Car problem

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

I'm asking this question for a friend at work.  

 

He said that he hears a noise similar to the sound that's made when you put your hand to a fan and it slaps your fingertips.  The sound is coming from his center console dash area.  And, he said it only happens when he is between 50-70 mph.  

 

Any ideas?  

 

Thanks guys.

 

 

[Drifter 851]

Hard to diagnosis car problems by noise unless you are there to hear them in person Tommy, especially with a description of "like your hand hitting a fan"  ... Let me ask you this, is it a manual trans car or auto. If it's a manual trans and the sound is from the center console area it could be a throw out bearing going bad in the trans. Really need more info and better idea of what type of sound it actually is though to give much of a suggestion.

[Dattebayo 446]

Like this?

 

 

It might be the engine's serpentine belt.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

Steve,  I'm not sure of any more details.  I'll ask him when he comes into work tonight.  

 

Datte, nice find man!  That seems to be about what he was describing.  Thanks.

[Dattebayo 446]

My dad fixed cars, what this is is a problem with the tension of the engine belt.

It doesn't necessarily need to be replaced, but you need to get the torque of it adjusted. Tightened, in this case.

 

I never saw him work though, so the best I can do is diagnose it.

If it does end up being that, there's stuff online that can help you out if you don't want to take it to a mechanic.

[Playertd 177]

My car had the exact same problem as date's video, same noise and everything lol.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

My dad fixed cars, what this is is a problem with the tension of the engine belt.

It doesn't necessarily need to be replaced, but you need to get the torque of it adjusted. Tightened, in this case.

 

I never saw him work though, so the best I can do is diagnose it.

If it does end up being that, there's stuff online that can help you out if you don't want to take it to a mechanic.

Thanks man.  It's not me, it's a friend at work.  I was just posting it on here to try to help him out.  

[Dattebayo 446]

Yeah, generally speaking.

[Drifter 851]

If it sounds like the noise is from the console area I highly doubt it is a lose timing belt (serpentine belt on today's cars). That would be on the very front of the motor in RWD cars or side of the motor in FWD and would not sound like it is coming from console area. Plus a timing belt/serpentine belt noise would make the noise non stop and not just at highway speeds.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

If it sounds like the noise is from the console area I highly doubt it is a lose timing belt (serpentine belt on today's cars). That would be on the very front of the motor in RWD cars or side of the motor in FWD and would not sound like it is coming from console area. Plus a timing belt/serpentine belt noise would make the noise non stop and not just at highway speeds.

Well, damn you, Steve... I thought I had a good lead for him, ha-ha.  Oh well... 

 

I'll try to get some more information from him tonight when he comes into work.  Should be about 4 hours from this post.  

[Dattebayo 446]

If it sounds like the noise is from the console area I highly doubt it is a lose timing belt (serpentine belt on today's cars). That would be on the very front of the motor in RWD cars or side of the motor in FWD and would not sound like it is coming from console area.

Way to one up me, Drifter ;o 

jk

 

 

Plus a timing belt/serpentine belt noise would make the noise non stop and not just at highway speeds.

 

Not true, higher speeds especially would make that sound happen.

Then again, lower speeds too. It varies for each case, so I've learned.

[Drifter 851]

 

Not true, higher speeds especially would make that sound happen.

Then again, lower speeds too. It varies for each case, so I've learned.

 

When I say it would make a noise all the time I am speaking of the timing chain (if in fact his car/truck is not a newer one then it would have a chain and not a belt for keeping the crank & cam in time). And if you have a lose timing chain (slack from stretch due to high mileage) then it would make the noise all the time and not just at certain RPM's because a stretched chain stays that way no matter the speed and will stay tight on the upward rotation side but flop around lose on the downward rotation side of the cam pulley.

