General cam belt can you help?

[john waddington]

hello, i've ordered a new cam belt and tensioner from ebay. was planning on getting it fitted asap. the thing is i only replaced belt and tensioner last march and i've not driven 60 000 miles since then. a squeaky tapping sound is occuring but only when i'm in gear. is this likely to be the cam or something more sinister in the bowels of the gearbox perhaps? any advice/thoughts will be greatly appreciated. i'm in the middle of nowhere with a wife and 2 kids. got to get it sorted as we had to eat the donkey. john, (p)andalucia.

 

[lightweightmick]

This makes more sense now that I've seen your earlier post.
I would think it's unlikely to be your tensioner. I had a similar ticking sound which turned out to be the cam belt cover catching the belt somewhere - but of course this is when engine is running despite whether car is rolling or not, and the same will apply to alt. drive belt. Another thing is the speedo drive or cable, which on my CLX seems to sound different according to the weather! Then this will only be evident when rolling - in or out of gear...
so you have something in the transmission... oil level okay?
...does it go away when coasting?
Not something simple like a tie wrap catching or drive shaft boot clip coming adrift?
Only on cornering would indicate CV joint... this is more of a clicking sound...
sorry - just thinking aloud really
the camshaft sounds squeaky if not getting enough oil, but I presume you've checked engine oil...
odd rattles and squeaks can be difficult to diagnose at the best of times.
I would think it unlikely that it's within the gearbox though...
shame about the donkey :yum:
presumable you 13 hrs farther on by now though...
btw. the cam belt is correctly tensioned when you can just twist it through 90 degs by hand/fingers midway on longest section

 

[s130]

Another source for "tapping" and in worst cases a diesel link knoick noise is if the cambelt tensioner is actually hitting its mechanical travel limits. This is often noticed either when the engine is cold and first started or when engine is fully hot.

I mention this for background/additional information and not as a diagnosis of your problem.

Nick /////

 

[john waddington]

hello, thanks for your advice and thoughts. been really listening while driving. its only when i press on the accelerator, a scratchy, squeaky click. in all gears except reverse. definately coming from gearbox side. no sounds at all when coasting in gear or in neutral. gonna take it to a garage as a mechanic friend of mine whos really good is as deaf as a post so he can't help. i had a good look and feel about and there is nothing i can see/feel that is loose. what a c***!

 

[lightweightmick]

Good luck with that John. Could be something really simple ...
probably is if it's ongoing and not getting any worse...
do keep us informed though
cheers
lwm

 

[pandafan]

Hello ... just catching up.

Your noise and conditions remind me of an occasion when a small piece of thrust plate snapped off in my bellhousin ... took ages to locate the source of the noise.

 

[john waddington]

replaced lower track control arms and the front arm bushes as they were virtually non existent (nobody picked it up in the 5 times i've had it tracked in the past 18 months). had it re-tracked and noise has gone. i think it was because the tracking was set so far over to one side to compensate for bush-less-ness that the drive shaft/cv joint was being strained and causing the grinding of bearings. would you believe it? thanks for all your advice etc. john

 

[lightweightmick]

hope you don't start to hear again it going round corners next...