Whining from valve cover

Just did valve cover gaskets and after starting the passenger side valve covers starts whining almost like a light scratching sound, no cel no miss fire nothing out the usual, just wondering if i somehow knocked something out of timing to where it’s whining

 

Hard to say without hearing it, but the power steering pump is over in that area. Those are definitely known to make whining and hissing sounds.

Check around and make sure all your vacuum lines are hooked up. It's really easy to forget to hook one back up when doing a valve cover gasket job.

 

yeah the power steering is making a whining sound too but this sound is straight from the valve covers

 

I don’t think you could’ve knocked anything outta timing just from doing the valve covers, but I’d still pop the timing cover and check belt tension—make sure that tensioner’s still doing its job (do first just to check off). Also, did you swap the PCV grommet or clean the valve? There’s a little ball inside that thing and if it’s stuck, it can whistle or make weird noises.

Might also be something barely rubbing—like a harness or even the timing cover if it shifted a bit during reassembly. If the sound changes with RPM, that could help tell if it’s a mechanical noise or something like a vacuum leak. I’d give everything a quick once-over and shine a light around the valve cover to check for any oil seep or loose lines too. Better to be safe than chasing ghosts later. You got this, brother. We always track down the noise eventually.