seanton Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 Hello, I have a 2.4l 2009 sxt. For the past two weeks I've had a very loud noise coming from somewhere along the belt, I had first noticed the noise a few months ago. I can't pinpoint exactly where it's coming from although I'm pretty sure it's something along the belt (or even the belt itself). When I start the car it's especially loud, idles at 1500rpm before going down to about 1000 after a 5 seconds. the noise also get louder when turning or going >50kmh. There are no vibrations or anything and the car seems to be driving as usual, just especially loud. Anybody have any idea what it could be? I can post a clip of the sound if that could help. Thank you, Sean dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 Possibly the belt tensioning idler pulley is failing. The World Engine (1.8-2.0-2.4L) also used in the Caliber models has a much posted failure of the overrunning clutch on the alternators, starts low and ends up noisy like a diesel. OhareFred, rolly, 2late4u and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 ^^ This is what I was thinking too. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 Gotta get a mechanics stethoscope and isolate it. Could be anything that is rotating. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Would a mechanic's stethoscope just be a long screwdriver? jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Yes. Or you can get a "real" one from harbor freight for like $10. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanton Posted September 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks a lot everyone! I'll keep you updated. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) On our 09 2.4L SXT, the alternator started making a loud whining sound. It was still operational, just noisy. Dealer replaced it under warranty. Edited September 15, 2015 by jkeaton dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanton Posted September 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 I used a stethoscope to try to isolate noise. Can't tell if it's coming from the alternator or the power steering but they both seem to be making more noise then usual. I also took off the belt and manually turned everything to see if I could find the noise. The lower idler and the tensioner seemed a little worn so I changed them, with a new belt too, Sound is still there unfortunately. I'll bring the car tomorrow to a friends garage to see if he can help me figure out where the noise is coming from. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 Report back the results. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanton Posted September 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 It was the alternator! I put in a new one and the sound is all gone. A big thank you to everyone here for your help! jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Thank you for posting the fix! jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Yes thank you , that's how the knowledge base grows. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanton Posted September 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Here's more detailed post for anyone who ever encounters something similar: So the noise was actually from two separate problems, bad wheel bearings and the alternator. For the alternator: Someone here suggested it might have been the idler pulley, however the noise was much louder than any noise a bad idler pulley could have made: With the hood open I had to scream to the person beside me to be understood. It was tricky isolating the noise to the alternator though, when looking at the engine from the front you could tell the noise was obviously from the side with the power steering and alternator. Taking the belt off and turning all the pulleys manually didn't help as none of them seemed bad. When running the engine without the belt on the noise left so it was obviously something attached to the belt causing the noise. With a stethoscope the sound coming off the alternator was just a little bit louder than the power steering, so I sort of took a chance by changing the alternator (luckily I was right!). Mind you I had two mechanics (friends) look at the engine too and neither of them was 100% certain where the sound was from, however they both guessed the alternator. Changing the alternator was very easy, there's a video on youtube, but basically disconnect negative battery terminal, take off the belt, take off the lower pulley, remove two bolts holding alternator in, disconnect wires, take out the bad alternator, and repeat process in reverse order. No more noise! For the wheel bearings, I changed the entire hub and it went surprisingly well, I had to get a 32mm axle nut socket (which for some reason didn't fit snugly but 31mm nut socket's don't exist apparently), I took off the wheel, caliper assembly, rotor. Then I took off the axle nut using a normal socket wrench, and a pretty long tube to give more leverage. Then I had to deal with 4 15mm bolts, went very well too. After that I spent about 10min. knocking at the old hub (I took off a little shield to get more whacking room). For this part I'd loosely put the axle nut back on to make sure you don't mistakenly hit the axle. After that sand the everything down to make sure you have a clean surface, get the new hub on, put all bots back on, get the nut back on (I read you should get a new one but I put the old one back on), then rotor, caliper and wheel and you're all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 The Avenger (I think) had a common issue with the alternator on the 2.4 (???) just as you describe. Saw some videos on You Tube and the sound was horrendous. Thanks for posting back. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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