Alright, I have a 97 SE with two problems, any help is appreciated.

Problem #1
Last night I started the car and a humming sound was coming from the engine. The hum sounded like plugging one ear and then humming quietly. I was in a hurry to get home so didn't worry about it. This morning I started the car and it made the same humming noise only it was twice as loud as it was the night before (plug one ear and hum twice as loud). So I popped the hood and (forgive me for my lack of engine knowledge) the sound was coming from the left side of the engine (as I'm looking at the front of the car) by where I could see the wheels for the belt. I went back to the car, reached in the window and shut the car off, and I saw a small puff of smoke rise out from that area of the engine. I went over (since it was 6:30 AM and a little rainy) and tried to feel to see if the belt was still there. It was, don't know if there's supposed to be a specific amount of tension but it was pretty tight. It smelled like something was burning as well. I couldn't tell if the smell was coming from the area of the belt or the alternator (I think that's what it was, had a bunch of copper wires bound together). Anyways I'll check some more now that it's light outside, not raining, and I'm not running late for work.

Problem #2
Whenever I slow down, I can feel it best when slowing down after a high rate of speed, the car feels as if someone is pulling and pushing it. A better description would be it's like pumping the break lightly as I'm slowing down.

I just purchased the car about 600 miles ago (less than a month, it has 48k miles on it now) and supposedly the local Nissan Dealership here looked at it before we purchased and said that everything was fine on it. Any insight on the errors above would be a great help. Sorry this turned into such a long post.

 

The second problem you described sounds to me like you have a slightly warped rotor. You can have it turned, or shaved or whatever you want to call it, for around $30 for both front rotors. This should solve your problem, if what I am picturing based on your description, is, in fact, what your problem is. Thsi problem is fairly common, and nothing to be worried about. Brakes heating up and rapidly cooling (puddle) is usually to blame for this. Good luck and hope this helps.

Lee

 

1st problem - sounds like a failing alternator bearing, especially since you claim the noise comes from the belts area near the alternator....go get your alternator tested and replaced, if necessary

2nd problem - sounds like a warped rotor, as suggested in the post above

 

Thanks...I'll have the alternator checked as well as the rotors and have them replaced. Is it safe to drive anywhere with the alternator like that?

 

Sometimes a noisy alternator is just noise, and no harm. But usually, it's a sign of imminent failure (at which point the charge light will come on). So, I would get it checked out as soon as possible. It would suck to have your car stall in the middle of nowhere (or even in heavy traffic) because the alternator died.

 

Thanks man, I love learning new things, much appreciated.

 

Well, thanks again...last night I started car and it made the same noise, let it run for about 2 or 3 minutes and sure enough smoke started to come out of the alternator. I hurried and shut if off because the smoke really started coming out. So have someone coming to check it out. I'll have the rotors checked as well.