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[jonny2112]

Got home from work today and did an oil and filter change on the Meega. Also gave a good squirt of WD40 round the wishbone and idler bolts in preparation! Also gave a bit of a wipe round where the oil from the rockers is leaking.
Took the car for a drive there and its making a strange whirring type noise. My initial thoughts are that it is something to do with one of the belts, it's that type of noise. I'll be gutted if there is something amiss, although I had already decided to do the cambelt shortly anyway. Wont be too bad I suppose if thats the problem, it will just force my hand.  
Not much info I know, but has anyone any thoughts? Anything I could have done/dislodged to create problems? Anything obvious I should be checking or ruling out by elimination?
As always any help or advice gratefully received!
Cheers  

[Chopsdad]

WD may have sprayed onto the belt causing it to slip a little?

[jonny2112]

I dont see anything unusual, not that I know what I'm looking at half the time! There is a bit of a funny smell under the bonnet and I also thought that it might have been WD and maybe I did spray it somewhere I shouldn't have. i wonder is there any point in me trying to wipe what I can of the belt to try and clean it just in case.
Will it be safe to drive do you think if the belt's slipping? I need to get to work tomorrow, about 60 miles round trip, and I'll get it looked at on Monday morning.

[jonny2112]

Had another look - noise much worse. Hard to describe - not a clanking sound but definately not good. I think the smell is actually the heat reacting with the stuff I cleaned the slam panel and relay cover with!
I'm not going to drive it.
If the crankshaft sensor or something had been dislodged, would it make a strange noise, or would something like that actually prevent it from starting? Engine runs, but sounds very unhealthy  

[Markie]

time for some inspections tomorrow before driving - pop the cam cover off make sure all is well for starters then report back  

[jonny2112]

Cheers Markie, starting to worry now. I can see my holiday slipping away..................... :-/
NO. Be positive!! I take it you mean the cambelt cover? You're thinking the belts gone? I'm wondering is it one of the tensioners, but that's because I've read it on here that they go thereby causing the belt to fail etc. The belt was replaced at just under 40k but I can only presume that the tensioners were done then too, as it was by Vx.

[Markie]

Cheers Markie, starting to worry now. I can see my holiday slipping away..................... :-/
NO. Be positive!! I take it you mean the cambelt cover? You're thinking the belts gone? I'm wondering is it one of the tensioners, but that's because I've read it on here that they go thereby causing the belt to fail etc. The belt was replaced at just under 40k but I can only presume that the tensioners were done then too, as it was by Vx.

No be positive !! just pop the cambelt cover off to have a look see all is okay at this stage!

when was it last done?

Also burning smell - like oil .....? re check your steps and make sure everything you did was 100%  

But i would check the cambelt tensioner / belt still in place before using again ( or diagosing the issue)

[jonny2112]

Yes I'll start to strip it down tomorrow afternoon and see how I get on. I'm glad I have the dvd too, as no doubt it will an invaluable reference. The belt was done at 39k iirc and there is now 72k on the clock.
I'm not sure about the smell but will indeed retrace my steps in daylight. Strange that it only started after the oil change, but I guess if theres a problem it can start anytime.
I used autoglym bumper care on the slam panel rather than the usual vinyl care, and I think that is causing the smell, with the heat of the engine bay, but I'll check further.
Cheers pal

[Admin]

First things first.

Turn off air con when running. Is noise still there?

If so, now try this. Remove the aux belt.
15mm socket, short externsion and long handled drive for leverage.
Release tension by levering clockwise. Be very careful when releasing belt!

With belt released and clear briefly run engine (no water pump running so don't run for long).

If noise is no logner there you know it is either aux belt tensioner, alternator, water pump or PAS pump.

If noise is still there, turn engine off quickly and prepare to change cambelt kit...

[jonny2112]

First things first.

Turn off air con when running. Is noise still there?

If so, now try this. Remove the aux belt.
15mm socket, short externsion and long handled drive for leverage.
Release tension by levering clockwise. Be very careful when releasing belt!

With belt released and clear briefly run engine (no water pump running so don't run for long).

If noise is no logner there you know it is either aux belt tensioner, alternator, water pump or PAS pump.

If noise is still there, turn engine off quickly and prepare to change cambelt kit...

Cheers for that. I'm having a sneaky break at work (some things are more important!!) and taking a quick look at the dvd. So I'll go as far as removing the aux belt, without loosening the pulley bolts, but by releasing the tension and levering the belt off?
I wasn't sure that I could run the engine at all at this stage of removal so thanks a lot. As you say it will allow for a greater process of elimination.

[jonny2112]

Sorry I should have asked if the aux belt can be removed without first removing the trumpets and multiram, or will it be okay to run the car briefly with these already removed?

[TheBoy]

Sorry I should have asked if the aux belt can be removed without first removing the trumpets and multiram, or will it be okay to run the car briefly with these already removed?

It probably won't run well without trumpets, as the ECU wouldn't be able to tell how much air is being used (MAF on airbox).

[jonny2112]

Thanks TB. I'll have a look and see if I can get the belt off without interfering with anything else, although if I cant then I suppose I will have to just run it briefly without them.

[TheBoy]

Thanks TB. I'll have a look and see if I can get the belt off without interfering with anything else, although if I cant then I suppose I will have to just run it briefly without them.

Easy enough to quickly bodge back in to run it

[jonny2112]

Well unfortunately the removal of the aux belt did not reveal the cause of the problem, so I stripped it down as far as the cambelt. As far as it goes I'm very pleased with my efforts, but the credit has to go to those of you who made the dvd.
Anyway, I do not see anything untoward around the belt, other than there is some slack in it. Surely there should not be any slack?