Rattleing Accessory

[Shane]

Recently my car has developed this horrible rattle at idle. I got down to looking for it today, and I discovered that it was one of the engine accessories that was causing the rattle.

I took the belt off and spun each one by hand, and there was no rattle in any of them. I then started the car with none of the accessories on the belt, and there was again, no rattle.

Once I hooked the belt back up, the rattle returned.

The only thing that seemed out of place was the power steering pump. There is a disc in front of the pulley that seems that it should remain stationary. I can turn it by hand, its not easily moved, but it moves. If I tap on that disc, I get a slight rattle, but not bad enough to do what it does while running.

Oh, and the rattle seems to go away past about 1000 rpms.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bescurred]

Check up on the tensionar, not just the tensionar pulley but the whole thing, for some reason my pulley bearing went bad then that inturn ruined the tensionar as a whole, so check that.

 

[Shane]

Well the tensioner turns just fine, and if I try to shake it it doesnt rattle. What should I check on it?

 

[kh440]

try to move the tensioner by handsid eto side with the belt off. YOu should barely be able to move it if at all. Also look with car running to see if the belt seems to "flop" up and down.

 

[Rickracer]

Can you describe this?

There is a disc in front of the pulley....

To my knowledge, there shouldn't be any disc in front of the pulley.

 

[Shane]

To my knowledge, there shouldn't be any disc in front of the pulley.

I could be describing it wrong, but its there. There is a disc in front of the pulley that does not turn when the pulley turns. Its unaffected by it. I will post a pic tomorrow.

 

[Turbo T/A 1543]

The disc sounds like the A/C clutch, not the power steering hub. You might grab ahold of the alternator itself and jerk the he!! out of it, as I've seen the cast bracket that mounts all of the accessories to the block/head loosen up and make a rattling sound. HTH

 

[Shane]

Originally posted by Turbo T/A 1543
The disc sounds like the A/C clutch, not the power steering hub. You might grab ahold of the alternator itself and jerk the he!! out of it, as I've seen the cast bracket that mounts all of the accessories to the block/head loosen up and make a rattling sound. HTH

I thought that the Power Steering pump was directly below the alternator.

 

[Turbo T/A 1543]

No, that's the A/C compressor. Just noticed your location. Small world. I grew up on "Long Cove Rd" in Gales Ferry, Ct. many moons ago. Navy brat.

 

[Shane]

Could this noise be the AC Compressor? I've been looking for an excuse to rip that thing out. How do I test that?

Yeah, it is a small world. I'm currently doing time... errr... serving in the Navy as well.

 

[Turbo T/A 1543]

The way I generally check individual components is to take a mechanics stethoscope (or a looong screwdriver) held right against my ear and the component you're checking. The closer to the center of the shaft the better. Try it and listen to them individually and it's generally pretty easy to identify the "unhappy" one. Just be careful, as you'll obviously be real close to the serpentine belt while it's spinning. Did you make sure the accessory bracket is tight yet? As I posted earlier, all three (alternator / a/c compressor / p/s pump) are bolted to this bracket and everything will be loose as a unit. HTH