Please help, hearing sounds from car

[shawn744]

Hey guys. Something's wrong with my baby err-- my beast. This started about a few days ago. There's a metal to metal grinding noise coming from the car.....looks to be the front around the engine, or the front right side of the car. It's random, sometimes it starts and then it stops. Came to a stop while it was happening, it stopped so i thought it was the rotor or something, then i heard a little bit of it when i was stopped. So i'm thinking it could also be from the engine. It's pretty loud i can hear it inside the car with the windows up. Before i take it to my dealer (which will want to take it on multiple road tests which i don't want) i wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on what it might be. I'd greatly appreciate it. I have a relative who's a mechanic and has a garage i could have him look at some things if i knew what to tell him to look for. Again, i'd REALLY appreciate any help. I'm looking at the car out my window and i'm gettin all sweaty and light-heading thinking about this. :shake: :alone:

[SouLRioT]

is it more like a ticking noise?

[shawn744]

is it more like a ticking noise?


hellz no...it's a grinding. constant...some change in tone ....but not that much to call it ticking.

i mean it might be an effed up kind of loud sqeaking....but i'm almost sure it's a metal noise.

[MARAUDER S/C #5]

Air suspension adjusting itself ? :confused:

[TripleTransAm]

I had my MM fired up and idling (glug glug glug) in my driveway (can I call my pile of rocks and pebbles a driveway) while cleaning out the garage making room for my '78. All of a sudden, some 2-3 minutes after firing up, I was scanning the ground for sharp tire-piercing objects (screws, nails, metal, etc. that pops up from time to time as a by-product of the construction) and all of a sudden there was a loud hollow "brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" ratchety type of sound from the front of my MM. It lasted for about 3-4 seconds, enough time for me to utter "Huh? What the f..." and by the time I got to pronouncing the letter "u" it stopped. Never did it again.

The sound was similar to what you'd expect to hear if a fan blade was striking a plastic shroud at high speed. I couldn't tell if it was forceful enough to resonate throughout the car's frame or if it was just a small contact that was amplified by the open spaces under the hood or bumper.

My guess: given the off-road nature of my development pending the paving of my neighborhood streets (sometime this fall, apparently), I suspect perhaps a rock got up somewhere near the fans and shortly after startup the vibrations brought the rock into contact with the fan (which I believe comes on even with the motor cold if the A/C comes on, which it would have in this scenario). Either that, or a chunk of solidified mud that detached and obliterated on the fan. Some days, my Marauder's lower belt line resembles a Jeep 4x4 commercial.

[shawn744]

Air suspension adjusting itself ? :confused:
hellz no! :) I love that sound though :) .....my situation still exists.....it's a metal scraping noise. Comes and goes....front right side of the car...anyone?

[TripleTransAm]

By right side, do you mean driver's side?
Could it be power-steering related? I wonder if some of the movable tubing is contacting something on the engine, possibly a pulley?

[shawn744]

By right side, do you mean driver's side?
Could it be power-steering related? I wonder if some of the movable tubing is contacting something on the engine, possibly a pulley?



no the passenger side.....i thought it was a pulley......but what pulley would make a metal scraping noise....i'd appreciate suggestions, i'm gonna go for a little spin and cry ----err see when/where/how it's happening. thanks guys. -shawn

[TripleTransAm]

Seeing as how we're not physically there, as much detail as you can provide will help (ie. when it happens, how it happens, have you popped the hood and tried to localize it, etc.)

[Smokie]

Metal to metal, compressor clutch engaging, bad compressor or clutch is incorrectly spaced and slipping badly. Just a possibility.

[shawn744]

Seeing as how we're not physically there, as much detail as you can provide will help (ie. when it happens, how it happens, have you popped the hood and tried to localize it, etc.)

thanks for your help, it's actually funny (not funny but FING CRAZY) we're in the middle of having a RAINSTORM here in northern nj and i've been out in the rain for hours playing with the car to see if it makes noise, so i can't do much either. and you know what makes me want to shoot myself?.....there's rain and heavy t-storms forcasted for my area until wed. anyways, aside from my weather forecast....as i mentioned earlier i went out for a spin, i didn't hear it as loud as before but heard a "brakes are worn out" screeching sound (the pads are good). I found a sequence of scratches on my calipers and thought maybe my rim was rubbing the caliper, but that's not the case. i'm going to go out one more time. see what i can hear. i'll keep checking here often. again, i appreciate the help during this traumatic period.

[TripleTransAm]

It can't be rotor-related if you could hear it at rest. So this is one detail to focus on next time you try to narrow the problem down.

It's not impossible for a rock or piece of debris to have been picked up (or intentionally lodged) between the rotor and a brake pad. The only option is to take off the wheel and inspect the pads for embedded debris.

Theoretically, taking the car up to highway speeds on a deserted stretch and slamming on the brakes hard until the car slows to a crawl or a stop might dislodge the offending debris. Try to do this near a Ford or Mercury dealership, so that in case your brakes fail completely the car will come to a safe complete stop once it's plowed into the showroom (you'll get better service by plowing into the service department, but chances are your problem will get better visibility on the showroom floor... literally).

[cyclone03]

Turn the climate control,A/C or Defrost on and off.
My GUESS is it's the A/C compressure.

[TripleTransAm]

Good guesses on the A/C, Smokie and Cyclone.

By the same nature, it might be a good idea to turn off the radio too, in case he's a big fan of Nine Inch Nails or something similar. ;)

[Krytin]

I did find a piece of metal embedded in the right front outboard pad @ about 17k miles. It was making some noise and left a faint groove/score on the rotor, It looked like it might have been oversized metal/quality control problem when the pad was made. I picked it off w/awl point and had no further problems, Replaced OEM pads & rotors @ 24k miles w/ upgrade below.

[shawn744]

hey guys, thanks for all your replies. since my last post i've been driving around pretty much anywhere i could find....highways, side streets, EVERYTHING....drove for almost two hrs. Not one sound. maybe 1 or 2 little squeeks, but not that other noise. I went through everything: Rivers (for those of you familiar with our flooding problems here in NJ today), pot holes (not intentionally), aggresive driving, braking, accelerating, old-man driving (no offense to any senior citizens), EVERYTHING.....i think i'm just gonna wait it out....if that horrendus loud scratching sound comes again, i'm gonna take it to the dealership. (And if i'm pissed off enough maybe i'll consider plowing into their showroom :rock: ).....i'll definitely let you guys know what happens.

BTW, there is a new black 04 MM on the lot by the front....if my MM continues misbehaving and i take it there and they want to keep it for a day or two, i'm going to firmly request that new marauder until i get my car back. what do you think the chances are of that happening?

if anyone gets any more lightbulbs aboot my idea i'd appreciate it. g'night :help:

[RAUDER]

Had the same problem. Turned out to be a misaligned hood....go figure. I believe there's a thread on this....do a search. Hope this helps.

Sam