Went to look at a local fto today. Actually just got home now.
100% stock, body was absolutely mint. Couldn't put a fault to it. Not even the tiniest bubble on the roof.
Now there was only one problem... (which we were told about but didn't know how bad it would be).
We cranked the engine and observed the sound it was making while idling. A very very loud vacuum cleaner / raspy noise coming from the left side of the motor. They guy told us his local mechanic told him it was two pulleys causing this noise, which will need replacing. The aircon and one of the others (brain dead atm)....ummm the small one used for tension (center idler maybe? )
I took the car for a drive. The power was there when needed. Was a tiny bit off but I'm use to driving my manual beast (this was a stock tip auto).
What do you guys rekon? Are the two pulleys mentioned capable of making such a noise?
Hmmm, but then it brings me to the question of why is he selling it at such a low price
hehe.
When i say the noise was loud i mean...take the noisiest tappets you've ever heard in your life and add another 50dB
Okay...just want to know if there is something else that would make this sort of sound. Camshaft maybe? idk
Just wanted to add....I took the oil cap off and it smelt like fukin petrol was in there lol
well i might be wrong, but i have had experiences with a/c-fan-alternator belt on my previous mazda astina they were loose, (oil leaked on it etc etc) i replaced them liek 4 times over the time i had it, it makes a loud winding sound? for a bit, till after u sorta rev the engine smoothly should go away. those belts were like 30 ea and quite easy to fix, again i may be wrong with this advice as im not very mechanically bright haha
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f**k i love it when people try to compare sounds. Hmmm a winding sound....how's that sound? like a woooozwoooozwoooozwoooz? hahaha
I just listened to a youtube clip of a bad center idler pulley and it kinda sounds the same.
So anyone else with a possible cause of the problem?
Also if it is the AC pulley which is rooted, is it possible to just remove the belt, start the car and see if the noise is gone to determine if it is the problem?
EDIT: The youtube video was of someone asking if it was the idler pulley. It's the same sound the fto makes. SO yea he aint sure either lol
Last edited by mosti on Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mosti wrote:Am I able to take the AC belt off and start the car to see if that is the problem or is there a sensor or something?
You could but the easy way to do it is to run the car and spray a bit WD40 into the bearing. If it shuts up you know its the culprit. Do the same with the Alternator tensioner.
I also sprayed some on the belt itself and it quietened things down for a moment. I changed the belt and the tensioner and that shut it all up.
Storm wrote:Tappets are easy to fix and it sounds like the A/C and the Alternator tensioner pulleys are away. I changed mine and what a difference it made.
I could hear that the tappets needed adjusting
I don't quite understand what you're saying lol.
Let me try to decode it....
You had loud noises such as the one i've described and you changed the AC and alternator tensioner pulley and all was good?
Storm wrote:Tappets are easy to fix and it sounds like the A/C and the Alternator tensioner pulleys are away. I changed mine and what a difference it made.
I could hear that the tappets needed adjusting
I don't quite understand what you're saying lol.
Let me try to decode it....
You had loud noises such as the one i've described and you changed the AC and alternator tensioner pulley and all was good?
Ha Ha, where did I get the tappet bit from?
Yes, change the pulley and the belts and you will notice a major difference. they are right in the way of any crap from the road and wear out over time.
well i havnt really looked at the position of my belts in the fto motor before, but in my astina the belts were on the left side, and my neighbour who does mechanics, just poured water (instead of the wd40) which made the noise stop for like 10 seconds - which was showing me an example of why the belts were makin the noise
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phi-tec wrote:well i havnt really looked at the position of my belts in the fto motor before, but in my astina the belts were on the left side, and my neighbour who does mechanics, just poured water (instead of the wd40) which made the noise stop for like 10 seconds - which was showing me an example of why the belts were makin the noise
Yup, for the belts water will do, or if you really want to be posh, talcum powder!
So if the pulley's are problemed, all i need to do to determine this is by pouring water on the belts to observe if the noise stops for a period of time?
Can someone confirm this? If so i'll be going back there asap with a bucket of water haha
yeah dude, u only need a bit (lets say 500ml) pour it over the belts (careful not to pour it over anything else - again i dont know the position of them) while the sound is going!!, then once water is on belts, the sound should stop temporarily, another way to check if they are the problem is to have a closer look at the belts, they should be straight with no rips/tear/cut, a little wear maybe, but no tears or cuts should be there (if so thats def the problem) good luck!
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I tried my best to look at the belts with the naked eye. To my eye they looked straight and there were no rips or tears.
I'll give him a buzz and see if i can drop by again today. I think i might use WD40 instead because knowing me, I'll most likely pour the water right onto the alternator and fry some things haha.
Oh and I have about 30 bottles of CRC (same sh*t as wd40) at home
yeah dude im sittin on my comp ceebs walkin out to have a look hahaha but yeh best get someone who 100% knows the position of stuff first, even if i walked out i might miss something xD but yeh hopefully its just those belts because on my old car it was 60 bucks for the two belts and about 15mins of my time (after the 2nd go cause i knew how to tension/untension) should be a similar cost on fto
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