New engine woes?

Well, I guess it's been about a year since I had any issues, so let the good times reset and begin again. *sigh*

I noticed Saturday evening my VX was making a noise that I am not at all happy with. Sounds fine idling but once under load/throttle, it sounds like marbles or metal shavings being chucked around in a blender. It performs fine and all fluids proper. I drained the oil to check for contaminants like metal ugliness, but it was quite fine.

Considering I am S/C'd, I am pondering the possibility of bad bearings in the tensioner. There is a little play in it by wiggling by hand and it has a sort of knocking sound to it just by doing so. Under load, I can see where that dance around a bit. Anyone with a S/C, do you happen to know of a direct replacement or how to repack the existing one?

I wanna start going through the checklist of things before I start considering engine internals. It is my hope that it is NOT the engine or S/C bearings, so you can imagine my frustration at this point. I am putting it in the shop in a few weeks anyways to have my wheels rebalanced, alignment, full fluid changeout, and my new shocks put on, so if it comes down to it, I'll have them hunt over it with a fine tooth comb if I can't resolve it.

The bearings should have a brand-name along with a part number molded into the rubber shielding or laser-etched into the race or metal shielding if so equipped. Napa or Carquest or the parts store of your choosing should be able to cross-reference that number and supply you with a suitable replacement, or at least point you in the right direction. Good luck, hope you pinpoint the problem soon and affordably!

Mine made a similar sound, would have called it a diesel engine noise. The pulley on the nose of the super charger was loose. Took tightened it and the noise went away. Have another 70k on it and it hasn't loosened up. Hope that yours is that simple also.

Dan

could be just the CAT

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Originally Posted by VXjunky

could be just the CAT

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That Kat is always causing trouble around here! :winky::laughing:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...3&postcount=13

Found here:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...=s%2Fc+bearing

Using this...:rotate:

Also, check your muffler (bang on it a few times from under there).

I just found mine to have loose parts inside, & it makes an embarrassingly LOUD clangy rattle @ 2000-2200 rpm...:mbrasd:

Also, also...you can repack the bearing by pulling the seal out of it with a dental pick.

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Originally Posted by Triathlete

That Kat is always causing trouble around here! :winky::laughing:

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I'm innocent I tell ya, innocent!

Anyone ever replaced the coupler in the S/C? Figure if I decide to crack into it, might just go ahead and do some full housekeeping. Undecided right now.

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Originally Posted by Triathlete

That Kat is always causing trouble around here! :winky::laughing:

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LOLOLOL :yesb:

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Originally Posted by WormGod

Anyone ever replaced the coupler in the S/C? Figure if I decide to crack into it, might just go ahead and do some full housekeeping. Undecided right now.

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These might help...:_wrench:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...=s%2Fc+coupler

http://www.thehighspeedlab.com/catalogsc003.html

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...MKVW5Lzio9VZBQ

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...7jY9MUxkgzTbCw

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...BZ_x_s5ta_PWCw

If it turns out to be the serpentine belt tensioner or idler, I have both sitting on a shelf in my garage. The aftermarket tensioner was a week old when I took it off and replace with OEM. The idler is the original, undamaged and quiet.

Ya, seen all those Dub, especially the youtube vid that shows just how damned easy it SHOULD be. My only concern is, since our nose cone is apparently "alien", I wonder just how many of the internals are similar and what parts, if any, are compatible. I REALLY hate to box it up and ship it off if it is something I can do in a couple hours on my own. Let my old ASE cert go to waste. :p

The ZZPerformance option looks valid, and affordable enough in case it's a bomb. Seriously just considering tearing it down and seeing "what makes her tick".

Sure its not the supercharger belt tension pulley bearing? Even though they are supposed to be self-lubricated bearings...I got grease in there anyways since my original one failed over time. I was able to get one locally and have a spare. Obviously, you could remove your supercharger belt and start her up to help diagnose your problem by eliminating the SC and all related components from the equation..if you still hear the sound its something else. Hope this helps.

Jolly, ya, I totally suspect the S/C tensioner pulley (probably could have been worded better in the OP) since it has some play and ticks around by hand if I wiggle it under tension. I was just pondering the idea of rebuilding the S/C sometime this fall/winter anyways since I can keep in in the garage for a while.

You said you have a spare.... do you recall where you got them? I am thinking having a few on hand isn't a bad idea.

Forgot to add this unrelated bit, but, when I had drained down my oil to check for contaminants, it was a quart low. First time EVER my VX has burned through oil between changes. Guess I am now part of that gang too. 56k miles and showing her age, heh. :p

Hmmmm...low oil=bad juju!:mady: Hope everything checks out A-OK!!

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Originally Posted by WormGod

Jolly, ya, I totally suspect the S/C tensioner pulley (probably could have been worded better in the OP) since it has some play and ticks around by hand if I wiggle it under tension. I was just pondering the idea of rebuilding the S/C sometime this fall/winter anyways since I can keep in in the garage for a while.

You said you have a spare.... do you recall where you got them? I am thinking having a few on hand isn't a bad idea.

Forgot to add this unrelated bit, but, when I had drained down my oil to check for contaminants, it was a quart low. First time EVER my VX has burned through oil between changes. Guess I am now part of that gang too. 56k miles and showing her age, heh. :p

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http://www.eriebearings.com/

I personally bought mine @ the Meadville (PA) location:
http://www.eriebearings.com/contact-us/locations/

Brand/Part # of bearing listed here on VX site:
NSK 6301C3, the C3 means high speed

Brand/Part # of bearing sold to me @ Erie Bearing:
SNR 6301.ZZ.J30

Here it is on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SNR-6301-ZZJ...-/250451404004

p.s.--- mine has been drinking more oil as of late but has 139,960 miles and the engine still sounds very quiet when driving except for the SC rattling @ idle (which is normal since new).

