Tensioner pulley chatter/movement

[scruffy_]

Posted this on the other forum as it sometimes gets faster responses, guess people are more interest in hypnotism, the lottery and other such err... topics today.

I've noticed a noise at idle over the last couple of months which has got progressively more frequent, stuck me head under the bonnet yesterday again to try and find it and it sounds like it's coming from the left front side of the bay.

Closer inspection of the belt and I found the tensioner had quite a bit of movement in it and the chattering noise seemed to be coming from that area. Difficult to describe the sound, sounded kinda.. woody if that makes sense lol.

Is this play normal, if not would it explain the noise I'm hearing?

Ta in advance.

 

[hippy43]

scruffy, I think I've got possibly the same problem. Would you describe the sound as chirp and is it more noticeable when you come off the accelerator?
Anyway I'm booked in for a major service at Unit 8 next month, so I was just going to get them to have a look at it.

 

[Goose]

excuse my ignorance but is this an auto tensioner?

you get this probelm on a lot of cars that have an alternator with a clutch in the pulley, it goes faulty (normally seizes) and causes this problem, might be way off the mark but it's something to check for

 

[scruffy_]

scruffy, I think I've got possibly the same problem. Would you describe the sound as chirp and is it more noticeable when you come off the accelerator?
Anyway I'm booked in for a major service at Unit 8 next month, so I was just going to get them to have a look at it.

Sounds about right chap, noticeable between 2-3k mostly when coming off the throttle and sounds like a chirp which fades off as the revs drop. At idle is sounds (ok this'll sound odd) like a muted version of one of those wooden blocks you were given in school during music class that you would bash a beat out on. Sounds in time with the idle, and looks like it's doing it in time with the movement in the pulley.

excuse my ignorance but is this an auto tensioner?

you get this probelm on a lot of cars that have an alternator with a clutch in the pulley, it goes faulty (normally seizes) and causes this problem, might be way off the mark but it's something to check for

Yep, second one down as you look at the belt towards the back of the car. i.e as the belt comes back in on itself around the tensioner. I've heard of tensioners just disintegrating in the past once the belt is off, just fall to pieces. Think this might be the case!

I've ordered a new tensioner and belt from Honda, which was a little eye watering. Tensioner - £18, belt... sigh. £48. Un-frickin-believable but it's a price I'll pay if it stops that bloody noise on idle and rev drop!

 

[scruffy_]

Bit of a bump as I've started to get all sorts of weird (albeit probably just my paranoia) noises coming from the bay.

First one is as above, the chatter I get at idle that goes as the revs build up. Slightly wooden noise if anything.

Second one is the belt whine, which hopefully a new belt, tensioner and top pulley will take care of.

Thirdly, and most recent is the top end has got rather ticky. Worrying as valve clearances were done recently (4K ago) and weren't far off their tolerances.

The old girl is booked in for a check over next week, and I'll be driving it like I've got Miss Daisy in the back until then. :-(

 

[hippy43]

I too suffer from symptom one and two and would be interested in any responses.

Where's griffin.....

 

[CAM06]

hi im a newbie i also get this chattering noise only when its on idle and i also get a whineing noise but i thought the whineing noise was from the gears as its quite audioable its always there which an other ep3 owner told me was normal im not sure to be honest only had my ep3 for 3 weeks

 

[Evl]

whine is normal esp on 3rd and 4th. chatter is something else.

 

[CAM06]

ok thanks for letting me know about whineing noise i will have to look into the chattering noise a bit more