vtec9

I could use a little help diagnosing a loud intermittent squeak coming from the fore of my engine. At first I thought my DIY krankvents were dying and clucking loudly, but I don't think that's the case and now I suspect perhaps it's a pulley. Happens only when the engine is hot. Not when cold, or warm.

When stationary:

1. Typically NOT present at idle after coming to a stop during normal driving, but I CAN coax it into making the noise at idle with some throttle and clutch play. (See VIDEO1)

2. Sometimes when it is NOT present at idle, slightly depressing the clutch will make it appear. When clutch fully engaged again, it goes away. (See VIDEO2) Disengaging the clutch will not always make it appear at idle though.

3. When it is NOT present at idle (with clutch engaged, tranny out of gear) throttle alone will not make it appear.

4. When it IS present at idle (with clutch engaged, tranny out of gear), it is clearly throttle dependent, but sometimes throttle will make it disappear (See VIDEO3, VIDEO4)

When moving:

1. Always present when applying throttle in gear (when engine is hot), or coasting in gear.

2. When coasting, if I disengage the clutch, it will slow as the RPMs drop, and disappear. Re-engage the clutch while coasting and it will reappear.

VIDEO1: After some coaxing, I got it to create the sound at idle. It's the screech/squeal sound, obviously
http://youtu.be/oN5tAdnQPrA

VIDEO2: At idle when the noise is NOT present, but you can hear it come when I slightly depress the clutch, and then disappear when I release.
http://youtu.be/PxkfUxWK6O4

VIDEO3: At idle when the noise is present, you can hear throttle dependency as I pull the throttle cable, but in doing so, the noise eventually disappears and everything sounds normal.
http://youtu.be/MPskgIY3N94

VIDEO4: At idle when the noise is present, you can hear the throttle dependence as I slightly rev from in car
http://youtu.be/DH2Lm-HEQiI

Didn't realize my valve cover was so flaky And my air filter is a temp as the other K&N dries

What should I do to further diagnose? Screw driver to the pulleys and listen for vibration?

Thanks

s2k-tilldeath

I'm not sure exactly what that is put a little bit of baby powder or gold bond on the serpentine belt and if the noise goes away then it's the belt. The powder is suppose to make that noise go away (temporarily).

vtec9

Thanks I'll give it a shot, and try to listen with a screw driver to pinpoint the location.

s2k-tilldeath

Yeah, it should take less than a second for the noise to go away after you put a tiny bit of powder on the belt.

vtec9

I always like it when people come back and post solutions to unanswered questions, so here I am.

This wasn't a pulley or the compressor belt. It was a super-cluck developed after years of running DIY krank vents (supra turbo PCV valves) on both vents to the valve cover.. probably a big no-no. After removing the inline PCV valve in the front 1/2" hose and restoring it to a standard hose (connects to my k&n intake), the noise promptly went away. You can see this hose well in video 3 above.

I'm unsure exactly what seal was leaking air, but based on some other s2ki posts, I suspect it was the crankshaft oil seal in the timing chain cover. It's not leaking oil, but hopefully I haven't created a huge problem for myself down the road.

Billman250

Krank vents cause the spark plug tube seals to make that noise.

Anytime you get this noise, simply pull the dipstick. If the noise stops, the KVs are at fault.

vtec9

This is the post that led me to ultimately remove the front KV.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/513...t__p__13381868

His description matched my problem exactly. Not sure how he determined where it was coming from though. I was aware that the spark plug seals were to blame for the standard noise, just unsure if they were responsible for the extra loud noise that developed after several years.

Anyway, front KV is gone for good.. rear remains as replacement for OEM PCV.

Thanks for chiming in as always.