/ your tongue, although that’s probably not the best description) and seems to be coming from around the middle of the engine compartment (sound seems to be right behind my right ear). I don’t know if I just haven’t noticed it before and this is just the normal sound of the engine or if it is noisier than usual lately. The sound becomes loudest between about 3K and 4K RPM (it’s not really that loud, though) and then after that the beautiful sound of the engine takes over. The noise isn’t there when the clutch is engaged. Anyone know if this is normal or if there might be a problem? Not sure if the weather plays a role or not, but it has been bone-chillingly cold here in St. Louis and I have been driving it every day to work, with the car sitting outside all day (garaged at night, but garage is only partially insulated).

 

[nsxtasy]

Are you sure it's coming from the engine compartment? I ask because your description of the sound sounds an awful lot like the noise from the aspirator fan that is located just in front of the gearshift knob, behind those vents in the console. Since it's not that loud, it's easy to mistake the location where the sound emanates from. I'm not doubting you, just thought I'd ask.

It might be worth reading the What's That Noise? section of the NSX FAQ, which describes the aspirator fan problem as well as other noises.

 

[jkeen01]

Are you sure it's coming from the engine compartment? I ask because your description of the sound sounds an awful lot like the noise from the aspirator fan that is located just in front of the gearshift knob, behind those vents in the console. Since it's not that loud, it's easy to mistake the location where the sound emanates from. I'm not doubting you, just thought I'd ask.

It might be worth reading the What's That Noise? section of the NSX FAQ, which describes the aspirator fan problem as well as other noises.

Thanks for the heads up. Didn't realize there was a "What's that Noise" section of the FAQ (sounds like a cheesy 70's game show:biggrin: ). I have heard a similar noise on my daily driver and it does kind of sound like an aspirator fan type of noise. However, the reason I figured it was the engine compartment was because it got progressively louder as my RPM's increased and when the clutch was pushed in (RPM's below 1000), the noise wasn't there. I will try some of the tips (blowing some compressed air through the vent) in the FAQ though and see if they work

 

[jkeen01]

Thought I'd mention some more information. The noise doesn't seem to be there until the engine warms up. This could very well just be the normal noise of the engine - I've only owned the car for 3 weeks, so maybe I just didn't notice before, but it seems to me that it's probably a new noise. One other thing it kind of sounds like is the repetitive sound of a treadmill belt rolling over the bars - not the noisy sound of the treadmill, but just the steady drum-roll type sound.