Hello all,
I’m hoping someone might have some advice for me… I know I have a loose serpentine belt that squeaks all the time but today my car started making a noise like a playing card in bicycle tire Spokes and I’m not quite sure what that could be I think it’s coming from the engine around the same area as the belt.
Any ideas? And thank you in advance!
Does the noise speed up with engine speed?
It could very well be coming from the belt, especially if it’s frayed. Or it could be coming from the engine itself.
I guess I’d check the oil to be safe and then change the belt (since you said it needs changing anyway). You might try running the engine in park with the serpentine belt off. If the noise isn’t there with the belt off, you’ll know the ticking sound was due to the worn belt, the belt tensioner, idler pulley, or one of the accessories that the belt drives.
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The noise seems to keep the same rythem at any speed but it does go way way down or stop when I stop at a light or sometimes when I turn.
I just added oil the other day so I don’t think its that?
If the noise is coming from the belt area (or the engine) the noise should speed up as engine speed increases. If you rev the engine in park, the noise should increase in speed, not necessarily increase in loudness.
So…I don’t know. I can’t think of anything around the belt area that could make a sound that wouldn’t increase in frequency as engine speed increases… I’m kinda stumped already.
It could be the automatic belt tensioner. They’ve occasionally been known to make knocking noises
A bad belt often makes a chirping noise, or squealing noise, it it’s got insufficient tension
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When the car is in motion? wheel bearing would be my first guess.
This is the sound of a bad wheel bearing(helicopter type noise)
A bad tire can cause that sort of noise. You’d notice it when the car was in motion, but not when the car was at a stop light. At higher speeds the sound could get masked by the highway noise, so you wouldn’t notice it much then. Look for weird wear patterns on one of your tires. It might be a tire belt separation too, which is harder to spot visually.