R3KogHyZe

Hello good people..

Yesterday I had excess revs whilst moving off, having had to slam in the clutch due to being cut up by another driver and break hard. Sometimes when that happens I hear a slight juddery noise underneath..?

This time like a godawful metallic sound underneath, as if a tin can was being dragged along the ground.. it carried on 20 yards then disappeared.. I'm wondering if I lost an bracket that holds the exhaust/cat, or if it might be signs of something worse (eg clutch prob).. took this video and see something in front of the cat, but nothing behind.. am I missing an exhaust bracket?


Just not sure I should drive on and ignore that incident, even though the sound went away..

Whilst investigating I noticed a different new sound, from around the serpentine belt area.. I've had squealing belts before but not this 'sounds like a pneumatic drill in the distance' sound.. is this normal or something that needs looking at??


I'm a bit OCD and skint so any helps is muchly appreciated!!

mikey1

most likely cause is your A/C compressor,

other possiblities are P/S pump or Alt,

remove your P/S belt, start it up, is the noise still there?

remove your Alt / A/C belt, start it up, is the noise still there?

(dont run it too long with the alt belt off)

spin the pulleys by hand, are they smooth?

if it is your A/C pulley you can get a shorter belt to bypass that pulley (if you dont want to buy a new compressor (expensive)

NDNV

Check for a loose heat shields around the exhaust manifold and the middle sections for the rattle noise.


Use a mechanic's stethoscope to pinpoint the failing component as a result of the noise from the area you filmed. Common component to fail is the alternator - perhaps as a result of the odd revving of the engine? No flickering battery light while driving? Dead battery lately?


Timing belt, water pump and tensioner replaced yet?

R3KogHyZe

Thanks so much for the comments chaps...

Timing belt was done around 60k. I don't know about the water pump and tensioner, I assume they are original.. WRT to the A/C that hasn't been operational on the car for about 6 years. I got the car through family 2 years ago prev owner believed it has a leak. Curiously I specifically noticed the A/C light was ON, right after the metallic noise incident, and now it will not illuminate.. hmmm.. I guess there's a related fuse that needs checking there?? I have an OBD2 thing I could check for codes too..

I've not noticed the battery light flashing, nor power steering getting heavy.. no issues at all really aside from a bit of reluctance to go into first on the day of incident.. [I do find the gearbox improves after it's warmed these days, any slight bearing noise fades quickly so hopefully no dreaded clutch bearings issue..]

I'm not sure I feel to comfortable taking the serpentine belt off.. is that straightforward job for a novice?? Nor do I have the stethoscope (I saw a guy on youtube use a screwdriver pressed against parts and listening to the end).. To be honest I'm not 100% sure the noise wasn't there before, OCD makes me fixate on different things that come into my focal awareness, but I don't so, it does seem a mighty coincidence to have two things occur simultaneously.. I'm planning to hopefully take it to a very skilled mechanic this evening, I really hope it's not a major issue !

This is the closest I could find to a picture of the underside of the car.. does the exhaust really not have any brackets holding it to the car body from the cat all the way to the back box?? I can't get under the car but I'll see if I can see the heat shields with a vid camera (25 & 26 on pic I think)..



Thx again

scooty

Really does sound like your AC compressor or Alternator bearings are going bad. Switch the ac on and then listen to the sound. Does it change as the AC compressor clycles on and off?

AC/Alternator/crank belt is not easy to remove if you're a novice. You'll need the proper size sockets, ratchet and maybe wrenches.

R3KogHyZe

Edit: Didn't realise you need the fan on for A/C light to engage

So yes, I hear no audible difference with A/C switched on or off.. though I'm not sure if the compressor engages as the A/C doesn't work

R3KogHyZe

So.. been to the garage and part of the tensioner self destructed.. so there's a loose part near the tensioner and that explains the rattle near the belt, and the metallic noise I heard was the bolt coming off, rattling through the engine bay then dropping out underneath the car..

Problem was identified in minutes.. great garage.. booked in for Thursday..

Thx again all for the comments chaps appreciated

mikey1

doesnt really make sense to me,


what tensioner are you talking about? the timing belt tensioner?

R3KogHyZe

Serpent belt tensioner .. or part of the belt mechanism anyway.. I may not be using the correct terminology exactly.. you can actually see the loose part in the second video I posted, down in front of and below the... err.. that's the alternator right??



If you watch the video you can hear that's the location and see it.

That's what was causing the noise he temporarily secured it and the noise has gone ...

mikey1

the serpentine belt does not have a tensioner, it is held tight by the alternator, regardless, i can not see or understand why that would be causing the noise in your video, if that belt is loose it would cause a squeeling noise, not a rattle, like in the video

i am very interested in what they tell you, and what they are charging you for

R3KogHyZe

It's not the belt. Do you see the part I pointed the red arrows at? Watch the video, look for that.. there was a rod that came forward..

I trust this garage implicitly btw. 110%. They are not always the cheapest, but their 44 year reputation in my hometown is absolutely pristine. He wouldn't quote until he's looked closer, but did say I might just be charged for a bolt..

I owe the owner a couple beers actually he didn't charge me for the last job!

scooty

He's talking about the bolt with the wing nut that you turn to adjust the position of the alternator to tension its belt. That bolt, I'm guessing, either came loose or snapped off.

NDNV

I had this alternator adjusting bolt shear off on me and had the battery light flicker in the dash before bringing it back to the shop to repair. The alternator was no longer operating properly and was eventually going to shut the car down on the side of the road. Another symptom of this might have been a squealing alt-A/C belt.


Do not overtorque this bolt. There must be torque specs for this part.


Lucky you caught this in time before it left you stranded.

R3KogHyZe

OK chaps car home - thanks again for all your input!

I'm not sure it's the above mentioned bolt? Paperwork says "ATTN to alternator mounting". He did mention tensioner-something when I took the car in last week, and only let me go after he tested there was no movement of the alternator with a lot of force..

TBH I don't think they'd let me drive off if it could cause a breakdown..

£25+VAT ( + 2x beers for last time )