 

When talking about a serpentine belt...A serpentine belt can simply not get that lose. A serpentine belt on today's cars is held in place with a belt tensioner, it's the spring loaded arm with the wheel on it that you have to pull back with a 1/2 ratchet when you replace the serpentine belt (and busted me in the knuckle more times than I care to admit lol) If that tensioner gets to the point of being lose then the belt will come right off the motor because the tensioner itself has no grooves to hold the belt in place, it has a very smooth wheel on it. Only the the accessories like PS pump, Alternator, crankshaft and AC compressor have grooved pulleys on them. So a lose serpentine belt wont actually make noise it will simply come off.

 

Now if we are talking about a timing belt....There's a difference between serpentine belts and timing belts. Noise can come from a timing belt at various speeds but it is not going to be a very loud noise that can be heard very well inside the car, and if the timing belt is actually that lose to the point of where it is easily heard inside the car then he would have other problems that would be more prevalent such as very rough idle and not accelerating and or stalling/backfiring through the intake because his timing would be experiencing such variations in advance/retard of the plug firing way before or after TDC that  the car would not want to run well what so ever.

 

I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but I've been a gearhead since I was a kid, I actually built my first motor at the age of 15 and had it on an engine stand next to my bed (true story!  ) there's lots of things I don't claim to know about in life, but two things I do know inside and out is fly fishing, and cars

[Dattebayo 446]

[Docwagon 856]

Could be a metric shit ton of things, especially with such a vague description.  That said, noises that occur based on a certain speed are generally vibration induced.  Note this is not the same thing as RPM based.  A noise that fluctuates with RPM could be a belt, valve noise, etc.  They don't care how fast the car is moving, they just care how fast the crankshaft is spinning.  Noises based on speed are more likely to be loose heat shields or air dams, plastic components that have shifted and are rubbing against each other (which is INCREDIBLY fucking annoying and why dashs in many older cars develop squeaks over time).  Speed based noises are also found in tires and axles and their components (brakes, u-joints, etc.)

 

Where the noise seems to come from while driving the car is almost irrelevant.  Sound is transmitted throughout the car via vibration.  The only way to really track it is to put it on a lift and listen from outside the vehicle.  Mechanics will sometimes even use a stethoscope to narrow it down, although you can improvise with a screw driver or tire tool.  Touch the prying tip of the tool to the component in question and put your ear to the wrench end.  I used to do this to diagnose motorcycle drive train noise (such as chain slap in a Harley Sportster) by putting the rear wheel up and "tire tooling" through the drive train.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

He thinks it might have just been the wiper blades vibrating!  lol  I'll report back when he comes in tonight.  

[Dattebayo 446]

He thinks it might have just been the wiper blades vibrating!  lol  I'll report back when he comes in tonight.  

[Drifter 851]

He thinks it might have just been the wiper blades vibrating!  lol  I'll report back when he comes in tonight.  

 

Nope, it was the Johnson rod.....or muffler bearings going bad. Maybe the kanewton value was stuck open?

 

 

Sounds like he's the ideal customer for repair shops. Take the car in for a noise and they end up charging him $1300 for a new valvetrain to fix it....when all they actually did was change the wiper blades lol

[Docwagon 856]

He thinks it might have just been the wiper blades vibrating!  lol  I'll report back when he comes in tonight.  

 

I doubt it.  If they were loose enough to slap around then the spring tension in the arm would be insufficient to hold them against the glass any longer when they are moving.  It would strike me as an odd thing to be speed dependent, too, especially if it goes away after 70mph.  He's not breaking the sound barrier, the air doesn't suddenly smooth out at 70.

[Drifter 851]

 

air doesn't suddenly smooth out at 70

 

 

It does ta 88mph though....then you see some serious shit.

 

 

 

Lets see who actually gets that   I know Doc will.

[Dattebayo 446]

It does ta 88mph though....then you see some serious shit.

 

 

 

Lets see who actually gets that   I know Doc will.

[Docwagon 856]

Lets see who actually gets that   I know Doc will.

 

So will Marty.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

Shit got crazy at work, we didn't have time to talk about it. To be continued...