Hyundai Repair: 02 Santa Fe Engine Noises, pitched whine, drive belts

Question
I recently bought an '02 Santa Fe 4WD with 93,000 miles. I hear a chirping noise when idling and driving. There is also a whine when I start the vehicle cold that goes away when I start driving. The third noise is a very high pitched whine - but only can be heard after the air conditioning has been on awhile when idling and then I shut it off.

Thank you.  

Answer
For the first two noises, you'll need to do some investigating to find the source.  Often drive belts make a chirping noise.  To test whether your belts are making this noise, spray just a little WD-40 or similar lubricant on the drive belts.  If the noise changes, you'll know it's coming from the belts.  The WD-40 will only make the noise go away temporarily, so do not expect to use this as a fix.

Next, with the engine running, take a long screwdriver and probe around the various engine components (not touching anything that's physically moving such as a pulley or belt) while placing your ear on the other end of the screwdriver.  The closer you are to the source of the noise, the louder it will be.

The third noise sounds like it may be from the refrigerant evening out in the a/c system.  Unfortunately, I don't have a good idea of what the noise sounds like, so I'm not very confident of this.  If it sounds intrusive and you cannot identify it, you should take the vehicle in to be checked.  It's better to be safe than sorry.