VW 2000 Passat with whining noise

In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, wrote:

>I have a 2000 Passat turbo that recently making a whining noise. This
>noise get worst everytime I accelerate. It sounds like a crying cat
>tied to my engine. I like to do some research before i took them to
>the shop. Could it be the fan belt? if it is, how do you think it
>would cost me?

I think that car would have a serpentine belt that does not drive
the fan, and it could be that. I am not familiar with that car, and
many of the people who post here are. If they have a different
opinion, they are probably right.

Look at the belt, and you might get an indication. The tensioner
could be going bad. Replacing that would probably be a good idea. A
failed tensioner could cause the belt to fail. You would want to
loosen the tension and check that every pulley turns easily by hand,
except for the crankshaft pulley.

Now since you have a turbo, it could be related to that. A
serpentine belt is on other cars too. But perhaps yours is harder to
get to than some, and in that case the expert help may save you a
lot of time and pain.

> Please give me some input. I am clueless when it comes
>to cars. Thanks in advance

If you are looking to change that situation, then you could probably
consider doing the job yourself. It is the kind of thing that is
easier than a lot of things, and doesn't take a lot of special
tools. You would want to get a Bentley book if you plan to do such
things. I am suspecting you might save maybe $100 or $200 or so by
doing it yourself depending on whether you include a tensioner or
not. Replacing the tensioner is probably worthwhile, even if it does
not show a symptom. If you search, you can find discussions of
re-lubricating tensioners, tho they are not intended to be
lubricated, I don't think. http://germanautoparts.com/ is a good
source for parts, tho I am sure others are good too.

In any case, don't postpone this for a month.