Squeaking/chirping sound from driver's side of engine

[archfubar]

Hey all,

I'm driving a 99 camry CE, 4 cylinder, 5 speed.

So, the title of the post pretty well describes what I'm hearing. As soon as I start the car, I can hear the sound. At first I thought maybe it was a pulley on one of the belts (which I suppose it could be), but it doesn't sound like it's coming from there. I also adjusted the alternator/AC belt because it did feel a little loose, but that made no difference.

I know the screeching sound a loose belt makes, and this isn't it. It's there when I first start my car and still there when I get to wherever I'm going. It doesn't seem to change with speed (although obviously I can't listen to my own car as it's driving by at 40 mph, so who knows) and it doesn't make any difference if I have the AC or blower on.

I can't really hear the sound when I'm driving, especially with the windows up. The only time I can hear it is if I have a window down and I'm driving with something alongside me (e.g. a guard rail or a wall) that bounces the sound back to me.

It doesn't seem to be impacting how the car drives, but I want to make sure that if it signals something bad I catch it early. I appreciate any and all insights.

[archfubar]

One other thing I failed to mention in the last post is that the car has also been idling a little bit lower and rougher than normal for the past few months. I've been scouring the forum to see if anyone else has reported an issue like this, but it seems like most times there's squeaking coming from the engine it's related to the A/C or P/S belts, and I'm fairly certain that's not the case, here, which means it's probably an omen of something considerably more difficult to address.

Again, I appreciate any insights anyone may have, and if you need anything clarified or better-explained, just let me know.

[samchristian]

Hi,I have a 98 Camry 4 cylinder 5 spd which i guess would be virtually identical to your car.
I have also noticed a slight squeal from my engine bay but only when the engine is under load and only noticeable when the windows down.
It doesnt run rough or anything and I was afraid that it might be my conrod big end bearings going which i have heard can happen on the 5SFE.
Im going to wait until my next oil change and see if there are any filings or whatnot in my sump/filter but till then im trying to put it out of my mind

[archfubar]

Yeah, that's always the danger with items like this. Given that I really don't notice it unless the windows are down and radio is off, or if I happen to be standing outside the car, it's hard to say how long the engine has been making this sound, or if it's changed over time.

And if it is something like you suspect (the rod bearings), then it's going to turn into one of those questions of "do I get this fixed, or do I just run the car into the ground and hope it lasts a while longer?"

In any event, if you don't find any filings when you do your next oil change, are you just going to assume it's nothing important or do you have another avenue you're going to explore?

[oldfirebird]

The engines internal bearings don't squeal while they die, so I think you're good with the internals. My favorite tool for finding noises under the hood is a three foot section of rubber hose. An old section of garden hose or heater hose will work fine. Hold one end to your ear and move the other around the engine compartment. When the hose gets next to the squeal, knock or hiss, you'll know about it.

[oldfirebird]

I'd suspect the bearings in the tensioner or in the alternator.
How many miles are on the car? How many since the last timing belt, and did they put a new tensioner pulley on it when they put the belt on?

[archfubar]

I appreciate the suggestion, I'll do a closer listen with a hose to see if I can isolate it a little bit.

The car has around 114k miles on it, but the timing belt was done recently (around 98k miles). It was replaced at the same time as the water pump. As far as whether they put a new tensioner pulley on it when they did it, I can't say off the top of my head; I'd have to find the paperwork.

The alternator is the original.

If the problem ends up being the timing belt tensioner, do you think the squeaking means it's on its way out soon? That would suck, since it'd probably be a lot of work to get back in there just to change out a pulley.

[oldfirebird]

If it was done at a garage they probably did put one on. They'd rather charge you another $20 for the pulley than have you come back in two months screaming at them because the bearing locked up and threw the timing belt.
If it's the alternator the hose will pick it out quick, if it's the tensioner it may be harder to pinpoint because it's behind the cover.
An alternator seems to be under 200 bucks (for the part) then it's just a matter of getting it on.

[oldfirebird]

Sorry, I never seem to get all my thoughts together at once. 114K isn't a long life for an alternator. I sold my last two cars with the original alternators.
1990 jag with 157K
1993 nissan with 204K (sold in 03)
The wife has an 01 accord, 173K and still on it's first
There was an 87 jag with 120K in there, but it's alternator died silently....

[archfubar]

I wanted to post a follow-up to this thread in case anyone was interested in what the noise is.

Well, I guess I don't technically know for sure what it is, but I have a better guess. Oldfirebird, I took your advice and made a sort of stethoscope out of a piece of old garden hose. Closer inspection revealed that the sound I was hearing was coming from the area of the transmission. Yeah, I wasn't really pleased with that.

Based on the troubleshooting guide in my Haynes manual (and the fact that the noise tends to subside when I press down the clutch pedal), my best guess is that it's the clutch release/throw-out bearing. Keep in mind that everything I've heard/tested is all while I'm in neutral; I have no sense of whether or not there's a sound when the car is in gear.

So, as with most of my car explorations, this actually raises more questions than it answers. My first question to you all is, does my guess on what the noise is seem plausible? Does anyone have a better one?

My second question is, assuming we're going to go with my guess about it being the release/throw-out bearing, does anyone have any projections on how long the clutch can keep going? The sound hasn't changed over the past few months, which I guess is encouraging. It's still there, though, so maybe I shouldn't consider that much of a victory.

Anyway, I value any feedback you might have.

[Mister_Perkins]

honestly the throw out bearing isn't a HUGE deal as far as noise. Its connected to the end of your shift fork and when you apply the clutch it just slides the throw out bearing up against the shift fork and puts pressure on the pressure plate releasing the clutch from the flywheel. Its very very easy to change out. You can actually leave the whole clutch assembly connected when changing it. Then all you have to do is just connect the bell housing bolts back up and your good to go. I wouldn't worry too much about it until your ready to change the clutch.. then just change the throw out bearing too

[oldfirebird]

I'd say if you notice a change in the noise, get it replaced QUICK. If the throw out bearing grenades, you won't be able to release the clutch.
To help it last longer, avoid the clutch. Some people hold the clutch down at traffic lights, that's always bad. You could alter your driving a little to shift less often. The bearing just sits there with minimal load unless you have your foot on the clutch.
You could get another 100K out of it. Or it could go next week, there's no way to know.

[Mister_Perkins]

I drove my 93 camry 200,000 miles before replacing the throw out bearing (Re-using the throw out bearing each clutch change) It made the exact sound you are speaking of. The bearing was sloppy but kept working the entire time.

[archfubar]

I appreciate all the info you've all shared with me.

It's been over 8 months and 8k miles since I first noticed that sound, and nothing too much has changed. My car is still making that annoying sound, but there are no other symptoms of the clutch dying, which I guess is a plus.

Being that it sounds like a metal-on-metal sound, I was wondering if there was anything I should do to try to do to smooth it out (e.g. spray some lithium grease in the general area of the T/O bearing). I know it would probably be preferable if I could actually dab on some wheel bearing grease or something rather than using spray grease, but I don't think I have much hope of being able to get in there and apply it with any sense of accuracy.

It's not really in my nature to just let things be, but if you all think that's the best course of action here, I guess I'll just let it be.

Anyway, if you can let me know what your thoughts are, it would be greatly appreciated.