Issues from cold start until warm

[LivesNearCostco]

Alex, my best guess from listening to a noisy Subie motor is that it's one of the pulleys. It's possible the lube on one of the bearings is old and makes noise when it's cold. A bad Secondary Air Pump can make noise only on cold start, but it usually only runs for a minute at most and its noise should not vary with RPMs.

If not pulleys, it could be some fluid is slightly low but expands enough when engine is warm to cover the noise-making culprit. When checking P/S fluid level, also check coolant level (wait for engine to cool down) and oil level. See P/S fluid color--when new it's clear and dark red (ATF). As it gets older I think it gets more cloudy then turns reddish black.

Edit: That P/S fluid color looks good to me. Was it low?

[Alex]

Good info there LNC, P/S Fluid was topped off, as is the coolant. I'll check the oil and coolant level tomorrow morning when it's cold again and see how that looks.

[kayger12]

Sounds like a P/S pump or even alternator to me.

But since the alternators don't seem to whine too often on these, I'd bank on P/S pump.

[Smolck]

Just cause the fluid is pink doesn't mean the P/S pump isn't hosed. If your car is making a sound like the one you posted in the video, then it is almost certainly coming from the P/S pump. The pulleys would make a higher pitched squeak, like mice in your engine bay.

[Alex]

Any tests I can do on the P/S pump? There's no whine when turning the wheel, nor do I have any loss of degradation of my steering, which points me away from the P/S pump.

[kayger12]

Does the whine get any worse when you turn the wheel when it's cold?

[danewilson77]

Just cause the fluid is pink doesn't mean the P/S pump isn't hosed.

No... But it would have been a data point.

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[Alex]

Does the whine get any worse when you turn the wheel when it's cold?

Negative, simply gets louder when gas is applied, then goes away as the engine gets to operating temp.

[kayger12]

Hmm. Well, the pulleys are a relatively cheap troubleshoot which need to be changed out eventually anyway.

Doesn't sound like pulleys to me though.

Will wait til you get a video up.

The Suby almost sounds like an alternator whine to me...

[Smolck]

No... But it would have been a data point.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

100% agree with that. Based on the other comments, it may not be, without hearing it first hand everything is "best guess"