Desperate assistance! Clicking noise in engine bay

[Thom]

Hey guys,

In a bit of a stressful spot of bother right now. I am due to drive 2hours out of Melbourne tomorrow and then eventually back again after the weekend.

After todays driving (approx 1.5hrs) in the heat. I got home and noticed an odd ticking/clicking type noise. I haven't ever noticed it before, so I instantly picked up on it. It is not deep or really loud, it is quite tinny in sound. But it is consistent and doesn't miss a click or change speed. I wish I knew more about what could be causing this, but from my google searching I only got more confused.

Its a D22 ZD30 2006 engine. Regularly serviced and only had a service just under 5,000km's ago... I also topped it up with a little bit of extra oil which didn't change anything with this sound.

I wonder if it had anything to do with me running the air con a bit harder today in the stupid heat/humidity we had?...

Any help/advice is much appreciated!!

 

[Jason]

Could it be the idler pulley bearing? Give it a squirt of WD40 (watch the belt though!) to see if it quietens up?

 

[Resto]

When i had a clicking noise from my zd30, it turned out to be the clutch pulley on the alternator, but could also be the clutch pulley on the aircon compressor.
Let us know when you find out what it is.
Cheers

 

[Thom]

neither of these problems would cause a major issue if I drove 300km's with them though would it?

 

[Old.Tony]

Idler pulley shouldn't be a drama but the alternator clutch could be a bother if your battery isn't charging properly.

When do you hear the ticking sound, precisely? Is the car running, is it in gear, is it at a particular speed, does it go away when you press the clutch or brake or tap the throttle?

 

[Thom]

Idler pulley shouldn't be a drama but the alternator clutch could be a bother if your battery isn't charging properly.

When do you hear the ticking sound, precisely? Is the car running, is it in gear, is it at a particular speed, does it go away when you press the clutch or brake or tap the throttle?

Car is running, at a stop. Not in gear and idling. When I get it moving I cant hear the sound, but maybe the engine is blocking it out...? I can hear it at very low speed/revs.

 

[Old.Tony]

If it happens in neutral with the handbrake on then it's going to be easy to find as long as you have two good working ears. Don't bring it to me, one of mine has never worked properly and the other's half-shot too!

Check that the fan isn't touching the shroud, and take a look at the fan belts to make sure that they're not coming apart and the twine is whipping the bash plate on the way around.

 

[Thom]

I am hoping to get ARB to have a look/listen to it first thing in the morning to make sure it wont cause a problem me driving it that far. From what I have said, does it sound like it could be something that could bust any second? Or is it more likely just something rubbing/knocking?

 

[charlie strayarc]

Can you listen to one, similar model and kms to compare? Maybe pretend to be interested in one in a car yard and have a listen to it.
I was worried about mine being a bit noisy until I listened to one at work that has less kms on it and is noisier than mine.

 

[ericcs]

what about taking the belts off and running it briefly, to eliminate anything internal?

 

[tony d22]

Sounds like it's either the exhaust crackling or a heat shield.

 

[Old.Tony]

Your garage doesn't indicate auto or manual - if it's a manual, it could be the hydraulic line against the firewall. Press the clutch - does the noise go away? If so, grab some packing foam and shove it behind the hydraulic lines. Don't push them too hard!

 

[04HUG]

G'day
Have a listen with a stethoscope, You can use a long screwdriver or anything solid placed against your ear and various (Stationary) engine parts. This will help locate the area the noise is coming from.

 

[charlie strayarc]

Your garage doesn't indicate auto or manual - if it's a manual, it could be the hydraulic line against the firewall. Press the clutch - does the noise go away? If so, grab some packing foam and shove it behind the hydraulic lines. Don't push them too hard!

Yeah a while back one of those white clips on the firewall on mine broke and the pipe made a terrible rattling noise, took me ages to find it. I ended up fixing it with a big blob of sikaflex.

 

[Thom]

Firstly, thanks again for all your suggestions.

Excuse my lack of technical knowledge and wording*

After a week or so of being in the workshop to find out where the issue was coming from. It turned out that a small 6mm countersunk screw came loose out of an oil can deep in the engine which went into the timing gears. Cause and affect of that sheared teeth off one of the gears, which then took teeth off the next gear and the problem just got worse and worse over time to the point where the noise appeared. After a lot of labour and parts replaced, its ready to be picked up.

A very costly process to have to go through, which I don't expect would happen often...

 

[Jased22]

Far out mate. That sucks. Least its all fixed now

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd have never guessed that. Glad to hear it's sorted - not so much for the cost though!

 

[Iceman]

I dont understand, where did the screw come from? Was it an engine part or did it go in with the oil? Either way pretty bad luck.

 

[4 naving]

Yea id like to know that too. Does the mechanic that diagnosed this regularly do your servicing? If the screw came from the internals of the engine it could be another thing to look at with the timing chain survey we are doing on this forum... We would love to know although its something you would probably rather forget about....
Glad you got it sorted and are back on the road..