Oh god, no!

[DontPassTheFence]

Im scared...
Tonight my GA started making a new noise... its a loud ticking that can be heard from inside the car, as well as outside.. It can be heard well during idle, and can be heard a bit better up the powerband until the engine drowns out the noise @ 4500rpms. I popped the hood and it sounds as if it coming from the waterpump :gasp: Any ideas so I can nip this in the bud before it becomes a real problem?

[FlatlineGA]

it's a bomb!

[4kQuad]

Does the speed of the tick change with the RPMs of the motor?
How far from the car do you have to walk away before you can't hear it.

[DontPassTheFence]

the speed of the tick does not increase at all as engine speed increases, but the loudness of the tick does increase... and you have to be pretty far away since it can still be heard over the motor and the exhaust from 15 feet away, in any direction

[4kQuad]

ok, I still can't say what it is, but if the sound don't follow the RPMs of the motor. The motor is ok, the sound is coming from somthing less important.

If you can get a chunk of graden hose about 2 feet or so long. hold one end to your ear and wave the other end over the motor. the sound will come through the hose and in just a few minutes you should be able to pin point where the sound is coming from. Just watch out for moving parts while moving the hose around.

Fan belts grab stuff and pull things in.

[DontPassTheFence]

thnx a lot -- ill pinpoint the sound and then report back, I just hope the repair wont cost me $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[HeyDace]

"If you can get a chunk of graden hose about 2 feet or so long. hold one end to your ear and wave the other end over the motor."

Or, if that does'nt work, try stripping down naked, paint yourself blue and swing a dead cat over your head by the tail. :lol:

sorry, couldn't help it.

[2K SE]

????? wtf

[4kQuad]

HeyDace...it's Friday, you don't use blue on Fridays.:agree:

[StaindGreen9]

Good one Matt, you broke it.

[2001GAGT]

Originally posted by HeyDace
"If you can get a chunk of graden hose about 2 feet or so long. hold one end to your ear and wave the other end over the motor."

Or, if that does'nt work, try stripping down naked, paint yourself blue and swing a dead cat over your head by the tail. :lol:

sorry, couldn't help it.

:roflmfao:

[tenspeed]

Anything driven by the engine will increase tempo as the engine speeds up - except the blower motor and the cooling fan. Since you say the noise is coming from the water pump area, I would suspect something like a leaf is caught in the blower motor fan.

See if the tempo changes when you change the fan settings.

[DontPassTheFence]

it sounds even worse now... the ticking is much louder than yesterday, and it now gets louder an d faster as the engine revs higher. Really loud, it can even be heard over the motor at WOT now. Im screwed! this is my only car and I have no money to fix it... But besides that, Im fine. Um, any help? I still have no clue what it could be. It sounds as if its coming from the front-left part of the engine...

[DontPassTheFence]

oh, and the fan settings do not effect the ticking noise at all.

[rixGAphx]

Front LEFT???

Car sides are ALWAYS referred to as tho yer sitting in the driver's seat.
Boats, trains, and planes, for that matter.

So, if the sound was from the WP area, that is Front/right (pass) side.
* * * *
It's either the serpentine belt tensioner about to let go, or (more probably IMO) the waterpump.

Which, as I understand it from previous posts, is INSIDE the timeing chain cover on your engine.
A royal PITA, and not something for a novice (or a pro, if s/he's sane :roll2:

Quit driving until you can have a mechanic examine/fix it.

If you push it any more, it will literally EXPLODE (well, not with flames, but 'kaPOW') and damage other stuff.

Good luck.
-Rick

[DontPassTheFence]

yea, i havent driven since then, I hope its not the waterpump or anything to do with the timing chain, that would be some bull$#!^ argh im too broke to get it to a mechanic, and mechanics suck anyways, do you know of any reputable ones in the phoenix metro area? because everyone I have gone to has screwedme

[jayhawk]

Yup...same thing that happened to me, same noise, same location. Better hope its not internal, but more than likely is. What is the flat rate time to change out the connecting rods?...oh yeah! 12.5 hours. its because of the balance shafts that make it so labor intensive.

Its not the waterpump, the indication of the waterpump going is loss of coolant and leaking. Its probably not the timing chain either, but if it is...youre looking at $1000+. If youre going to have replace the timing parts, replace the water pump, too.

But dont take my word for it. Get at least 2-3 opinions before getting the engine torn apart. I did find that 20W50 synthetic oil slowed down the rate of destruction.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by DontPassTheFenc
yea, i havent driven since then, I hope its not the waterpump or anything to do with the timing chain, that would be some bull$#!^ argh im too broke to get it to a mechanic, and mechanics suck anyways, do you know of any reputable ones in the phoenix metro area? because everyone I have gone to has screwed me
Merle's Auto Repair
(602) 274-6375 4994 N 12th St
Phoenix, AZ

He's good and honest.

Give me a PM.
I've PM'd you my cell phone, give me a call.

Good luck.
-Rick

[DontPassTheFence]

thanks a lot... and i run 10W30 Quaker State Full Synthetic High Mileage Formula.

[DontPassTheFence]

um, update ::
I checked the oil for no reason tonight and it showed I have HALF as much as I am supposed to... wtf ? So i bought a quart of the same oil Jiffy Lube put in my car (yea I am never having them do an oil change on my car ever again, but it was a free one, so I decided why not) - 10W30 Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic oil... so the clicking noise has quited down a bit, but its still there, and you can hear it well around 4krpms, and it gets luder, faster as it did before, it just sounds softer, and it cant be heard at idle anymore, which I assume is good... but I still need to take it to that mechanic Rick mentioned.

[rixGAphx]

10w30 is a fine general-use motor oil.

When engines get 'worn', it is primarily the space between the bearing shells and the journals that increases.

In those cases, a thicker motor oil is often beneficial.
And, with the Phoenix heat coming within the next month, you don't need a multi-weight oil.

An EXCELLENT oil for your next oil change would be Valvoline Racing, SAE 40-weight.
Thick, good quality, only 25 cents more per quart then a 'regular' oil.

It may even make the noise disappear, but will NOT do any further harm.

-Rick

[DontPassTheFence]

hmm, sounds good... and just a gen. oil question, would a full syn, syn blend, or non syn be best for the 2.4 TC?