Hey all,

I've got a 98 Z28 stock with a 100k miles. Its an A4. Ever since I bought the car, I have heard what to me sounds like a squeak or light rattle seemingly coming from under the hood. It is only present when the engine is under medium to high load. It will show up when you give 25%+ throttle from like 2500 rpm to 4500. It gets louder as engine load increases. You can hear it from inside the car if you have it in park and you rev the engine past 3k. The strange thing is, though, that I cannot hear it if I pop the hood and run the engine up. I just replaced the belts. I have heard people say that exhaust leaks (like from the AIR tube in the manifold) can cause a ticking sound when the engine is under load, could this be a cause? If anyone can give me some insight into this problem, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

Alex

 

^^ yes the exhaust can cause ticking, and what belt did u buy? try the gatorback belt or get a new tensioner, the tensioner recoil spring might be getting weak

 

That's what I thought originally, but I probably would have heard the squeaking of a belt or a tensioner when under the hood, wouldn't you think?

 

yes, but when u are free revving under the hood, the engine is not under load, so there is not much pressure onto the belts accessories