Hi Pitch Squeal from the Engine

[spgribben007]

I'm wondering if anybody could throw some light on my situation before I take my 2001 Boxster to the shop. Maybe it's something I could do in the garage and save some major $$$.

I was driving home yesterday (25 miles, highway) and started to notice a hi pitch sqeal around me. At first, I thought the window might have not sealed properly and kept driving. Then, after searching for the noise I thought it was brake/wheel issue but after I got off the highway to make the stop the whinning was still there and annoying. There are no oil leaks and the oil level is good. No CEL lights, so I thought maybe a tension pulley has gone bad and it's the belt making all the noise. Went home and before pulling it into the garage I parked the car in the driveway. I had to remove my the hard top then pulled the car in the garage. That's when I noticed a lot of smoke coming from the back of the car.

I don't have a good feeling about this but I'm trying to stay optimistic. The boxster has 77,000 miles and still drives with a lot of pep even thru this inicident (no power lost). Has anyone experienced this before???