Drive Without Fan Belt

[Mick]

hey im having a weird noise which sounds like a chook chook chook noise when i accelerate from a slow speed, the harder i accelerate the lounder the noise, i have removed the aircon and tge power steering belt and the noise is still there so i know its not them and i have felt the alternator and water pump pulleys and they seem ok, the alternator spins but makes a slight noise and i assume tgats normal cos its turning a generatir in it and the water pump spins ok as well but i carnt soin it as fast as the car can so i carnt be certain its not one of them making the noise, now the only way i can be certain is to remove that last belt and drive it for a minute to test it but im worried about driving it without circulating water running through the engine, does anyone know if it will ne safe for a quick drive to see if tge noise is gone

[Mick]

i did put new belts on it cos i thought it was just a belt at first cos it does sound like a squeel when i gun it hard

[Missileman]

A very short drive from first start in the morning would be OK like around the block no further, if the noise is still there when the belts are removed then that could indicate a cam belt idler or tensioner bearing failure.

[34GeeTeeTee]

I wouldnt suggest it! Risk it too high.

Can you diagnose it at idle or is it only at low speeds?

[Mick]

thankyou so much for your help, yeah it will just be to the end of my street and back, i live in ballarat so the car is very cold right now and so am i hahaha

and yeah im hopeing it goes away after i remove this last belt cos i did think about the cam belt or tensioner and i know i do need to get this done soon anyways cos the car has done just over 100,000kms so timing belt is due for a new one

[34GeeTeeTee]

thankyou so much for your help, yeah it will just be to the end of my street and back, i live in ballarat so the car is very cold right now and so am i hahaha

and yeah im hopeing it goes away after i remove this last belt cos i did think about the cam belt or tensioner and i know i do need to get this done soon anyways cos the car has done just over 100,000kms so timing belt is due for a new one

Well if there is a noise and you are due then its all gotta come apart anyway so if you book it in to get done you should find itll be problem solved

[Mick]

its only when its driven, no noise at idle or rev

[34GeeTeeTee]

its only when its driven, no noise at idle or rev

Does it increase with speed? Clutch in or out?

Sounds a bit odd...

[Mick]

the car is an automatic unfortinatly lol but it only does it when im taking off or going slow and then accelerate hard, if i really accelerate hard where the turbo kicks it its very very loud, but on the highway sitting on the speed limit there is no noise and its nice and quiet

[Mick]

so it seems that its only when under load

[34GeeTeeTee]

Could be so many things mate! Really hard to do E mechanics on this one... Can you record the sound to help?

Could be in your auto itself, in the driveline? Could be your plastic fan hitting the shroud if an engine mount is gone or just so many things! Could even be a blown turbo gasket or something silly! Without hearing it its just a guessing game unfortunately!

[Mick]

the belts are all off right now cos i was going to take it for a 60second drive to check it out, if it was on i could record the sound and post it here. if i did drive if with no belts and the temperature doesnt get over half would that be safe, what im asking is it obly the temperature i have to worry about if i dod drive it quickly

[Mick]

you hit on something there actually mate, the turbo gasket is bad but i didnt think it would give a noise like this if it was a manifold to turbo gasket

[Mick]

especialy since it sounds so much like a belt or pulley

[34GeeTeeTee]

you hit on something there actually mate, the turbo gasket is bad but i didnt think it would give a noise like this if it was a manifold to turbo gasket

You would be suprised what sort of sounds they can make when they are leaking under load!

[Mick]

ok your right i will put the belts back on and go get a gasket now if i can find one and i will record it on my way to get one, thankyou for your help and i will post the noise soon and let you know if the new gasket fixed it

[34GeeTeeTee]

ok your right i will put the belts back on and go get a gasket now if i can find one and i will record it on my way to get one, thankyou for your help and i will post the noise soon and let you know if the new gasket fixed it

Good luck with it mate!

[Missileman]

the belts are all off right now cos i was going to take it for a 60second drive to check it out, if it was on i could record the sound and post it here. if i did drive if with no belts and the temperature doesnt get over half would that be safe, what im asking is it obly the temperature i have to worry about if i dod drive it quickly

You don't want it moving off the bottom of gauge, let along getting any where near half, your turbo is water cooled so you don't want to go on boost at all.

Better safe than sorry so you may as well NOT drive it, if it was your idler or tensioner bearing it will make the noise on start up and when idling, it will make a screeching sound that has a clear rotation sound, if its a turbo gasket it won't have that rotating type sound.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Missileman

[Ben C34]

I would drive out a little with out the belt. It won't instantly overheat, the coolant will still thermo siphon through the engine/radiator.

Anyway doesn't sound like it is the belt anyway. Good luck sussing it.

[89CAL]

Just a note that your gauge probably wont move at all seen as the belt drives the water pump. Most of the hot coolant will stay within the engine and you will only get a small amount of heat circulating through convection

You basically wont know the car is hot till you see steam or something breaks