Whirring/Chirping noise

[BergerNJ]

Quick question on what I should look into or expect to find...and how serious this is.....every time I start the car when its cold I hear this chirping/whirring sound coming from my belt area. I open my valve cover thinking its in there but its not. Which is good I think.....once the motor warms up it goes away and sounds normal..

Once I pull the throttle about 500 rpms it is blurred out by the engine, but right before it hits idle again you do hear that its rpm dependent and will increase in spewed with the motor.

Timing belt and water pump are recent.....about 9kthe on the water pump and a little more on the t belt.

Sound is def from the t stat housing or belt area....help please. This was all typed by my phone so sorry if its terrible to read

[330SMG]

Are you using a cogged belt? Usually it is a belt or maybe a bushing in the alternator. Spray belt with belt dressing or wd40 and see if it goes away.

[BergerNJ]

That's a good thought.....isn't that bad for the belt though? Ill give it a try ...is it possible that when I changed my belts they were tensioned too tight? I thought it may be the alternator but it doesn't sound like its coming from there

[BergerNJ]

I do indeed have cogged belts...I couldn't remember when I bought them had to check later on when i got home.

I'm gonna try the wd 40 tomorrow after my classes, any other suggestions to rule things out?

When I bought this vert the belts on it were so stretched and worn, they slipped after like 3.5k and on and squealed bad until I let off the gas.....Maybe its possible the new belts+normal tension put added stress onto already old parts?

my water pump blew about a day later after I put my belts in, and now Im thinking my alternator is getting the same treatment?

can this point to other issues?

[BergerNJ]

ok so I checked the belts. I knida knew it wasn't them from the noise....and it wasn't...I rolled it out of my garage and started it and to my surprise is didn't make the noise until about 2 minutes into idling. first time ever.


its definitely not my alternator, and now I have oil in my coolant......prime suspect is a head gasket and I now have zero options. I haven't over heated it and only yesterday was the idle affected, also the noise would get thicker or louder with a rough spot in the idle.

I know I haven't found all my vaccum leaks so thats not in question.

I took a video of the sound its making, if you listen you can clearly hear the noise I'm describing. Tell me how bad this is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8GhW_P5on8I know it isn't good but does that sound signify something worse then just a head gasket? or maybe a water pump having a hard time pushing oil and coolant at the same time?

[delatlanta1281]

When was the last time you checked or replaced your timing belt? When my tensioner bearing started to go, it made a chirping noise at @ 1200 rpms. You could only hear it around that rpm either going up in thte range or coming down. I replaced the belt and tensioner, and the chirping went away. Pull the little rubber "cover" off of your front timing cover and then give it a listen.

[BergerNJ]

Im looking at the Bentley manual and I cant find a good description of what the cover looks like....forgive me for being noob...I know exactly what the timing belt does and what it looks like...I just dont know what cover to get under..

and if my coolant tank has brown soup in it, then I have to be looking at a bad coolant gasket leak right? would a bad t stat housing cause this? buddy of mine with an e36 325 had the same coolant problem but his t stat housing had a bad seal in it or something

[delatlanta1281]

Brown? I guess it depends how old the coolant is. When was the last time you flushed it? The rubber cover is located on the front of your driver's side part of the motor. It is right next to your alternator underneath the round screw cap thingy (which is called a service port). There should be some wires attached to it. Honestly though, if you aren't sure or mechanically inclined, I wouldn't start tearing into the motor. If you cannot or do not posses the skills to do a timing belt job, you may just want to take it to a reputable shop in your area.

[BergerNJ]

coolant was flushed and changed 2k ago. if its under the service port and near the alt then I can find it....I was reading the Bentley for where it would be only, haven't been under the hood since this morning.

I'm gonna open a hose and see what it looks like inside, if its brown then I'm for sure taking it to a shop...don't have the tools nor the time for a h gasket job

[delatlanta1281]

Just be sure it's a HG job you need. That chirping has nothing to do with a leaking HG.
Check your warter pump bearing as well. With the car turned off, try to move your fan up and down.

[BergerNJ]

I did a fan clutch and water pump same time it sounds so close to the timing belt cover and fan clutch. When I hear the chirp it sound fluid like like a gushing sound. I pulled a hose and it has some oil in itfor sure...not a lot to the point its soupy but its there

[delatlanta1281]

So when was the last timing belt change?

[BergerNJ]

po did it right before he sold it to me...or so he claimed...no receipts to prove it and he said he would "take care of me" if anything happened....was a dealer.

so I'm assuming if it is a timing belt or tension issue Im getting it replaced and then sending him a receipt saying the tensioner is shot and ask him to pay for it. Im afraid to drive it to the shop now...its only 2 miles down the road.

should I have it towed?

[delatlanta1281]

Na just take it easy. Never trust the seller. With these cars, unless you know the seller and you did the timing belt with them, you should always replace the belt, tensioner wp, and any seals the need it upon purchase.