I dropped my car off at a dealership two days ago. They haven't been able to figure out where the sound is coming from.

It sounds EXACTLY like a very loud cricket. It comes and goes.. will last a few seconds then disappear. Happens with A/C on and off. At idle and at speed.

Both the Sales Manager and Tech think it is coming from the engine.. they couldn't figure it out so now my car is just sitting there.. and they look at it 'when they have time'.

They said it sounds like it's coming from under the left side valve cover. This doesn't sound right to me.. i think it's A/C related. The car drives completely fine besides the noise.

Any ideas??

It first happened on Saturday sitting in a Jack-in-the-Box drive through filled with cars.. this was after driving around most of the day on a very hot Texas day. So A/C was on most of the day.

 

My Guess:

A Piston-to-Connecting Rod pin has shifted and is rubbing on the cylinder wall.

(Ask me how I know...)

 

my guess.......idler pulley

 

try running with the A/C belt off to eliminate the compressor/pulley.

 

Spray WD-40 on the idler pulley and belt tensioner and see if it goes away.

 

Did this mean a short block rebuild?

 

There is a TSB for the idler pulley making noise.

 

Yes, it did indeed.

Just a noisy pulley would be great!

 

sounds like a pulley bearing on its way out to me........

take off the belts and spin all the pulleys and see how they feel and sound when u spin them....should be quiet and smooth and not dry sounding...

 

What he said. Mine does the same thing. In my case it is the alternator pulley. I can tell it by pulling the belt and spinning the pulley when the engine is cold, but after it has warmed up and the sound has gone away, it won't do it. I've been too lazy to replace it.

 

take all the belts off and start it and see if it dissapears.
if its still there then its internal

 

Could be metal on metal contact somewhere. try running it without the valve cover and see if it gets louder or you can pinpoint it.

 

don't run the engine without the valve covers... unless you want an oil bath.

just grab a stethoscope and pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

 

pcv valve issue maybe? Had something similar a while ago

 

Oil won't really squirt over the heads at idle. I just did it on my car and was not messy at all.

 

mine does exactly what your talking about sometimes and a cricket sound is the perfect description. i could hear mine coming from on of the acesseries on the front of the motor that the belt would turn. i just let it be and it never happens at all anymore but maybe it will who knows.

 

Mine did the same thing. My mechanic buddy told me to turn the belt 180 and it fixed it. look for wear on the belt.

 

if it's not the idler, maybee the opti rotor rubbing cap...

 

After replacing the idler pulley and belts finally found the cause. It was the throw out bearing. Its fixed now.

 

Is it at the dealership because you have an extended warranty? If not I'd say bring it to a competent mechanic instead of the stealership...