mattd860

I did my T-Belt job about a month ago. My car is running fine and I am still experiencing 3.5 extra mpg due to my O2 sensors that I changed BEFORE the T-belt job. However, the motor sounds like crap! It doesn't really whine anymore (like I posted about a while ago) but it just sounds like its running rough - even though my idle consistently floats between 600-700 rpms. I wish I could describe the noise better but I can't - it seems like it‼sup>TM</sup>s a grumbling/grinding sound buts it's not too loud. You really can't hear it until the hood is raised although I hear it all the time because its my car . I had a friend hear it yesterday and he thinks it may be out of timing by a hair. He also admitted that it does sound too rough for a smoothly tuned engine. The sound comes from the front of the motor but from no specific bank.

My friend suggested checking it with a timing gun. Is this possible with our cars? Is there any other way to check for timing w/o pulling everything apart and counting the teeth? Can I be experiencing good mpg and a rather smooth Idle if timing was off by one tooth? Any other suggestions?

I live in central CT • Is there anybody here that lives within 1.5 hours from me because I‼sup>TM</sup>d like to have one of you guys listen to it and tell me if it‼sup>TM</sup>s a problem or normal. Thanks.

mattd860

wow - I stumped the forum =P

moribundman

The power steering pully/shaft bearing was noisy. I quieted it down considerably by squirting a few drops of MMO on the shaft where it went into the bearing -- with the engine running. It's been much quieter the past 6k miles or so. I brought this noise up years ago with my mechanic, but like many mechanics he was (literally) hard of hearing and thought it was some internal engine noise. I suggest you make sure you don't have a noisy bearing like that, be it at the P/S or an idler roller. Ideally, all noisy bearings should be replaced. We know what happens when the TB skips a coupe, teeth or when it breaks.

I can't comment on whether or not a timing light works on our engines. My old Scirocco had an opening for checking with a strobe.

You say the idle fluctuates. So does mine. With the hot engine it varies between 640 and 700.

Maybe it's time to get out a long screwdriver and use it as a stethoscope on various engine parts. Make sure it doesn't get snagged by moving parts... ;-)

mattd860

Thanks Mori

dragon-ryder

I did on my acc. belt idler pulley, and 1 month later, i was driving home from work and i hear this pop from under the hood. I pulled it over to find out that the bearing somehow jumped off it's hub and the pulley was sitting on the lower coolant pipes. When that pulley went, the car looses power steering without warning and i almost lost control of the car for a moment. So if i had to deal with that all over again, i'd suggest just replacing the pulley asap instead of tempting fate. Just my 2 cents