Noisy VE SS

[darb]

Heyas,

Not sure if this is common , I assume so, does anyone have any tips on quietening the VE V8's?

1) When car is cold / first 5 minutes ... there is an overpowering whistling noise ... i think its the alternator.

2) at all times there is a quieter whistle / whirr (AC off) in general.

3) When AC on, AC compressor also has a quite audible whine/whirr/whistle, aswell as a ratta-tatta-tat noise at idle.

4) Gearbox whine ... even with clutch in changing gears youll hear different internal parts of gearbox spinning up/down and whirring , whining and clunking. If GB in neutral and moving clutch in and out at speed you can hear things engaging / disengaging and whining.

5) Cabin fans / air-fans are noisey / whirring / whiney (regardless of AC compressor)

The whole motor just seems to be quite harsh n raspy & sounds stressed, any tips on quietening these particular items? (contacting a dealer i would not even bother on these type of items ... you could have a piston through a head and they'd still tell you its "within normal characteristics" such is the intrinsic nature of holdens attitudes we all know and love...)

I know holdens are not exactly well engineered, but it seems theyre really starting to use low quality parts / bearings ,etc?

[Boom]

Are your hearing aids Bluetooth compatible?

[FlatfootV8]

Chuck a better exhaust system that should drown out all the "noises".

:1peek:

[darb]

Are your hearing aids Bluetooth compatible? :rofl: awww dont take offence i was having a crack at holdens engineering, not your manhood ;)

[Evman]

Which car were you in before that was so much better :confused: I've only driven the Caprice but it was amazing compared to anything else I've been in (have never been in a car worth over 100k mind you). I dunno where the not well engineered remark comes from either. No it's not much compared to a 200k BMW but for the price you pay for a Commodore (or Falcon for that matter) you'd be struggling to find a better comparable car out there.

[FlatfootV8]

All I can see is this topic going to crash into a wall.

[darb]

Which car were you in before that was so much better :confused: I've only driven the Caprice but it was amazing compared to anything else I've been in (have never been in a car worth over 100k mind you).

Umm, just about any , take ya pic???

VY I had before was pretty mechanically quiet & solid, except for lifters but thats normal for pushrod engines and not part of my question :)

and yes, put a better exhaust or turn up the stereo are great frivolous recommendations ... but i am genuinely wondering if some of the parts can be quietened etc, or what they may be. :)


All I can see is this topic going to crash into a wall.


yeah I think you could be correct ... too many insecure people or something, take a discussion on cars quality as some sort of personal attack to their personality, and get all emotional with their answers , or something ?!??!? Maybe theyre on the gmH payroll ?? lol.

[mikeparkinson]

i found the noise was coming from the power steering pump.. only like that when its cold.. i listend to it with a stethiscope.. dont try and listen to the head you will almost go deaf through the sethiscope..

My GB is rather clunky im going to try different oil and see how that goes..

[monaro327]

the tremec is known for the gb noises i believe some atf transmax z seems to be popular to make them smoother and quiet.

[darb]

OK cool thats defo two things i can look into cheers.

[MrT]

This car is much much quieter than my old BA Turbo.... MUCH!!!

However, I get the exact same sounds as you do such as the whine when cold starting.

I would prefer it not be there, but when you pay $36k for a 6L 300+ hp car, with leather, 19" rims and gorgeous metalic paint, you cant expect it to be perfect. If I had bought a 427 and it made the same noises I might feel a bit differently, but to be honest its what you expect when you buy a car like this.

If there is any major drama you should have at least 6 years waranty to sort it all out.

Good luck.

[darb]

found an interesting thread from someone else where these issues are somewhat already hashed out ;

Australian LS1 and Holden Forums (http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=98200)

[chris_vysv8]

Those noises are all pretty normal afaik. I can identify with all the ones you mentioned - noisy alternator in the mornings, A6 transmission whines in first gear (but really how much time do you spend in first gear?), and the power steering pump. The PS pump does bug me a bit, its really pretty darn noisy, you can hear it at parking speeds and also when cornering sharply. The more load on the system, the louder it gets. I've had mine back to the dealer for this and of course been told that it's normal.

Oh and the other thing I noticed are the stock dampers are fairly noisy on rough roads too. Can be clearly heard inside the car, and was very noticable once when a VE went past me as I was walking along a road.

[Boom]

:rofl: awww dont take offence i was having a crack at holdens engineering, not your manhood ;)

couldnt help myself.
but you still didnt answer the question

[darb]

yes mate they are, problem is the granddaughter paired them with the wrong commodore so keep getting random phone calls put thru..

[BullockBob]

Alternator when under load can be annoying for sure, especially when the battery is almost kaput.

But don't notice any of the other. Not a sound from g/b or clutch. Then again it would be hard to hear anything over the constant crunching :rofl:

[VEbudSS]

if you were after a quite cabin then why buy a V8?

[chris_vysv8]

if you were after a quite cabin then why buy a V8?


The same reason why some people buy a Calais/Berlina instead of an SS. Are you saying power and refinement are mutually exclusive? :jester:

[GODSMACK]

This car is much much quieter than my old BA Turbo.... MUCH!!!

However, I get the exact same sounds as you do such as the whine when cold starting.

I would prefer it not be there, but when you pay $36k for a 6L 300+ hp car, with leather, 19" rims and gorgeous metalic paint, you cant expect it to be perfect. If I had bought a 427 and it made the same noises I might feel a bit differently, but to be honest its what you expect when you buy a car like this.

If there is any major drama you should have at least 6 years waranty to sort it all out.

Good luck. I think its a bit silly to state that because you only paid $36 for a car that one should expect inconsistencies. If you had the same issues as DARB, would you leave it as is and not follow up on possible fixes, based on the fact that you only paid $36k for a "car like this"?

[Carby]

I wouldn't judge a whole range by one example - if any car you previously had is better than the Commodore, then your selection process that led to buy one is flawed.

I would suggest a change to a nice Prius - very quiet - or wait until the Volt comes.

[wog13]

To eliminate slight whistle noise of cold stock V8 just add cam, exhaust and supercharger and you will no longer hear the slight wistle.:rofl:

[zacz]

excuse the sarcasm to follow..........but welcome to the NOISY ALTERNATOR CLUB! ive been down this path for the last 4 years ive owned my Monaro......see my previous posts on this subject!

It seems as if Holden is the only manufacturer that has a high output alternator that likes to make sounds like a supercharger! Of course their official position is denial......ie. that "ITS NORMAL...ALL HIGH OUTPUT ALTERNATORS MAKE THIS NOISE UNDER LOAD" yadda yadda yadda

Truth is - its just a poor quality design that unfortunately goes from generation to generation!

Ive had enough of the noise - and after 3 years of waiting for an aftermarket replacement and researching on the subject, Iam about to order an upgraded alternator from a company in the USA that is guaranteed to be QUIET - and has a greater output! This should banish the damn noise that has made my Monaro and Holden experience a nightmare!

Watch this space......