300zgearhead

i just drove up and down my driveway and when i got back to my garage my engine started squealing like a bat out of hell and my timing covers are off!!! i think it's just one of the belts because it looks worn and i dont think that timing being thrown off would cause squealing but somone help... advice plz i'm scared that it's a timing issue

KasbeKZ

that's just a usual belt squeal. worn out ps pump belts and ac belts will do that. worse when it's wet. sometimes you can get away with just tightening it, but if it's obviously worn, replace that B.

ZLover4Life

Why are you acting surprised that the timing covers are off? They don't just pop off (they're actually hard to remove), so they must've been off for a while...

And the timing belt can't squeal, it'll just break and destroy your engine when it goes bad (or when a piece of debris gets in between the belt and gears, which happens when there are no covers). Squealing is from the accessory belts. Replace them and tighten properly.

300zgearhead

ya i knew the timing cover was off zlover that's why i only went up and down my driveway i need to order a cover. and i know belts can squeal ... duh ... but this is worse than i have heard before i can't even hear my engine over this. could it be posible that the water pump is shot and that's what's making the noise?

KasbeKZ

it's possible, but in my experience, by the time they are making that noise, they are leaking. it's not unlikely that it's a belt. i also have heard belts so loud that you couldn't hear the engine.

300zgearhead

well not leaking doesn't mean that the pump isn't bad but i just found some ware on one of the belts some strings are popping out of it. i used belts that i found in the car when i bought it that were used but didn't look bad just to get it going. the car looked like hell when i got it and i almost have it all fixed up now and i was planning on getting new belts. i just can't even tell if the pump is out because i can't hear anything but the squealing

ZLover4Life

If the belts are frayed, don't even look at any other possibilities until you replace them. That's like "my TT is running like ****. btw, a turbo is blown, but I wanna know if there's something else wrong."

mayitin

You know working on cars you need a little bit of logic.
I love this site It makes me laugh at times so hard that my tomy hurts.

300zgearhead

screw you mayitin i was using logic i knew it probably wasn't my belt. and now i know it isn't. i'm not some dumbass off the street that doesn't know **** about cars but sometimes i like a little advice on things. so here's what i've narrowed it down to either the waterpump or a bearing in the timing. are either of these common for a z32 N/A? and i'm hoping its nothing to do with the timming but i'm nervous because the lower timing cover was left off for quite some time and was exposed to the weather.

mayitin

I am no mechanic but I do know that the z32 are bit temperemental, I have one, Zlover 4 live knows a lot. I do know you have to change the tensioners and pullies after somany miles, my experience is that if the water pump is making a noise water will be all over. you can grab a piece of a garden hose and put it in different places until you can hear where the noise is coming from. I am soory for insulting you but it was just fummy man ,the belts been all crack etc, it game me a visual LOL. these guys here know I lot I just usually read their aswers and learn.

CanyonCarver

Why don't you just install new belts and adjust them to the proper tension first? While the old belts are off, clean the pullies with brake parts cleaner and make sure they're not seized up.

91zxtt

I agree. Odds are that the noise is coming from the belts.

300zgearhead

well i just rebuilt about the entire front of the engine waterpump,removed and replaced harmonic balancer, new timing covers, new belts and i go to turn my car on and the noise is still there ........ after i rev the engine a couple times it just goes away. i think it's the power steering pump any other ideas?

rtmorgan

if it goes away when you rev it it might be a loose ps or ac belt. re check them

KasbeKZ

how long did you run it? belts will usually squeel the first time being put back together for a few seconds and also when they're wet. did you check the tension via specs in FSM? if you have all that taken care of, and a new water pump, you should go ahead and do both idler pulleys, auto tensioner, and new timing belt. it will get kinda expensive, but then you know you should be good in that area for another 60k.

KasbeKZ

also, you can start it with no drive belts on. take them all completely off, start it for a minute (seriously, no more), and see if it's still there. if it is, it's definitely an idler. if it's gone, put the belts back on one at a time. you will definitely find your problem that way.

rtmorgan

you have no idea what the f**k your talking about lol jk

i would do this^^^^

300zgearhead

i already did run it without belts when taking it apart and there was no noise so i'm pretty sure it's because of new belts or bad power steering pump

KasbeKZ

that settles it. did you put PS fluid in the power steering pump?