This week I drove when I drove my brother's car, I heard a weird noise straight after start up and it stayed there until i shut it off. It was a sort of a weird howling noise, and as the rpms increased, the noise followed same suit. Its a 98 Z-24 Automatic with about 160 000Km.
I dunno what the problem is but if i had to guess, i would think it has something to do with the belt. I dont think it has been changed for at least 4 years and it looks shiny/glazed. Maybe the belts starting to slip or something. And i duno if these means anything either but when i turned on the defroster yesturday, the headlights dimmed down a bit, maybe im just paranoid.
We haven't had anything wrong with it since we got it a while back. Tune Up done at a 100, coolant and tranny fluid flushed last june, and regular oil change and maintenance was done.
Please help me out guys, thanks for any input.
2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd
well dont worry bout the headlights dimming, that happens to most J's. mine does it all the time. as for the problem i have no idea. but it has nothing to do with the headlights dimming.
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ya, i have no idea either. Im probably gonna take it to the shop i work at on sat and see what they say. Hopefully its not a big job or anything serious. Maybe ill be able to do it mayself if its not that difficult, i have a good amount of tools and im learning a @!#$ load at school.
if anyone has any idea of whats going on with my brothers car, feel free to speak ur mind. any help will be appreciated.
2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd
was it when speed increases or just rpms?
the sound is always there sappy. Rite when i start up the car. And then as speed/rpm increase, u can hear follow the sound of the engine reving up. So i guess its more as rpm increase. The sound seems to be coming in the engine compartment near the rad, i.e more common this i can guess whats wrong with it is one of the pulllies are going. the belt is pretty old so that will have to be changed to.
If you guys know another possibility of what it is, let me know. I think im gonna take it to work to ask the mechanics what the problem is for sure. Either way, please respond if there is a way of know what it is for sure and how much it will cost
2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd
try changing the belt first. no reason to pay diag if it is the belt. you even said it needs to be changed. so change it and see if the noise goes away
I read that you said the whine goes up as the rpms increae. But does the whine increase at idle if you turn on more accesories at the same time? example: headlights, rear defroster, fan, radio. If the whine increase with more accesories on then you may have an alternator problem. Any shop can hook up the proper test equipment and test to see it is work properly. There are bearings in the alternator that can also go bad too which would also mean the whole alternator needs replaced. Good luck and post back when you got some news.
Hey guys, I got a question,
Is the water pump belt driven along with the a/c compressor and alternator or is it driven by something else. Im at school looking on MITCHELL on Demand at a picture of the belt routing of a 2.4 Z24 and it does not show a water pump pully.
What is the waterpump driven by? Just wondering cus i thought maybe the bearing noise was probably from the waterpump since jbodies are know for their waterpumps going out.
And Nustyle, i tried turning on all the accessories like u told me, but i didnt notice the noise getting any louder. Thanks for the advice tho. Im taking the car to a shop i know on saturday for sure. Hopefully its just the tensioner pully bearing going out or something.
Thanks for the help guys, i really appreciate it. I let u guys know what it is on saturday.
2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd
i had thesame noise coming from my 2000 cav it turned out to be the idler pulley the bearing was shot i think it was like 57$ and i did it myself in about 45 min minus the 10 it took to figure out how the belt was ran lol you dont realize how tricky that thing is till you get excited and mad and forget how it was routed
"dude, thats a girls car"
NOT ANY MORE!!! PSHHHTTT!!!!
The water pump is drivin' off of the timing chain.
let me know how you make out because I have the same noise but it comes and goes so I never have enough time to see if it's coming from the alternator or the tensioner. If it does end up being the tensioner that would work out great because it's easy and I am about due for a new belt.
MUFF wrote:i had thesame noise coming from my 2000 cav it turned out to be the idler pulley the bearing was shot i think it was like 57$ and i did it myself in about 45 min minus the 10 it took to figure out how the belt was ran lol you dont realize how tricky that thing is till you get excited and mad and forget how it was routed
Did you have to buy one of those serpentine belt tools to get down on the tensioner?
well guys, i took the car to the shop yesturday and guess what, i didnt make the noise when i shold it to the mechanics. Like friggen usual. Im like 90% positive the noise is coming from the tensioner. They said my alternator is given alright power but it will go out soon in the future. My brothers car has 150000km so i guess the alternator has done its job.
the mechanics said to live with the noise and that is shouldn't be a problem. They said if i hear the noise again to bring it back and make them look at it if the noise is bothering me. I think i should fix this problem soon tho, cus i dont want the tension to be screwed up and something else going bad because of that. Besides, my belt is at least 4 years old and it should be replaced soon
2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd
I think I know what you're talking about. I don't know if a lot of 3rd gen's realize it, b/c it doesn't seem that noticeable, especially if you drive newer cars. Whereas my 92 had that growl to it, my 2.4 has a higher pitched noise to it when it operates. The Sebring at my house is the same way, so I'm pretty sure its just the way some newer engines sound. After driving the 2.4 for a few days I don't even notice it anymore. I'd not worry about it.
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1997 Cavalier Z24
1992 Cavalier Z24 - *RIP*
"I consistently feel like something's missing out of the new cavvy. I'm pretty sure its 2 cylinders."
