Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 12:51 pm, by: Tim Pike(Keydecoder)
Hi All,
Just hoping someone can give me a little help here, basically I just jumped in my V8 to go somewhere today and as I was driving off I heard a strange buzzing noise (sounds like a lawn mower or a whipper snipper) coming from the engine. Stopping and lifting up the bonnet, it sounds like the noise is coming from the front of the engine and the noise buzzes more as I rev the engine.
Naturally this deeply worries me.
The only thing I could see when I looked at the engine was the the pulley indicated below and the cap like thing behind it seems to wobble and shake a bit, but I have no idea what this means (or if this is even normal).
The only other things I have noticed is that yesterday after driving the car around, the engine bay (and the wheels) seem to be getting very hot (although the temperature gauge never went over half, but it always stays on half-way).
Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 03:29 pm, by: Tim Pike(Keydecoder)
Thanks guys. I think i'll take it down to Lew sometime this week (hopefully if he isn't too busy) to get him to take a look. I was just hoping that this was something obvious that someone could say, 'yep, thats your problem'.
Neil, do you think that the stuffed bearing in the tensioner is what is causing the buzzing type noise? I only noticed the wobbling because I was looking for the wierd buzzing noise. Do they usually just fail since it wasn't making this noise last night (either that or it wasn't loud enough for me to hear it).
Also, do you think it would be safe to drive or I should just get it towed?
Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 10:24 pm, by: Peter Nitschke(Pen)
If that belt breaks you will lose power steering which can be a bit of a wakeup call if you aren't prepared for it. If you aren't smelling burnt rubber then that probably isn't about to happen however, so driving should be fine, just be prepared in case you have to muscle it.
Might be worth looking into the whole belts, bearings, water pump job - including the cam belt if that hasn't been done either.
Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 11:06 pm, by: Tim Pike(Keydecoder)
Ahh, thanks Peter. I guess I'll be getting it towed. Even a faint chance of losing power steering at 110km/hr isn't worth the risk.
I plan on getting it all done I think (ie. bearings, tensioner, water pump etc.). Sadly my previous mechanic did a 100k service, but only did the cam belt and nothing else. Luckily Lew does all the work on my car now, so I know that the job gets done right