Is the 2.4L engine naturally noisy. mine is annoyingly noisy and i am wondering if this is nature of the beast or is there some thing i can do about it.
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
Put an exhaust silencer on it.
KevinP (Stabby McShankyou) wrote:
and I'm NOT a pedo. everyone knows i've got a wheelchair fetish.
It's 1999 cavalier..? Can you be more detailed?...
"My engine makes noise when it runs"--pretty general statement IMO. Give us more detail so we can help.
not sure how much more detailed i can be actually. there is no discernable noise like a knock, ping, whine etc it just seems like the engine runs loud.
i actually have a post up for exhaust silencer but that is not going to do anything for noise under the hood.
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
Harrington (Fiber Faber) wrote:Put an exhaust silencer on it.
"You cannot make a poor man wealthy by making a wealthy man poor"
"The inmates are running the Asylum"
yes, the 2.4 is noisy. its been complained about by owners. its been noted by car reviewers back when the cavalier was in production. there's nothing you can do about the noise you hear from the engine bay really. there aren't a whole lot of place for sound dampening. nature of the beast.
bleco, he was as detailed as necessary for his question. he said its a 2.4, and its noisy. he wasn't asking you to identify a specific noise, he was just asking if they're all noisy.
GO PATS!!!
yup that about sums it up.
thanks
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
The Redneck wrote:yes, the 2.4 is noisy. its been complained about by owners. its been noted by car reviewers back when the cavalier was in production. there's nothing you can do about the noise you hear from the engine bay really. there aren't a whole lot of place for sound dampening. nature of the beast.
Can't say that I entirely agree. Mine (also a '99) isn't "noisy". When you say noisy, do you mean "mechanical" as in under the hood clatter or "exhaust" as in out the tailpipe. My engine doesn't make mechanical noise that I'd say is unusual, regardless of valve train type. And, it's not something I think anyone would notice enough to comment on specifically or complain about. (It's certainly not noticable enough to be considered "annoying".) I notice the exhaust noise under WOT, but it's well muffled too and nothing unusual.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:46 PM
in this specific thread noisy is totally under the hood. my exhaust does get loud around 2200rpm but i already know the deal with that.
what rpm should the '99 2.4 idle.
the engine sounds somewhat like an engine thats low on oil. no knocks or taps or anything just sounds like its always working overtime esp. under hard throttle.
now keep in mind i am the second owner and although they said they kept up on maintenance i never believe anyone that says that when selling a car. it was driven by the owners 2 younger sons (17 & 21) so it was probably driven hard. i have changed the oil (first thing i do when i buy a car) and there are no visible leaks, smoke, or wetness of any kind under the hood (first car i have ever owned that didnt leak SOMETHING lol)
i do nearly all of my work on my own (cant afford to pay someone else) unless it involves inner engine, tranny components, or body work so i am at least partially mechnical. i just want to try to figure this out before it causes problems i cant or wont fix. of all the cars i have owned this one is the youngest and the one i enjoy owning/driving the most and want it to last as long as possible.
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
Tim, since you don't have any noises that obviously stand out, if you're concerned there are a couple of things you can focus on. If your car has over 100k miles, it's time to start listening for common trouble areas especially if you suspect the treatment the car had at the hands of the previous owners. Try to use some listening device like a probe or length of pipe that you can aim at various areas of the engine (carefully). Try listening both when the engine is cold and at normal operating temperature.
1. On the left (passenger) side, focus on the timing chain housing and see if you can tell any difference or changes in the noise coming from it at various speeds from idle (about 800-900 rpm) to 2500 rpm or so. (My car has 105k and makes no significant timing chain noise.) Timing chain replacement is a significant undertaking, not for the faint of heart, and water pump replacement at the same time is advised since so much is already disassembled.
2. Also on the left, try to listen to the serpentine belt tensioner. The bearings on these go dry and become noisy. The other belt driven accessories (alternator and A/C compressor) can be listened to fairly easily. These are typical of noises that vary between hot and cold.
3. On the right side, listen to the power steering pump. These are camshaft driven and aren't overly troublesome, but they do wear out.
4. You mention in your car's profile that you have an aftermarket air filter. These are usually noisier than stock, but you can easily identify this.
5. Since your car is an automatic, you won't have clutch or throwout bearing noises, and most automatic noises vary by engine speed, vehicle speed or both. Once again easily noticed.
Based on your description, it sounds like you've effectively ruled out valve lifter and rod bearing noises, which should be easily separated from the general busy-ness that seems otherwise routine. Hopefully, nothing serious is lurking. Good luck - Mark
thank you very much for the in depth listing of what to listen to/for.
just a few questions and a bit more info for clarification
my car currently has a little over 106k
idles to 2k at startup and gradually levels off to 900ish within a minute or so
yes lifters, rods, bearings, valve seals and other relatively noticeable things i rule out before i even consider test driving a car. Much wisdom gained have i over the years padawan LOL
1. timing chain- am i looking for any particular noise i.e. rattling, whining, whirring or just general difference between idle and rev? basically should it sound the same throughout the 800-2500rpm range?
3. power steering- am i looking for sounds similar to those of the serp, alt, a/c?
i assume that if the bearings are drying up i should just replace versus trying to re-lube (if thats even possible)
The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
