Not another weird noise thread?

[whiskychaser]

I'm getting this irregular metallic tapping sound from the front end of the block. Its not regular enough for a lifter although it does seem to go away once the car is warm. I thought it was the water pump but I just changed that and the noise is still there. Doubt its the timing chain/guides as they are pretty new too. The belts are in good condition. There is plenty of spring in the belt tensioners. There is a TINY amount of play in the tensioner pulleys. Tried the screwdriver stethoscope but just cant nail it down. Next step is going to be whip the belts off again and run it to see if that narrows it down. Any other suspects/ideas plse?

[whiskychaser]

Took the a/c belt off and ran the engine. Noise still there. Took the main belt off - noise stopped Put the belts back on and the noise has gone!! But with my 'stethoscope' I can hear some not very nice sounds coming from the tensioner pulley arm. There is plenty of tension there so it looks like the pulley is the culprit. Wouldnt have thought it could make so much racket but
we will see if a new one cures it

PS. There is a dished washer behind the pulley. From marks I'm pretty sure the dish faces the pulley. Real.oem is not clear. Anyone confirm plse?

[e34.535i.sport]

A friend of mine (captainGoSlow from this very forum) had a similar thing with his idler wheel and the tensioner a while back and that was making quite a noise! We sorted it, so you won't have a problem.

Glad you found the culprit!

[whiskychaser]

A friend of mine (captainGoSlow from this very forum) had a similar thing with his idler wheel and the tensioner a while back and that was making quite a noise! We sorted it, so you won't have a problem.

Glad you found the culprit!

Despite what they say, you are a gentleman

[whiskychaser]

Yes I know its Xmas eve. But thanks to my DIY water pump holding tool I changed the tensioner pulley in 15 minutes. Didnt stop the noise though When the engine is cold its like the noise you get when you shake the ball bearing in a paint aerosol. If I spin the PS pump by hand I get a 'click' sound on the first turn. The PS works though its never been very light. It doesnt sound too healthy to me but may be normal. Any advice plse?

[whiskychaser]

Changed the belts and the noise seems to have gone. Hopefully for good. Would never have thought belts could make that sort of metallic tapping noise but it seems to have cured it. Wish I could find the recent thread that said belts can be affected if they get coolant on them. Thanks to whoever posted it!!!

[BennyM]

I had a noise similar to what you're describing coming from the front end and it took FOREVER to figure out what it was. What I eventually found was that the power steering pump was missing a bolt, causing it's angle to change in the belt system. I suspect this either created additional vibration or wore down the bearings/pulley. The noise was particularly noticeable at lower RPMS under load (ie, starting smoothly from a standstill). Eventually, this missing bolt left too much tension on one of the other PS bolts, causing that bolt to break in half. Then that REALLY changed the angle of the pump. I went through four belts before I found that the PS pump was actually bending in toward the other pulleys. Others may find it beneficial to check their PS pump bolts.

BennyM

Changed the belts and the noise seems to have gone. Hopefully for good. Would never have thought belts could make that sort of metallic tapping noise but it seems to have cured it. Wish I could find the recent thread that said belts can be affected if they get coolant on them. Thanks to whoever posted it!!!

[russiankid]

Only thing I can think of is if you have a mechanical tensioner, they can rattle. It could also be the alternator.