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Hello Everyone. I have a 1995 mx3 1.6 manual, 130k miles. My car is making a weird noise (hard to explain but you should be able to tell what im talking about in the video) coming from under the hood. If standing outside the car facing the engine, it is coming from the left side almost where all the belts and pulleys are. Right near my alternator. A list of new parts are as follows to weed out possible causes.

New
-valve cover gasket
-distributor adapter and gasket
-thermostat
-plugs, oil, wires, coolant
-tightened alternator belt (belt is not new)
-intake
-fuel filter


This noise has been occurring for the past few months. It only happens at idle. Once i hit the gas just the slightest bit, it stops. This was leading me to believe it might be the water pump? My old car would leak the entire cooling system if it was started and standing still. Once i was moving the water pump did not leak one bit. I'm assuming the drive made the water pump move, because bearings were bad inside the pump and only spun when moving? This is why I have a feeling it is that but then again I have no idea. Also, the timing cover gasket is in very bad shape and leaks a significant amount. I am not really noticing any performance differences. Anyway I have posted a video (from a phone) so you can hear the sound of the car. All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwDOpAP5X9M

I can't view the video off the work computers, but does it sound like a grinding noise? my water pump has just s--- itself and it sounds like a stone stuck in a bearing.. (Kind of)

if it is your water pump, you won't have very long before it totally destroys itself. keep an eye on the temp...

-eunos- wrote:I can't view the video off the work computers, but does it sound like a grinding noise? my water pump has just s--- itself and it sounds like a stone stuck in a bearing.. (Kind of)

if it is your water pump, you won't have very long before it totally destroys itself. keep an eye on the temp...

yes its almost a grinding noise but not constant. Kind of like its pulsating in bursts of 3 or so. Its hard to explain, but if you could check it out when you are able to view it and get back to me, I would appreciate it. Thanks!!

Sounds like loose belt but if you tightened maybe the alternator pulley.

it may be the alternator belt
but my best guess would be the alternator itself
mine used to do the same thing, and it ended up being my alternator going out, i replaced it and it was fine.
pull your alternator and have it checked maybe

Conrad17 wrote:it may be the alternator belt
but my best guess would be the alternator itself
mine used to do the same thing, and it ended up being my alternator going out, i replaced it and it was fine.
pull your alternator and have it checked maybe

this could be a great possibility. I was having issues with this (as i was told this was it), so maybe it is. I will definitly get this checked out.

Also, not concerning my alternator. My temp guage didnt like to move alot so I changed the thermostat and it fixed it for about 1 day and it went back to being crappy. It will take me probably 10 minutes of driving for the needle to even move. Ill go around a turn and it will drop down to reading nothing, a few miles later it will move again. This is why I also thought it might be the water pump. Any thoughts?? Thanks

I got my alternator checked and the guy said its fine, not showing any signs of needing a new one. Hmmmmmm

hmmmm back to the drawing board
that was my best guess, id say have your water pump checked out like you said then

Conrad17 wrote:hmmmm back to the drawing board
that was my best guess, id say have your water pump checked out like you said then

Yea idk what it is. I had a mechanic friend say it could be something under my timing covers, idle or tensioner. Considering it only makes this moise at idle. Any amount of gas will stop it. Forgot to mention that

is it lifter noise?
sometimes thatll be real loud when idling but will get quiet when you give it gas

Conrad17 wrote:is it lifter noise?
sometimes thatll be real loud when idling but will get quiet when you give it gas

No im pretty sure its not a lifter noise. Have you watched my video in my original post to try and listen? Its kind of hard to hear it but maybe it will narrow it down for you. I appreciate your input. Thanks

lol ok i figured it out!!
you have a cat stuck under your valve cover!! lol
thats a wierd noise? im clueless

alright, I changed the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and idler. Sice this has been done, the noise has stopped. JUst figured i would let everyone know. thanks for all the help.