Weird Moan when I hit the gas?

[GravityInvert]

Hey guys, I've scoured the internet for this everywhere and can't seem to figure out what's going on.

When I hit the gas at lower speeds, I hear this very distinctive moan coming from what sounds like the wheel well. I recently had all the tires rotated and aligned and balanced and everything so I know its not that. My next guess would be somewhere in the engine. A buddy of mine listened and said he had the same problem on an old oldsmobile, but it occurred at high speeds on his. It was the fuel pump in that instance.

Could it be the fuel pump on mine as well? If so, how easy is that to replace, and order, and such? Thanks for help in advance!

edit: 99 Solara SLE V6 model.

[Dawgz]

fuel pump is in the back rear (Driver side) so i doubt it would be the fuel pump if u say its comming from the front.

[Mole]

maybe it's the engine working? check the air filter...

[Chinky420]

hrmmmm....drivers side front .... the first thing that would come to mind is maybe the airfilter or something stuck in your resonator?

have you tried popping the hood with the engine running, and then lightly feathering the throttle cable to see if you can get a better localization on the sound's origin? this would also be helpful, since you would at least find out if it always moaned at low rpm's, or only when the car is in drive.

i agree with dawgz though, the fuel pump is under the back seat, so it's doubtful that the problem stems from there. and if it were coming from there, you would hear it more distinctly.

does your ride shake when it moans? or is it just as smooth when moaning, as it would be without moaning? because if there is no shimmy/shake, i would not include wheels/brakes/cv joints as part of the troubleshooting.

have you had a CEL pop up yet? is there any noticable loss of drivetrain power, or is it just a moan, and nothing else?

[GravityInvert]

It's definately only when I'm in D (Automatic). In reverse and in park I get nothing.

There's a small amount of shimmy in the car when it's above 60 or so, but that's because I need to replace the tie rods I believe.

Also, it's not the drivers side front end. I think it's probably passenger side. It's hard to tell when you're driving. Even with the windows down. I recently replaced my air filter, but it's been going on for far longer than that.

I feel dumb for asking this, but what is a CEL? Also, I forgot to mention, I do need to replace the valve stem covers, just another expensive fix I'm putting off. However, I wasn't under the impression that could cause any noise, just the white smoke blowing out of my exhaust on startup instead.

I appreciate all of your help. I can do some routine fixes and I have the tools to replace a lot of things myself if I know where they are located and such, and the fact that the fuel pump is located in the rear is what got me asking you guys. Anyway, I'm rambling. I can't say thank you enough for any info I can get here rather than paying the mechanic 100 bucks to do the same.

[icelove82]

CEL ----> Check Engine Light

[GravityInvert]

ah, duh! Too early in the morning for me still. No check engine lights.