I have a Mazda 02 Protege 5 Manual Transmission. A squeaching noise is coming while I am driving. Noise does not come when I press clutch or change the gear to neutral (even at a high speed).
The noise is not consistent. It doesn’t come when the engine is cold. Some times it may not come when I pick the car after a stop. However, I have heard the noise on on all the five gears. My car has about 110,000 (mostly freeway)miles. Will it hurt If I keep driving? Any idea about the repair estimates. Thanks
Could be the belt tensioning pully wearing out not enough tension allowing the belt to slip?
ASE ? I PRESUME. see a certified mech sooooooon cookie yet?
squeeching noise how bout screaching noise? cookie yet?
Do you mean the fan belt pulley?
How the noise would stop in the neutral gear?
what is ASE?
at this age of car, the tensioner is usually the suspect.
there are other possible causes, but the tensioner is the first to go.
are you looking to do this yourself, or take it to a shop?
Do you notice if it makes noise more when it’s wet outside? If so, that would almost certainly point to the serpentine belt. Actually, that would be my bet anyway. The belt could be wearing out, or as shadetree suggested, the tensioner could be wearing out. However, my thought is the belt is the culprit. You can get a new belt for a few dollars, and labour shouldn’t be too much, certainly under $100.
But, you can test this first: Go outside, and look at the belt. Is it frayed anywhere? Are there shiny spots on it? Is it badly cracked (some small surface cracks are normal)? Push on the belt between two pulleys. If it moves down more than about 1/2 inch, then the belt is too loose, which means either the belt is worn out, the tensioner is worn out, or another pulley has moved slightly.
Also, just another thought - it could be that a pulley isn’t turning all the time. When the pulley seizes, even for a short time, the belt will make quite a racket. So maybe, when the noise is coming, take a look under the hood and see if all the pulleys are moving.
I am planning to take it a shop, as I had little knowledge of these.
However, about 20,000 miles ago I have got the timing belt, tensioner and fan belts changed. So I am not sure if this is the culprit.
Since the noise stops when the car is in neutral. It is hard for me to check under the hood.
A friend of mine suggested that it could be throwout bearing. Do you this is not the case ?
I suspect that changing belt is cheaper than changing throwout bearing. Am I right?
THAT was important info!
with a new tensioner and belt that sort of takes that out of the equation.
the clutch/ adjustment could be in need of adjustment.
sounds like a trip to your local mechanic is in order.
Seeing as you relatively recently changed the fan belt and tensioner, I can’t see that as being a problem, since a belt likely wouldn’t fail in such a relatively short time period. I’m not sure the cost to replace the throwout bearing, but I suspect that cappy208’s suggestion of a clutch problem isn’t wrong. I’d take it your local mechanic. Make sure to mention to the mechanic that you replaced the fan belt and tensioner, because I’ll bet that’s the first thing he’ll consider, as we all did.
one other thing. some cars have not just a tensioner, but a separate idler pulley. this may have been ignored when the other changes were made. check your receipt does it list a tensioner and an idler pulley? ask the mech.
also it is possible (since we are not all perfect) that a tensioner bolt was not tightened correctly and has become loose.