Squealing noise in 2000 LS1 - help! desperate

[162hotrod]

Folks: Sorry I am always needing help when I am on here.

Here is my problem: Just go my 2000 LS1 running in my 62 Impala wagon. Had fuel pump issues that you all helped me resolve. However, when I run the motor, there is a rather high-pitched squeal in the motor. It almost sounds like you have a gear drive on the motor or a blower.
I ran it without the serpentine belt and it is still there. That eliminates water pump, power steering,etc. The motor has about 40 psi oil pressure at idle. I put a new oil pump in it when the motor was out of the car so I have had the timing cover off the engine. The motor was a take-out from a 10,000 mile car. The car was hit on its top so I don't think the motor ran on its side,etc.
It sat in my garage 4 years before I did anything to it.
I have pulled the valve covers to make sure everything is good in there. No problems. I put a Wieand aluminum intake on the motor in place of the stock plastic one. Other than that, I haven't touched anything else. Any thougths? As always, thanks in advance for your help!

[2002ssslp]

It may be the timing chain hitting the inside of the cover ? Just a guess.

[162hotrod]

Anything about the timing gear or cover that would make it do that? I used a GM tool to put the cover back on. This tool aligned the cover on the crank shaft. Is there something I could have done wrong there that would cause a problem?

[Knight]

Does the squeal increase in volume or change when you increase the rpms? Any erratic operation of the engine?

[162hotrod]

Yes, it does go up and down with the RPM. The motor idles good. There are no codes. I drove the car in and out of the garage once and it didn't appear to have a lot of power (i.e. had to push down on the gas to get it to move). Could the squeal be related to a leak around the intake? I put choke spray around the manifold to see if it changed idle and it didn't. When I put the Weiand intake on I didn't like how it fit into the "valley" of the motor. It did torque down ok though.

[Knight]

I was thinking a possible vacuum leak. The timing cover would be a good place to start. Might also check around the crank pulley and see if there isn't anything contacting down there.

[162hotrod]

Thanks Knight. Does the lack of "power" cause you to think there is a vacume leak?

[0rion]

the lack of power could be as simple as an out of adjustment throttle cable.....do you have a scan tool so you can see the throttle %? Are you not running a/c on the car as in there were no belts hooked up and it still squealed? Can you at least tell if it's coming from the front or rear of the motor? Those intakes fit like shit from everything I've read.....they're also not a great choice to begin with. Spraying it though should have exposed any vacuum leaks I would think. Apart from that I think the timing chain might be a good place to look. What chain does it have on it? Normally you'll hear more about rubbing issues on a double roller than you will the singles....not sure if I've ever heard of a single rubbing the cover.

[162hotrod]

I took the belt off and ran it without a belt altogether. It has air but there wasnt a belt running anything. The timing chain is the original GM. When I changed the oil pump I put the old chain back on. The car only had 10k on it so I figured no need to change the chain. I don't remember seeing any "play" in the chain, etc.
The sound reminds me of the gear drives we use to put on cars to make them sound like blowers. I used a piece of hose to listen to the noise and it sounds like it was coming from the front of the motor. Thanks for all your help. I think I will pull the front cover and see what is up in there.

[0rion]

what oil pump did you use? Were you careful with that o-ring on the pick up tube? Have you checked pressure on it? I can't think of anything that would make the sound you're describing really other than an alternator, water pump, or power steering pump but those have been ruled out. Kinda just leaves the oil pump, timing chain (although I highly doubt it), and the balancer. Check the clearance on the balancer too....maybe when you put that back on something went wrong? Did you torque that balancer bolt correctly? I've read a number of times where people don't torque that right and it works it's way off the crank. Just not a lot left up there to make noise. Did you put a rag in the oil pan when you swapped out the pump to keep the bolt from dropping and rolling back? That's what I did and buttoned everything back up......fortunately I remembered it was in there and caught it before starting the car. Had to tear it back apart but it was worth it not to get a rag around the crank.

[162hotrod]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on this post and thank you for all of the suggestions. Here's what I did: took off the Weiand intake and replaced it with a BBK intake. When doing so, I notice that I had originally put the throttle body gasket on backwards so that the gasket was covering up the opening for the idle air sensor. I put the gasket on the right way, put the car back together and the noise stopped! So it was either the intake or the fact that I had the sensor covered with the gasket. Live and learn. Thanks again.