NoradIV

Hello Guys,

My car has developed an intermittent metal rubbing sound. It comes from the engine bay and appears to come from the front of the engine. I hear this mostly at idle or at low speed. It possibly becomes overpowered by engine noise at higher speeds; I can barely hear it from inside the car.

If you watch this video, the sound that seems to come from a metal saw is actually from the car. It is more audible at the beginning. I have verified that there was nothing rubbing on the pulleys.

Anyone has any clue and how I can isolate this?

Thanks for your time.

Leftlane_1

Could be a pulley itself that is on its way out. Check the tension pulley. I had to replace mine last year.

NoradIV

How do I... check it? Taking off the belt and see if it spins freely?

Leftlane_1

Yes, undo the belt and spin the pulley by hand. If there is excessive noise, I would replace. Its a quick 30 second job that can determine if thats the cause of the noise or not.

ArtClassShank

You can also run the car without the belts for a short time. You say the noise is intermittent, so that might be not practical. But it's worth a shot if none of them spin rough/noisy by hand.

NoradIV

Ok, I have removed the belt, spun every pulley. None of them made any scratching, had any resistance or noise. All smooth. I spun water pump, power steering, alternator as well. I wasn't sure where the AC belt was (I remember seeing it in the past), I will take a look tommorow if for the love of god it can stop raining for more than 30 minutes.

NoradIV

Found what it was. Of all the things, it had to be the most expensive one, AKA the AC compressor...

Has anyone tried this?


Edit: I just went outside, waited for the sound to appear, then engaged the AC and it seems to go away. I will do some more tests next week.

NoradIV

Alright, I have removed the AC belt and the sound has gotten away. I have read a couple places that the AC compressor clutch cannot be replaced while the compressor is in place, and replacing it would require removing the radiator and the water pump, plus purging the system and possibly replacing the condenser. I certainly do not have 2000$ for this job. Looking at it, I don't see why I couldn't replace just the clutch while in place. Can anyone comment on this?

I also have found . I haven't done any research to know if its the correct one (I will before buying), but it appears I can purchase a clutch alone.