Chirping.

SC Spyder

SC Spyder

Registered User
My 93 SC engine has developed a chirping sound and I am unable to pin point it's origion. It started about two days ago and lasted only until the motor heated up. The second time it happened (the next time I drove the Spyder) it lasted a little longer but again, disappeared after the motor warmed up. I've used a Stethoscope to try to locate the source and all I can determine is it is somewhere around the front of the engine. I focused on the idler pully bearings but I don't believe it is them.

Has anyone had similar experiance?
 
My 90 sc had a chirping sound and I thought it was the ps pump but when I replaced it I still had the same problem drove it hard down the road and boom went a rod though the side of the block , it was the main bearing chirping :( good car had to let it go. I’m just glad to have another one.

Jerry
 
wouldn't hurt to check the oil level, if its dirty an oil change may help.

anyway it wouldn't hurt
 
try turning on the ac while its chirping if it goes away with the ac on shut it off and see if it comes back.
 
Belts tend to chirp, also. With it running, run a crayon over the belt to cover the surface, on both sides. Just be careful not to get your fingers in it. If the noise stops, you found your problem.
 
All the belts are brand new, idlers are billet with new springs, water pump is new too.

ftuner - yes, the chirping seems to change as the RPM. Not louder and nothing like a belt slipping. This is my first serpentine belt motor.


Jimmyman - I have deleted the AC and Power steering.

decipha - Oil is full and clean. The motor only has less than 500 miles on it since rebuild.

Cherry93SC - Other than the chirping, which incidental is not rhythmic, the motor does not make any other non proper noises.

If you follow the link (in my signiture) to the photo album, you will see the belt setup.
Thank you.
 
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Chirping..

OK, I listened using a stethoscope and still can not pinpoint the source of the chirping. It is definitely coming from the front of the motor and seems to be coming from down low near the crank timing chain area but I can't be sure.

I wiped the smooth side of the belts, just in case it had become slippery and that didn't seem to have any effect. I did find minor amount black stuff on the belts.

It still subsides at idle once things heat up but is there under load. The more gas I give it, the louder it gets. Back off of the gas and it goes away. Kind of like a belt slipping but I've never heard a flat belt squeal so I'm not sure.

The motor starts up easily, idles smoothly and runs nice and strong.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Tks.
 
I didn't get a look at the belt due to work computers but I would try to get a bar of soap and hold it to both sides of the belt while the car is running. The same as the crayon idea. This should tell you if it is a belt. Def be careful of your fingers and the fan.
 
SC Spyder said:
OK, I listened using a stethoscope and still can not pinpoint the source of the chirping. It is definitely coming from the front of the motor and seems to be coming from down low near the crank timing chain area but I can't be sure.

I wiped the smooth side of the belts, just in case it had become slippery and that didn't seem to have any effect. I did find minor amount black stuff on the belts.

It still subsides at idle once things heat up but is there under load. The more gas I give it, the louder it gets. Back off of the gas and it goes away. Kind of like a belt slipping but I've never heard a flat belt squeal so I'm not sure.

The motor starts up easily, idles smoothly and runs nice and strong.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Tks.
Click to expand...
My under drive pulley set squeak on my 95. If I spray break cleaner on the belts it goes away for a short time. Must be the nature of the pulley set or they're slightly off center. It's hard for me to tell.

Step one: Remove all the belts and see if it's still chirping. If it stops, put one on at a time until you find your problem. You may have some substance on one belt or maybe one that's getting hard. Really could be any one of the spinning parts that the belts touch.

Step two: Still chirping, Leave the belts off and listen closely to the rocker covers. It may be a rocker.

Step three: Check your balancer for wobble.
 
This may seem amusing, but I did have a quiet chirping sound but it never went away once things heated up. It was the plastic cover over the harmonic balancer that was rubbing against the aluminum crank pulley I installed.

Wouldn't take much to check it.

Frit
 
Chirping, either the bird died or it was the belt.

OK, I looked & listened underneath and couldn't see or hear anything that was making the noise. It still seemed to emanate from the front of the motor. I cleaned both sides of all the belts and applied a little soap, non deodorant of course. Over a few days, the noise seems to have disappeared so, I can only assume it was the belt/pulley interaction.

So, next time it rains the chirp could come back or I could have lots of bubbles.

Thank you all.
 
Bird's not dead yet

So I had an opportunity to remove and clean the belts and it seems to be the SC, the belt or the idler.

Even though I can't pin point it yet, I am leaning toward the idler bearing.

Has anyone ever had a SC snout bearing chirp?

I need to check the oil level today.
 
While running, spray both sides of the blower belt with silicone spray or even a little brake cleaner. If the noise temporarily goes away, that will tell you if its belt noise.

Otherwise, I would switch the tensioner pulley with the jackshaft tensioner pulley and see if that one now makes noise, while still leaving the blower belt off.

If that doesn't duplicate your noise, you probably have a problem with the blower.

I had a squeeking coming from the blower belt, it would go away for a few days if I sprayed silicone spray or belt dressing on it. After my blower went bad(which was a different problem), I switched blowers and switched the pulley system completely and no longer have belt noise at all. That belt dressing stuff splatters all over the place.

Chris
 
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SC Spyder said:
So I had an opportunity to remove and clean the belts and it seems to be the SC, the belt or the idler.

Even though I can't pin point it yet, I am leaning toward the idler bearing.

Has anyone ever had a SC snout bearing chirp?

I need to check the oil level today.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's possible. Is it leaking fluid? You might be able to swap the idler pulley with another. eBay sells bearing and seal kits for the SC.
 
Found it, it's an idler bearing.

Well, I know it's been awhile but after numerous tries, I found the chirping source.

Using a wrench that fits the idler bearing bolt and with the engine running (BE CAREFUL ! ) I applied and reduced tension on the drive belt. As I unloaded the tension, the chirping went away and when I increased the tension, the noise came back.

The offending idler happened to be the crank to jack shaft belt idler.

Thanks for all the tips....
 
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