evol

When its either sitting in park just running or when slowing down theres a grinding noise coming from under the hood from the left side if you were sitting in the car and looking out. Is this anything major? any1 had this happen?

Smoke_Jaguar

Check your power steering fluid level, seems to be the main cause from my experience.

hot92RS

If it does it while sitting in park, get out and open the hood and try to hear where it is coming from. If you do not have an automotive stethoscope, a section of simple garden hose will do although you must be very careful with this while the engine is running. Try to listen to all the noises by putting the end of the hose on the various parts near the noise. I once had a similiar thing happen on my '02 Silverado and I thought it was the waterpump, with the hose I was able to correctly diagnose it as a tensioner pulley. Cost about $25.00. Try it and let me know.

evol

Um where is the pulley located at cause that is the first thing ill check

Smoke_Jaguar

If you're talking about the water pump pulley, it should be directly over the crankshaft pulley.

kevmann

I had a grinding sound on a Cavalier and it turned out to be the alternator. I have a long screwdriver that I put on the part and I put my ear to the handle. Hope this helps.

evol

Also it seems to go away as i rev it up(dont think the exhaust is loud enough to block it out so i dont hear it)...dunno if this changes any of the things u mentioned

evol

Ok I took your advice hot92rs and used a chunk of garden hose and i have found where the noise is coming from directly (almost 100% positive) in the pic here i circled the 1 that is making the noise

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7282/pullypic.jpg

Smoke_Jaguar

Power steering pump, the PSF tank is a dead giveaway. Did you check the fluid levels? If it's full, then the bearing is probably going out and you're better off replacing the entire unit.

evol

yea the power steering fluid was full

hot92RS

Just because the pump is full of fluid does not mean that the pump is not bad. If it is making a loud whiney noise, it is the pump and you need to replace it. I have had the same problem before. Click on my forum name Hot92RS and look under one of my posts a little over a year ago, it is on page 3 of my previous posts 3-26-08 and this will give you all the info you need to replace your power steering pump. Congrats on properly diagnosing your problem.

hot92RS

Here is the link - https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ring-pump.html

evol

ok so it went into the shop and its not the powersteering thing it was the ac compressor they replaced it but the noise is still there its just not near as bad as it was...any1 had this

hot92RS

If your shop diagnosed that the A/C compressor was the problem and you spent money based on their professional opinion and recommendation, you should take it back to the shop and discuss w/ them why, after following their recommendation, the noise did not go away. It would not seem unreasonable that other items besides the compressor were having mechanical problems as the car is older. Maybe you already have, what did they say to you? At least, they owe you a more comprehensive diagnosis. You should not pay for that. My suggestion is, take it back to the shop, have them look at it again, tell you what is additionally wrong, then make the decision to either fix it yourself or let them fix it.

evol

kk...no i have not disgussed it with them yet...but the noise is nowhere near as bad as it used to b b4 i would slow down and it would roar now when im in park its there but not as bad

hot92RS

I would still recommend you take it to them to find out what additionally is wrong w/ your car. Were you having problems w/ the a/c not working? Even though they did not fix it completely does not mean they are not doing a good job for you. If you want to learn more about your car and maybe repair it yourself, take advantage of those people around you, such as the shop (who knows more about your car than we do because they have just worked on it), to learn more about your car. Go back to them, let them do an addtl diagnosis (does not cost any $), then make a decision as to what you want to do or present their diagnosis to us and we will help you to make a decision.

evol

um naw there were no problems with it b4 other than that noise when i had the A/c on...i also called them today the lady was not in when i called..they were suppose to call bak but if they dont by tommorow the 26th by noon im gonna call them bak again

evol

Btw forgot to ask..but does any1 know if this is SERIOUS...could this wreck my car(well more or less cause more dmg) if i leave the ac off?

hot92RS

No. It will not hurt your car.

evol

Well i called em bak today and i got another appointment for it monday so by monday night tuesday latest i should know more

drdave88

iTrader: (3)

So from what I read, you had a noise that was there when the A/C was on. After they replaced the A/C compressor, it was still there, but not nearly as bad as it was. So you may have had a couple of problems. The techs that fixed your car may not have done a great job at diagnosing your issue. As with most techs, they hear a noise from one component and will replace it, there may have been a 2nd smaller issue that was also causing a noise. Not trying to back them up, but Ive seen it in the shop before, especially with older cars, like ours.

hot92RS

What happened to your near 100% sure diagnosis that it was the power steering pump?

evol

Well Hot92RS im not a tech nor do i claim to be... all i did is took ur advice and moved the hose around till i heard the noise...the noise came from there...no reason to be a ***...if i knew all the awnsers i wouldnt have asked the question in the first place

hot92RS

Chill out bro! Remain calm. Just wondering why we have not heard anything at all about the PS pump even though you said it was a major noise. Did your shop hear the noise at all? We have all been where you are w/ our cars. If we all are taking the time to post possible solutions, give us the feedback.

evol

takes deep breath and exhales.../calms down...Um i dont know what happened with the PS pump i told them thats where i heard the noise coming from with a piece of hose when i took it in...and when they called me back they said that it wasnt the PS pump and it was the A/c compressor...and i was like ok not gonna argue cause they pry know more than me so didnt really say anything(also was buzy at work and getting *** chewed so)...but i would have to assume that they did hear it but then again assuming makes a *** out of you and me so. but they were suppose to look at it today didnt hear anything from them so ill pry give them a call bak tommorow to see what they found out

hot92RS

If it is the ps pump, follow the above mentioned thread and hopefully that will take care of it.

evol

so they called me bak today...and they said it is the PS pump which i find funny when they told me it wasnt in the first place..but oh well and there just gonna replace it cause atm i dont have the time

hot92RS

I have done that also when I did not have the time and I needed the car for a dd. At least you know you were correct.

evol

Today i got a phone call from them saying that im missing the brackets or something for the PS pump(and they told me it would b ready today)so i have another week to wait..btw would the brackets them self missing be able to cause the noise?

also ty for being able to help me find the problem

hot92RS

If the pulley is not aligned because of missing parts, it could be. I will check later what pieces could be missing.

evol

Got her back today and shes running great .