Danbob Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Okay so I recently developed the "cricket in the engine" sound which I believe from experience and from reading this forum, is the idler pulley. It gets louder and faster when I accelerate or when I hit the gas to rev in neutral. Almost barely audible when I come to a stop.....now my question is...do I have to fix this immediately, or can my car sound like a cricket for a couple of weeks without doing anymore harm? anyone know how much this little bastard costs? PS - if I am wayy off as to what this sound might be, please feel free to tell me what it really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 A mechanics stethescope would work wonders to pinpoint the noise; when I was trying to find a noise I couldn't tell where it was coming from other than 'the engine compartment', but with the stethescope it was simple to pinpoint the exact source without guessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Okay so I recently developed the "cricket in the engine" sound which I believe from experience and from reading this forum, is the idler pulley. It gets louder and faster when I accelerate or when I hit the gas to rev in neutral. Almost barely audible when I come to a stop.....now my question is...do I have to fix this immediately, or can my car sound like a cricket for a couple of weeks without doing anymore harm? anyone know how much this little bastard costs? PS - if I am wayy off as to what this sound might be, please feel free to tell me what it really is. If it is the idler pulley you are borrowed time, and I wouldn't drive it until fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Okay so I recently developed the "cricket in the engine" sound which I believe from experience and from reading this forum, is the idler pulley. It gets louder and faster when I accelerate or when I hit the gas to rev in neutral. Almost barely audible when I come to a stop.....now my question is...do I have to fix this immediately, or can my car sound like a cricket for a couple of weeks without doing anymore harm? anyone know how much this little bastard costs? PS - if I am wayy off as to what this sound might be, please feel free to tell me what it really is. Could just be the accessory belts ,external idler pulley for the A/C, A/C compressor clutch bearings, etc. Remove the alternator & A/C belts, run the car- if the noise is gone, then at least you know you don't have to worry about a timing belt idler wiping out & taking your valvetrain with it... EDIT: Is the car in question the '95 legacy?, If so, don't sweat it as much- it's a non interference engine & if the timing belt idler lunches itself, you'll be walking, but your engine won't get damaged. Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Could just be the accessory belts ,external idler pulley for the A/C, A/C compressor clutch bearings, etc. Remove the alternator & A/C belts, run the car- if the noise is gone, then at least you know you don't have to worry about a timing belt idler wiping out & taking your valvetrain with it... EDIT: Is the car in question the '95 legacy?, If so, don't sweat it as much- it's a non interference engine & if the timing belt idler lunches itself, you'll be walking, but your engine won't get damaged. Nathan It is my 95 legacy....thats good to know. It sounds external to me so I am not too worried about the internal stuff. The timing belt was just replaced last week so I don't think it's anything internal. If it was, my mechanic would have told me I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 make sure it's not the drive belt/serpentine belt. with a newly installed t-belt maybe the sepentine belt just needs retightened, they often stretch after a removal and/or install. it has to be removed to do the timing belt. i'd like to know which pulley is making the noise. if it wasn't making the noise before, then you're mechanic probably wouldn't have noticed it. i've seen a few subaru's with seized pulleys. they make noise first...then eventually seize so the belt slides over them (so long as it's not the sprocketed timing belt pulley). i had a seized pulley and drove 1,500 miles between MD and GA before getting it fixed. the belt was sliding over the seized pulley. i don't recommend it, but that was my experience. it was do that or pay hundreds of dollars to the dealer for a new one. i took my chances and won (that time!) sometimes a simple dowel rod placed on each pulley and held to your ear can narrow down which one it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Good call Gary... I will let you guys know when we check it out. - thanks for your help everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 I replaced timing belt with all the rollers, water pump, and tensioner at just over 80000 miles and since then, have been hearing a faint, intermittent high-frequency sound at idle speed, which wasn't there before. It's been there for 1500 miles and doesn't really worry me: maybe it's the new belt riding on old sprockets, or some such. Maybe it'll go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Do not rule out a squeaky water pump bearing. If the pump is making this noise, then the next course of events will include a bearing failure. This can result in a dead waterpump and overheating - this condition caused by head gasket to blow. I really do hope all that squeaking is is idlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 It was a bad A/C compressor...evidently the junkyard one that was used as a replacement before I bought the car was crap too....oh well...took the belt off and I will just wait until the spring to replace it since I don't need a/c now...car feels like it gained some HP though which is nice, and the damn squeaking stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 awesome. sometimes just the bearing is replaceable behind the a/c compressor pulley i believe. i've read about it on here before. i think if you do that you don't have to worry about replacing the compressor, discharging and recharging as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringe Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I changed the timing belt on my 94 leg at 130k miles and about 5k miles afterward experienced a loud screeching from the engine at every engine speed. I discovered later when my front main seal was leaking that one of the bolts holding the hydraulic tensioner piston onto the front of the block had backed all the way out and had scored a gouge in the cam pulley on the left side and gouged the belt as well...still running the belt and pulley, lol. Probably will replace them at 200k when I do timing belt again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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