My car started to make an extremely loud and obnoxious noise at idle? I thought it was coming from the alternator and that the bearing were just shot. So i changed that and still the same noise, so i thought just maybe it was a defective one, so i got another one and still the same noise. I just dont have any ideas on what it could be. I thought then maybe a waterpump but, its been like this for a couple of months now and still i havent seen any coolant. And prob if would have leaked on my opti by now and the car wouldnt start so i dont think its the water pump. any ideas shoebox or someone else?

 

i forgot to add that i have a CAI but i HIGHLY doubt that it would be making this loud of a noise.

 

ttt

 

Mine has a little "jingling" sound at idle that it started in the last year or so. It hasn't changed much and I have not really tried to isolate it. Nothing has gone belly-up . You could try taking your serpentine belt off and idling it to see if the noise is still there. My noise is more pronounced when the car is at operating temp.

Maybe more description of your noise would help.

 

try taking the belt off and spinning each accessory individually (idler, p.s., a/c, etc.) and see if the are hard to turn/noisy. that is one way to find your problem.

 

thanks guys but i did all that already, i tested all the pulleys and took the sepertine belt off and started the car and it still made the noise, i also changed the belt too but it didnt help. It just sounds like its coming from the alternator area but it cant be since i replaced it. Its very loud when i just start the car up and when i am in neutral at like a drive through.

 

If it is only during the first three minutes or so when your car is started, it's the AIR pump. It will make a kind of steady, hollow sound until it shuts off. The noise is more noticeable when you have a CAI.

 

Shoebox is still makes the noise when you are driving it too, but it just seems the loudest when you first start the car. But it does seem like a loud hollowish noise. Any ideas still?

 

Unless your AIR pump is stuck on, it could be the bearings in the water pump. Hard to isolate that noise from the engine. You might try the long screwdriver to the ear method. It is kinda hard to diagnose a noise over the internet.

 

could it be a piston slap? yr saying it makes the noise at startup

 

no it makes the noise all the time, but its at its loudest when i start up the car.

 

I do know that a continuous chirping cricket kind of sound at idle is the idler pulley.

 

i took off the serpatine belt and spun it-no noise, is it still possible that it could be making the noise?

 

Anything is possible. It may have to be spinning faster to make the noise. I remember spinning mine when I was trying to find a noise and it didnt sound bad but when I replaced the pulley it turned out to be the culprit.

 

hey rocmemphis - what did you end up paying for the idler pulley?