okinawa86vette

I have an 86 coupe wih about 90k miles on it. It's an automatic. The car as been making a slight ticking noise since I got it about a month and a half ago. Over the last week or so, the ticking noise got much louder and the car started making a shrieking noise once it hits 1500rpm or so and continues until the motor slows down again. First thought was that it was the waterpump, but when I ran the motor without the belt on, it still made the noises. Both noises seem to be coming from the front, lower part of the motor and I assume they are related being that the ticking got worse then the shrieking started.
I'm hoping it's not a spun bearing or something that serious being that I'm in Japan with little resources as far as mechanics and work space go. The car still starts right up without any hesitation, runs very well with the exception of the noises. I really don't have the desire to do a rebuild in my barracks parking lot. Any ideas about what else it might be before I start to tear apart the motor? I would hate to tear down the motor and have it be something stupid. Thank you for any help.

Chris

Aggravated4life

It almost sounds like the balancer on front of the engine is coming apart.
You may need to remove the bottom pulley to see if it is.
:)

vader86

does sound a bit like the balancer

okinawa86vette

If I'm not mistaken, the balancer has 2 concentric metal discs seperated and held together by a piece of rubber. Would the balancer make noise if it was coming apart. Wouldn't the rubber have to be nearly all gone? That should cause the motor to vibrate severely. It vibrates maybe a little more than it should, but not so much that the motor feels completely out of balance.
Thanks
Chris

CoolVette86

Hey guys, don't want to sound stupid, but what does that balancer do and where is it located again? Lately, I've been getting vibrations above 65mph and it's getting annoying. I've gotten new tires, along with complete wheel balance and alignment. I don't know where else to look. :(

robblk90

This might be totally wrong but I had a similar situation. I thought it was the water pump. It shrieked at high revs and ticked at idle. It turned out to be the fan behind the pulley on the alternator was hitting the alternator case. I guess the belt may have been too tight. I took a screwdriver and pried out the blades of the fan to clear the case. This may be wrong but just a suggestion. Good luck!

okinawa86vette

I wish it was something simple like that, but the car was still making the noise when I ran it without the belt on. As soon as I get off work, I'm going to check around the crank pulley(the only one that turns) to see if anything is rubbing on it or anything else that moves in around the motor.
Thanks for the suggestion, though, I didn't even think it would be something rubbing on a pulley or an accessory.

Chris

pablocruise

Can we rule out the timing tab rubbing the balancer? Can ya put a timing light on it and time accurately? What happens if ya disconnect the EST wire off the dist? How 'bout the cooling fans? Mine came loose one day and made a lotta racket(not RPM related). Can we rule out an exhaust leak? How 'bout using a stethoscope?

vader86

how are your wheel bearings? suspension bushings doing ok?

Rick86

There was a post here a few weeks ago with a picture of bad harmonic balancer. My balancer slipped and the outer-ring rubbed a hole in the cam chain cover. I also could not figure out were the ticking noise was coming from. Just look down at the harmonic balancer and check how close it is to the cam chain cover, it should not be touching or very close, I believe about 1/8-1/4 of an inch is about normal.

okinawa86vette

I hope its something easy like that. I have a parts car, so getting the parts will be easy if its something like that. I just need a day off so I can see the car in the daylight. This 5am to 8pm stuff is deffinately not cool. Thank you all for the help. I'm going to try to find that post with the balancer.
Chris

okinawa86vette

Thanks a lot for the help. Turns out the outer ring of the harmonic balancer had slid back about half an inch from where it should have been and was rubbing on hte timing chain cover. Hopefully it didn't rub a hole in it, but I haven't driven it more than a couple miles like that, so it should be good. I will be pulling the one off the parts car and probably the timing chain cover also on my next day off.
Good call on the balancer. Thanks for the help.

Chris