:bump:

That's because lust has 20/20 vision

Cool beans. Good looking out. I will probably order this week and hopefully when they are in, I will be over this disgusting chest cold that crept up on me. :(

Thanks again Jolly. Ordered a couple sealed bearing assemblies for CHEAP and hope to tackle that this weekend.

Really throwing all my eggs in one basket and hoping this is the issue. I simply don't have the time rip into her much with crunchtime at work and all. 11/11/11 is approaching WAY TO FAST. :(

*sigh*

The good news. Changed out the bearing pack in the S/C tensioner. The stock one was pretty rough. had a lot of wiggle in it. The new pack is good and tight and good to go.

The bad news. Drove her around a bit without the S/C belt to listen to the engine. The original noise was NOT the bearing pack. Sounds like it's probably valve lash. The timing could well be off, but I am somewhat doubting that. Regardless, she goes in the shop soon for oil change, shock swap, wheel re-balance, and alignment, so I am just gonna let them diagnose it. I am not tearing into it since I need my garage space these next few weeks. :(

Well, she has an appt for drop off on Sun night to start getting looked over Monday. Speaking with the tech, he too seems to think it's valve lashing, but he wants to be thorough and dig into it to make sure there is no oil plumbing blockage first. Regardless, these guys are great and about the only ones I trust working with her. They never did her wrong and totally enjoy working with her.

Guess who's on a flatbed headed for the shop right now....

That previous valve lashing which I had yet to get around to.... turned into something far more painful (so clearly wasn't that). Going down the road Saturday, I had a slight uphill trek and halfway up, that ticking lash sound I already had suddenly multiplied itself by 100. Thinking it's a broken connecting rod but I'll save that for the techs.... that !@#$ is too internal for my gearhead knowledge though.

And this is pre-60k miles. *sigh*

In any case, we'll see what it is soon enough. That is my best guess.

Always something.

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Originally Posted by WormGod

Guess who's on a flatbed headed for the shop right now....

That previous valve lashing which I had yet to get around to.... turned into something far more painful (so clearly wasn't that). Going down the road Saturday, I had a slight uphill trek and halfway up, that ticking lash sound I already had suddenly multiplied itself by 100. Thinking it's a broken connecting rod but I'll save that for the techs.... that !@#$ is too internal for my gearhead knowledge though.

And this is pre-60k miles. *sigh*

In any case, we'll see what it is soon enough. That is my best guess.

Always something.

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PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED!!!!!

my VX has been doing this exact thing under load here lately. It completely comes and goes though. It is crazy loud at times and then most of the time I don't really hear anything.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I hope your experience can help some other people possibly :-) Good luck.

Slow progress cause the shop that normally does my VX work doesn't want to do a full tear down. Currently searching for someone who will. Sucks cause none of my trusted speedshops that work with my STi want the work either. I may have one candidate but am doing some research on their work and reputation first.

But, my regular shop did a once over and did find that my EGR line had "broken". No idea how long it had been that way, but couldnt have been long since I imagine it would throw a code, but none existed. It did start running pretty boggy in the recent last weeks though. They did repair that in any case, so it's still a WIP. *sigh*

Have you seen this discussion?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ce+coil&page=3

Could it just be the timing belt tensioner?

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Originally Posted by LittleBeast

Have you seen this discussion?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ce+coil&page=3

Could it just be the timing belt tensioner?

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No, definitely not a tensioner. I had gone through every pulley system in the VX on my own and replaced/adjusted them or the bearings. She is resting quietly in my garage at home and probably will be for a while. I started major remodeling in my house so my money and time/efforts is already tied up with other tasks. :(

It is not a pulley that is visible, it is behind the cover that conceals the timing belt, not the main serpentine belt, have you considered that?

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Originally Posted by LittleBeast

Have you seen this discussion?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ce+coil&page=3

Could it just be the timing belt tensioner?

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Hey! That's my thread....but my problem was not solved by the tensioner. I hope it is for Gary. The problem with mine was a pin had sheared that held the cam in reference to the valves. ( I hope I described that right) basically, when this pin sheared, it actually allowed one cam to spin, which put it out of sync with everything else. I cannot use my phone to find the post, but it is documented in another thread I started. Shouldn't be hard to find on a computer. Anyway, it was a real pain to diagnose because when trying to set timing, all marks were aligned like they should have been, but no one was thinking about a cam being in the wrong position (due to the cam spin)
It sounded awful when it went. A person would have to take the valve covers off, and check the internal timing marks on the cam to see if everything is in position properly. Hope this makes sense. It took something like 3 months to figure everything out, so that thread describing all of this is rather lengthy. I will look tomorrow for it on computer, or if someone else has nothing better to do maybe they will look thru my profile and find it. Hope this helps.
Good luck with it. If I can help, you know I will!

Found it! "timing belt jumped" hope it helps you out.
Issue started in march, and lasted thru September of 07, 64,000 miles. I had forgotten how long it took to get it back running again. I'm at 167,000 now! That's all I'm gonna say, so I don't jinx myself......

No, again, I am quite confident it is not. I know what you are speaking of and I had a very similar issue with my STi 2 years ago. Timing tensioner was overtightened from the factory and causing a clacking under load. The racket from my VX is quite different and I am able to access the sound better with a stethoscope over the driver's side valve cover. I would love to drop the oil pan and inspect there but again, I have to much crap going on with my house renovations, I forget I even have the VX. :mady:

Sorry Gary :-(

Good luck VX brother, I hope it will not be the worst case