untraceable ratle

[bigwood]

 :-kMy 200TDI Disco has a strange rattle I am having trouble pinning down. Engine cold, clattering noise n/s of engine. Removed alternator belt and clattering stops. The alternator is nearly new and makes no noise or has any sign of wear when you spin the shaft with the belt off. Also the noise is hardly noticeable when the engine is warm. Could the extra load of the alternator belt be causing the power steering pump to be noisy. :-k I know the TDI is a bit rattly but this is above the normal.

[Range Rover Blues]

It's possible that the tension for ther alternator belt pushes the PAS front bearing away, or put another way the PAS belt and alt belt pull equally hard in either direction :-k

[bigwood]

The poor old girl has been pounding the lengh of the M62 since January and its only now I have stood still  for a while I noticed this problem. A new pump at £150 is a painful way of testing by substution, I mite buy a second hand one to try it. My 90 had a noisy pump after drinking Kirton pond water but that was cavitation. That was easy to tell it stopped working the day I sold the truck :oops:. Hopefully I can get it into work tonite and have a susing and bogling session on it. :-k

[Banjo]

Has it got a cover on the back of the alternator, had trouble with that on mine , made a real strange bearing like noise.

[bigwood]

  The saga continues, one power steering pump (cheap second hand one) and it still rattles. One thing I have noticed is it is noisier if I only move the vehicle a short distance. At work I usually have to move it fifty yards to the main car park. At the end of shift it rattles quite badly. :-k Could this be linked to the problem, maybe the alternator working harder when charging is in some way connected.

[muddyjames]

a way to test bearings is to get a long screw driver and put the end on the bearing whilst engine is running and put your ear to the handle end of the screw driver. Obviously be careful! And hand on heart, I am not winding you up. It genuinely works. A broken bearing sounds worse than a new one and the screw driver somehow makes the small noise sound worse.

[bigwood]

 ;)Yes I know this trick and it still eludes me. Belt on, no major noises through screw driver handle but rattles. Belt off rattle stops. :x As instructed this trick should only be only carried out with a modern insulated plastic type handle. A lot of the issued screw drivers in the army tool box had a through shaft so you could use them for violent hitting or chisel like things. During the demonstration of this trick our instructor touched a HT lead on an old series one engine. It was bets on how far he jumped or slung the screwdriver up the workshop. I have got a long weekend now that has no plans for domestic violence ( decorating) or screeming the lengh of the M62 to sort out family estates. I will get to the bottom of this hopefully before it becomes a permanant rattle. I love my tug but it is getting a bit close to a falling out of friends soon.

[bigwood]

Tyred the screw driver trick. No noises from alternator. Removed belt and noise decreases.Has any one ever known the crank damper to break up. The thinking being that the extra load from the alternator belt is enough to take out the slack. When the engine is hot it runs a lot smoother any way and the damper isn't as necessary. Old diesels didn't have crank dampers and were very rattly when cold. :-k

[Dr Evil]

Turn the radio up.  :lol:

[Chris Putt]

Its a landrover. They all rattle, its just a question of how loudly!

[bigwood]

 :clap:I found that rattle and it had no connection with the alternator at all. Started engine , moved to top of drive, no rattle, switched off. Restated after putting overalls on , rattle started. Screwdriver on alternator no funny noises Took alternator belt off , no rattles.  Thinks me take all belts off and check crank damper and pulley. With a very bright torch from underneath the front I checked the pulley to see if it moved on the woodruff key. Next checked if the bolt was loose. When i got socket on the bolt  there was a clunk as I pushed the socket back. After taking the pulley off and looking closer I found the washer from behind the bolt head was loose but the bolt was tight. On taking the bolt out , bar on chassis and crank engine method. I found the washer must have been sat on the lip behind the bolt head not flat as it should have been. The locktite must have held the bolt but the washer must have taken 12,000 miles to rattle loose. Put more locktite on threads and grunt up tight. Cant get to big torque wrench for a week so I will have to grunt the bolt up for now and keep an eye on things meanwhile. Typically I have to make a long journey tomorrow, things being what they are at work and personal life my truck is not getting the TLC it deserves.
Regarding things that rattle, my mother in law flew in Dakota air ambulances during the war and was told when all the rivets rattle in sequence that is the right take off speed