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[Phil B]

Ok remember me saying my car had a regular screech repeating every second-ish?
I thought as the interval was fairly sparse it might have been the cam or auxillary belt rubbing, but after an emergency topping up of any old oil when I first bought it the screeching stopped.

Well last weekend among other things I dropped and changed the gearbox (noisy layshaft) and engine oil and filter for genuine GM parts, and it came back this morning, a little louder.
Hot footed to Dad's and got the torx socket on the cam-belt cover to have a look, but nothing obvious.

Dad was convinced it's a dry bearing on a pulley but I think it would be repeating quite fast considering how quick they must be spinning. This is a lot slower.

Anyways, I checked the oil and it was dead halfway between Min and Max, nice and clear too. So I topped it up to Max, and now the screech has gone again.

Is there something in the top end that might be moving that slow and needs a Max oil level to keep it happy or is it just coincidence and some bearing is having a hard time self lubricating?

[Kevin Wood]

Difficult to say. That's a wierd one. I certainly don't get a good feeling when topping up with oil makes a sudden difference to the way an engine runs.

Were there any other symptoms that could be down to oil starvation? Noisy valve lifters, etc?

Still sounds like a belt rubbing somewhere to me but I'm a loss as to explain the correlation with oil level.

Kevin

[Grumpy]

The only thing I can think of in that scenario, is not that you are raising
the oil level when you are topping up, but the fact that you are sloshing
a couple of litres of oil into the passenger side cam box.
This may point to an oil feed problem, with the screeching that you
describe, with the passenger side camshafts, that is negated when you
oil it directly.

Just a thought for you to think about, so don't go rushing off and ripping
out your camshafts just yet!  

I'm sure that some of the V6 experts on here will have a few checks
you can carry out.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Next time it happens, just pop the aux belt off and re-start the lump to rule the alternator, PAS, aircon compressor, water pump and tensioner pulley out.......best to start with the easy stuff. Dont run it for long though because the water pump wont be running.

[Phil B]

Planning to do that tonight, once it cools from the journey home!

Also I'm going to have a stab at the cam cover gaskets this weekend so I will be able to check on the condition of the shafts/bearings etc.

Thanks guys I'll let you know later regarding the auxillary belt

[Kevin Wood]

Also I'm going to have a stab at the cam cover gaskets this weekend so I will be able to check on the condition of the shafts/bearings etc.

While you're there it might be worth lifting the cam cover caps one at a time just to ensure the bearing surfaces show no signs of problems. You'll need some sealant from a VX dealer to replace the front ones though and the cap bolts will need to be tightened to the correct torque.

worth having a good listen around first, though. See if you can narrow down the source. As Mark said, run it without the aux. belt for a few seconds just to eliminate that and spin each pulley by hand and make sure they rotate smoothly with no signs of play.

It may also be worth removing the cam belt cover and making sure there are no signs of the belt rubbing on the cover or anything else.

Kevin

[Phil B]

Ok cam covers changed last night, looks good in there. Half an oil field in the left bank plug wells though  

When putting it back together, we slipped the auxillary belt off and ran it, still screechy.
I've peeped in the top of the timing belt cover the belt looks allright going around, not scagged or anything, but the noise is definately coming from in there somewhere, Dad is convinced it's a pulley.

The belt and tensioner were changed at 40k so it's due again in 12k, but it's had 4 years now. I really need to get the car on the road asap (people tired of taking me to work) so I might have to book it in to VX for the timing kit.

My thoughts are, I need to nail this in one go so what else is along that belt that could be changed at the same time? From the pictures I can see there is also an upper and lower guide pulley. Could they be causing any hassle?

BTW the noise gets q

[Phil B]

BTW the noise gets quieter with revs then disappears at about 3K

[Kevin Wood]

Sounds to me like one of the tensioner pullies is on the way out. Once the aux. belt is removed there's not much else to be making a noise round there.

It is due a belt change now regardless of mileage since the spec is 4 years / 40k whichever comes first. I would get the belt and tensioners changed (get the DVD from here and DIY ).

Kevin

[ians]

The belt kit comes with all the rollers and tensioner - these must be changed.   If one of the pulleys is squeeking you really need to do this job now - not next week or the week after.
Also do the water pump - pretty cheap part and 5 minute job.   You could change aux belt too if it looks like it needs it - you have all the gubins off to do it anyway.

[Phil B]

Vauxhall in Newport just quoted me £214 inc. VAT for a timing belt kit and coolant pump.

Is this about right? I would need to arrange borrowing the locking kit and getting the DVD too, all before the weekend

[ians]

Worth finding someone with a Trade Club card nearby.  Kit will then be 90 quid and water pump 25 or so, plus vat.

Alternatively call Autovaux .  They supplied me with kit (SKF who make the original rollers etc anyway) and pump (GM) for about TC prices.

Remember as well as the locking kit you need a 30mm offset ring spanner.  and 5L can of antifreeze.

[JasonH]

The water pump can make a pretty nasty screeching rubbing sound when it's on the way out, but it runs off the aux belt so if the noise was there with the aux belt off can't be that.

Getting TC at the Newport Vx dealer (the one in Turner Street) is very tricky. Even if you're in a club they need their head office to approve it and set you up on their computer system - which can take months.

Timing belt kit from Autovaux is actually cheaper anyway.

[JasonH]

Oh and Autovaux used to hire out the locking kit for £15 a week as well. Don't know if they still do, but you will need to leave a deposit.

[Phil B]

Ok ok so I will have a go myself! I'll have to leave the car parked up 'til I can do this on Saturday though.

So is anyone near Caldicot (south wales) with a locking kit I can borrow in exchange for beer/beer tokens?