Name that noise

[tezza77]

Does this sound familiar to anyone, happens after the car gets hot and is left to cool for a while, once the car gets hot again it goes away, dodgy bearing somewhere but OPC said there was nothing wrong when they checked it out a few days ago.

Sounds to be coming from the right hand side at the back somewhere, is that power steering? Turning the steering wheel lock to lock made no difference to the noise, blipping the throttle gently seems to make the noise stop but as soon as the revs drop its back again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80kNrQTkVyc&fea...

[Rockster]

tezza77 said:

Does this sound familiar to anyone, happens after the car gets hot and is left to cool for a while, once the car gets hot again it goes away, dodgy bearing somewhere but OPC said there was nothing wrong when they checked it out a few days ago.

Sounds to be coming from the right hand side at the back somewhere, is that power steering? Turning the steering wheel lock to lock made no difference to the noise, blipping the throttle gently seems to make the noise stop but as soon as the revs drop its back again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80kNrQTkVyc&fea...

Never listened to my 03 Turbo that close but the noise does kind of sound like my car made when a power steering tank valve was bad. The noise would come on when the car was hot and I would roll up to a stop light shifting the transmission into neutral.

I could make the noise go away -- until the next time -- by depressing then releasing the clutch pedal. I do not recall if blipping the throttle had any effect on the noise although I never heard it with the engine running at anything above idle.

Even though the power steering tank is involved the noise was not affected by any turning of the steering wheel.

If I'm right just so you know the valve is not sold separately, it is part of the tank, so one must buy a new tank. The tank is kind of pricey -- "It's a nice tank" I was told when I placed an order for one -- and I do not recall the labor involved to R&R the tank. Roughly IIRC the tank cost around $800 and a couple of hours labor was required to R&R the tank.

[tezza77]

Rockster said:

Never listened to my 03 Turbo that close but the noise does kind of sound like my car made when a power steering tank valve was bad. The noise would come on when the car was hot and I would roll up to a stop light shifting the transmission into neutral.

I could make the noise go away -- until the next time -- by depressing then releasing the clutch pedal. I do not recall if blipping the throttle had any effect on the noise although I never heard it with the engine running at anything above idle.

Even though the power steering tank is involved the noise was not affected by any turning of the steering wheel.

If I'm right just so you know the valve is not sold separately, it is part of the tank, so one must buy a new tank. The tank is kind of pricey -- "It's a nice tank" I was told when I placed an order for one -- and I do not recall the labor involved to R&R the tank. Roughly IIRC the tank cost around $800 and a couple of hours labor was required to R&R the tank.

Not sure clutching would make a difference but I'll try it and see. The thing is the noise goes away when the car is hot, it is only present after a spirited drive and then left to cool for a while (so still warm) doesnt do it at all under normal driving/temps or from cold.

Sometimes I can start it after a brief cool down and there is no noise, then blip the throttle and it appears.

[Rockster]

tezza77 said:

Not sure clutching would make a difference but I'll try it and see. The thing is the noise goes away when the car is hot, it is only present after a spirited drive and then left to cool for a while (so still warm) doesnt do it at all under normal driving/temps or from cold.

Sometimes I can start it after a brief cool down and there is no noise, then blip the throttle and it appears.

Well, the noise might not be the noise my car was making. The circumstances under which the noise appears in your car are in some ways different than the circumstances under which the noise appeared in my car but they are not that different.

Hard to believe the OPC didn't find the noise worthy of investigation. I know my car doesn't make that noise save the time the valve was bad.

If not the valve it could be an idler roller bearing. My car had one of these go bad but it didn't make that noise. It did make a dry bearing sound that while it was obvious not nearly as bad at the noise your car makes.

If not the idler roller bearing it could be something else associated with the accessory drive system.

That's about all I can offer. I'm not at the car and I'm not a pro tech.

Maybe you need to get a 3rd opinion? Visit another OPC or highly regarded indy shop?

Edited by Rockster on Monday 27th May 06:49

[tezza77]

I would hope its not an idler pully as it was in last week for a major service, I assume they would have picked up on it? I guess I'll need to take it for a drive to the OPC via the scenic route, get it nice and warm and have them take a listen when its making the racket.

It could still be the power steering valve thingy, I'm definitely going to see what happens when I clutch it next time.

[jock mcsporran]

If it's the power steering reservoir (black cap on right at start of your video) then get it fixed ASAP. There's a relief valve in it which can fail. When mine started going it was a similar noise but only when coming down the revs. If the noise goes away when you press the clutch in then that's a likely culprit I would have thought.

The relief valve is integral to the reservoir and can't be replaced on its own so unfortunately it would be a new reservoir at about £400 for the part plus labour. It's about 3 hours or so as a DIY but it's an awkward job and you need to siphon the pentosin out before you start.

Surprised the OPC thought it wasn't worth investigating as I've heard it's a potential fire hazard if it fails completely and leaks pentosin.

Hopefully it's not that and it's something simple.