My 98 civic DX is making a whining sound. I know the engine isn’t supposed to be so loud. It gets louder with higher RPM’s. It sounds like the transmission, but my dad (who hasn’t heard it) said it could be the power steering? It does kind of sound like the whining sound when you’re low on power steering fluid.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. I could go check my car if you have any questions about it.

Thanks!

 

Take the power steering belt off and start it and see if it still whines. Repeat with the air conditioner and alternator if necessary. Should be easy to rule out the transmission because that's on the other end of the engine.

 

mine whined like a bastard, i changed the water pump and it no longer does it. just an option.

 

mine whines... but its supercharged, haha.

power steering IMO but could be a few things.

 

Just got the water pump changed so im thinking its the power steering?

 

You really should do the test with removing the belts to isolate the problem. Another way to pin down noise under the hood is to listen to each part carefully. There is such a thing as a "mechanics stethoscope." But a cheap alternative is to take a length of rubber hose and put one end to your ear and hold the other end up to suspect parts for pinpoint listening.