CBRKelly

Hey guys,

Didn't know who to turn to about an issue thats been annoying (and worrying) me for a couple months now.

I rarely use my car; it sits in the garage for up to 2 weeks at a time in between starts/use. But the car's got very low kms on it (i'm in Australia) and is in perfect condition and is always "fully" serviced every 6 months, regardless of how little or much i've used it.

Now, the issue is that if i start the car for the first time (ie. when it's cold) i can hear this horrible chaffing type noise coming from what I suspect to be the accessories/belts area. However, sometimes on a given day when I start the car the noise is more of a loud "CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK" but really fast rather than the chaffing/screeching type noise you hear in the video i'm about to link you to.

The noise sloowly starts to decrease and lessen in volume over a 5 minute period until it's basically unaudible, so this is not an ongoing consistent noise, only when the car is cold. For the rest of the day the car wont do it again, I can travel somewhere, leave the car for 4 / 5 hrs before using it again and start it up and the noise won't be there. It ONLY happens when the car's been sitting over night.

The belts are all fairly new (a few yrs old) with only 5,800kms on them (around 3,600 miles).

I have what looks like a hardened glu-stick called a 'lube-stick' which is designed for the purpose of running over your belts when you think they may be slipping/making a noise to shut them up. I have tried using this (you see me do it towards the end of the video) and it has next to no effect on lessening the noise, but I am only running it over the two outer belts, not the inner one thats harder to get to; that may be the culprit but what I am really concerned about is that it's not the belts at all. However, if it was a stuffed pulley with bad bearings or something going shoddy with regard to the timing belt area or water pump etc. - this noise wouldnt slowly diminish and eventually go away as the car warms up, right?

But then, why would the noise go away after 5 mins or so if I have a dodgey/slipping belt?? Perhaps someone more mechanically minded can explain this to me.

On the subject of timing belt/water pump, these were both done when the new accessory belts were done so everything should be still very fresh in that regard.

I took the car to my mechanic recently to explain the issue but of course it wasnt making the noise by then as it's warm; he checked the tension of the belts and was content everything looked great and couldnt really explain why it did it apart from the possibility of condensation forming on the belts, causing this horrific noise to occur until they warm up (it gets extremely cold here in the nights, though the car is kept in a garage at all times).

Here is the video for you to listen to and form a possible opinion on what you think. It goes for the full 5 minute period showing you how the noise slowly lessens until it's basically gone altogether which is what happens every time :-

http://mywebsite.bigpond.com/mareelatus/11072009016.mp4

If you dont have success playing mp4 video files (it came directly off my phone), try installing this small codec found here first :-

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/3ivx.htm

You'll see the noise drops off substantially at around the 1:30 mark but you can still hear the chaffing/slipping type noise, just no where near as high a volume. From there onward you slowly here it lessen more and more over the following minutes.

However, the noise is most pronounced underneath the car, you'll see me do this at around the 2:55 mark.

Whatever it is, is there a chance its something potentially very harmful to the car? I'm thinking not as it does go away. I'd hate to think each time it happens it's damaging something important/expensive though.


Thanks a heap for your input guys - I will do whatever it takes to get rid of this noise. This car is my baby and I love it to pieces. I will have the issue looked into as soon as I know what's causing it. It's just difficult for my mechanic to spot and fix it as he gets it when the car's warm (not doing it).




Cheers.

maximagician

my 92 se twin cam has a water pump groan that only happens on the first
start,its been like that for 1.5 years and like 10k miles,ill get a new pump when or if it leaks esp since it uses a timing chain
no wet timing belt worries

it also has some vtc clack but it goes away quickly i have not tried to "ground\bypass" them
its been clacking when cold for 2.5 years and 21,000 miles
im gonna get the vtc fix kit eventually(better be the updated kit)iirc

(although if your in australia,you prob have the single cam,no vtc
i got one of those too)

PULL THE DRIVE BELTS before the first start and spin each pulley by hand
and or put them on 1 by 1( inner belt then outers ) and see which ones bad
i cant watch the videos on this computer
but this is how i know my 92'se first start only noise is the waterpump
and my vtc clack is an easy diagnose if you also live on max.org

BenStoked

iTrader: (7)

youtube, mang. upload it there. or photobucket, or tinypic (I think tinypic does videos now.)
we shouldnt have to download codecs (never heard of 3vix)to watch a video.

CBRKelly

Yep fair call. Sorry about that; here you go :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzxwbSu3DEM

BenStoked

iTrader: (7)

I can't tell for sure, but it sounds like the upper half isn't getting enough oil. mine does it for a few seconds after start, but goes away much quicker.

and thank's for moving the vid.

ColombianMax

iTrader: (7)

My 3rd gen clicks for like 5 seconds after sitting overnight during winter. It has 194,000 miles. People have told me its either the lifters or simply oil had to make its way up. Other than that it doesnt do it.

You have a VG30e correct? iirc VE30DE is USDM only but I could be wrong hence my question

burhan92SE

try synthetic oil and see if it goes away...

maxinout93

The car sounds great. It looks like u got the same engine as I do, VG30e. I know what the noise is. Somtimes the belts get wet or watever from something leaking on them. Antifreze, oil or whatever. My car made that same noise a few mornings. I tried to spray some belt dressing on them, and it made the noise worse. It normally goes away after it warms up. My problem was with the A/C belt. It made the most noise. So i just tightened it up a bit and I have been noise free ever since.

maxinout93

My car is just the opposite. It sounds like a desiel engine when its warmed up. And its a VG30e. Its been doing it since I bought it, and I dont know if its the timing belt tenisoner or what.

CBRKelly

Yeah it's *definitely* something to do with the accessories; be it belts or a bad pulley. That is the specific area the noise is coming from; the engine itself is as quiet as a mouse from the second you start it and if you're standing on the other side of the car you can distinctly tell the noise is happening over the other side where the belts/pulleys are (and lower down in the engine bay, not up top). As I demonstrated in the video, when you get underneath the front of the car and near the huge pulley at the back (not sure what this pulley is called) the noise is a lot louder.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

That huge pulley is your crank pulley, there's nothing really to go "bad" on it. Before buying a bunch of crap, I would just try squirting hand soap or something on the belts while they're making that noise, at least that way you could rule out it being some sort of abnormal belt squeal. If you do that and they still make noise you know it's not the belts and could be something like the idler pulley or even the water pump or something.

Before the water pump went out on my Civic, it was making a scraping sort of noise for a week or two. I could never figure out what it was until my water pump seized on me

BTW, you've got a really nice 3rd gen. Wouldn't mind seeing some pics of it, from what I could see from the video, the paint looks brand new on it!

CBRKelly

Good idea re. squirting something onto the belts while the cars running. Would a silicon lubricant spray be ok? - i have another spray called belt grip from CRC as well. Only soap we have in the house are bars of soap.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

Personally, I've just used honey in the past