I put in a cold air intake soon after buying my 98 civic hatchback (AT) last winter. I thought that caused this problem to start but now I can't say for sure.

I can hear a high pitched squeal coming from the direction ot the RF wheel around a specific engine RPM (no gauge, but maybe half way between idle and that-*****-is-trying-to-pass-me-on-the-right)

This only happens when the car is in gear or I'd have the problem licked by now.

First I thought it was just something from the CAI that I put in so I isolated everything better but there was no change in the noise. The only part that it could still be is the air filter in front of the wheel well.

Now I'm thinking that the CAI installation is coincidence and it's a U joint or a bearing in the front right wheel going bad.

Anybody have a good direction to point me in? I'm used to trucks, these are like go-karts to me! (don't glare, I love my civic and my 30mpg)

 

is it like a high pitched squel? or could it be sucking? lol

 

well have u tried accelerating slowly...this way u wont hear the intake but if its the wheel or something it should still squeek when the car is moving quickly.

 

It doesn't seem to matter if I'm accelerating, cruising, or decelerating. It also doesn't seem to matter what gear I'm in as long as I'm in that certain rpm range. It also never changes pitch, even when it cuts in and cuts out.

When I hear the noise, it sounds exactly like a serpentine belt slipping or a bit like an audio tape rewinding on an old tape deck.

I'm stumped. If the noise originated at the engine I'd think I could hear it in neutral in my driveway. If the noise is originating somewhere between the engine and the wheel I'd think it would be dependant on speed, not RPM. If it originated from the CAI it would have changed or dissapeared when I strapped everything down better.

I don't think it could be a sucking sound since the cavity with the air filter is pretty open to airflow.

~thanks for responses, I owe anyone who solves this one a beer

 

my car does that too... i just think the intake whistles because i dont have a vacuum leak anywhere.

 

its pretty normal to get a whistling like that from an intake. i get a little of it with just a filter in the end of my stock tube. and it was a lot louder with my SRI and my CAI.