Just yesterday I started my car up and it started fine and ran fine but as soon as I turned out of the parking lot I started to hear a noise. Listening to the engine, there is a screeching/rattling noise that sounds like it’s coming from in or around the engine. At some times it sounds like a belt squeeling and others it just sounds like a rattling noise. It gets louder the higher you rev the engine and it fluctuates in loudness. The car runs and drives fine and the oil pressure is okay and the oil level is full. Any suggestions or is my engine screwed and it’s only a matter of time? Thanks.
A Pontiac Fiero? Really?
This car has to be at least 22 years old, so the possibilities are almost endless.
It could be just a loose belt, but the fluctuating and rattling nature of the noise makes me doubt that it is a belt problem. The 4-cylinder engine (you didn’t tell us which engine yours is equipped with) has a history of sending a connecting rod through the side of the engine block, but I suppose that if this was going to happen to yours, it would have taken place before 22 (+?) years had elapsed.
All I can say that if you want to keeping it running for a bit longer, you need to have it towed to a mechanic for evaluation.
Haha, yeah, I guess I should have given you guys a little bit more about the car. It’s a 1985 Pontiac Fiero 2.8L V6. Since this just started yesterday I haven’t really played with the engine a whole lot. But I was outside a little bit ago and listening to the sound and it actually does not change with rpm. The pitch changes a little when you turn the lights on, so I’m thinking it could be something with the alternator belt or the alternator itself. I don’t think it’s something with the connecting rod or the bearings because the engine has been well cared for with oil changes every 3000 miles and the engine itself only has 133,000 miles on it, so if it was going to be something like that it would have probably happened before the car turned 25. Thanks for the reply.
The bearings in the alternator could be on their way out.
Or, the bearings in one of the pulleys or the belt tensioner could be going dry.
Or…