Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

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ATG
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:39 am

Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by ATG »

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. So happy to join as I love my Vibe and great to see so many others out there love theirs as well.

Hoping somebody might be able to discern what this noise is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al8cXR6 ... e=youtu.be

It only happens in the morning after being off for the night. Also, it only happens in drive or reverse. In the video at :36 I put it in park and as you can see the noise goes away.

I thought it was a tensioner belt but I brought it to my local mechanic and they couldn't find any issues with it. I have the option of dropping it off and leaving it overnight but before I do that I wanted to check here.

Thanks in advance for any and all comments you might have.

Cheers and happy driving!

~ATG
Caretaker

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by Caretaker »

Well, assuming your shifts are nice and smooth both when you run through the gears with your brakes fully engaged as well as when you drive, I would think it merely was a heat shield metallic rattle. When putting the car in reverse, the RPMs automatically go down. This is when my engine exhaust heat shield rattled on my Honda Fit; only when at cold start. Again, assuming all your shifts are smooth, I don't think it is a transmission issue. Start with the simple things like heat shields and exhaust hangars before throwing money at the problem. Not to profile too much here but your engine is pretty filthy. I'm hoping you have done all the regular interval fluid changes on it, especially the transmission fluid????? And as for leaving it overnight, as long as it routinely makes this noise at cold start up, your mechanic will certainly reproduce the noise and hopefully find the solution the first time. Sounds like a plan.
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by ehoff121 »

Welcome to genvibe!

I'd guess something is loose due to the rattling at low RPMs. I wouldn't rule out an exhaust leak and I agree with Caretaker on checking the exhaust pipe hangers (rubber that can rot and tear).
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
ATG
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:39 am

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by ATG »

Hi Caretaker, thank you so much for the quick and honest reply.

I have to say at 87,000 miles 2006 I haven't put much $$ into my beautiful red vibe. I've tried! Other than oil changes/filters and a resurface of the rotors and new tires I haven't done anything else. I took her to my mechanic and said I wanted a tune up and he said it didn't need it! I believed him and now I'm thinking that may have been bad info.

I am going to take her to someone new and check transmission fluid heat shield etc.

Please don't roll your eyes but I didn't know I had to clean the engine!! It's true! I guess it IS filthy :) How embarrassing!!! My beautiful Vibe :( hehe.

Thanks also ehoff121. I will ask about that too.
Caretaker

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by Caretaker »

The cleanliness of an engine bay is merely a hint as to where the car has been. For instance, when I saw my Honda for the first time in 6 months, I popped open the hood and saw that there was a huge amount of dust layered on the engine. I then found out that the car was now routinely driven on a farm road. I schooled the driver that this demonstrated that more frequent changes of the air filter and cabin air filter, AS WELL AS oil changes were needed. Sure enough, the oil was dark before the usual 5,000 mile interval; the air filter was dirty; and the cabin air filter looked like a jungle. Since massive amounts of air is brought into the engine for combustion, driving in dirty places means more attention needs to be given to all the vital fluids that keep a car running. Probably not a scientific fact by any means, but a dirty engine, be it caked in oil residue or dust, probably does not allow heat to dissipate as well, putting ever-so-slightly more strain on the engine to do its job.
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by ehoff121 »

ATG wrote:Please don't roll your eyes but I didn't know I had to clean the engine!! It's true! I guess it IS filthy :) How embarrassing!!! My beautiful Vibe :( hehe.
An undiluted spray of the entire compartment with Simple Green, let sit for 15 mins, then rinse off with hose (light to medium spray nozzle- don't want to force water where it shouldn't be :D ). Air dry with hood open for an hour or two in the sun. Spray a little white lithium grease on the hood hinges and lock. Done!
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
04shadowvibe
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 1:08 pm

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by 04shadowvibe »

Atg. My 07 is making this exact same noise. I believe it's the tensioner. Did you get the noise resolved? Mine is very intermittent but definitely the same noise and circumstances
2006 Vibe AWD, Platinum/Graphite, Sun and Sound Package - Sisters
2007 Vibe FWD, Neptune/Graphite, Base
PAST - 04 Shadow Base, Moons and Tunes, Monotone, Traded at 23K for the 06 AWD.
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joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by joatmon »

One relatively quick thing to check is to see if the noise is present when the serpentine belt is removed. Keep in mind that the belt drives the water pump, so only do that for a short period of time and when the engine is cold. If the noise is still there, pretty much rules out the tensioner and any of the belt driven items. If it goes away, then that tends to rule out engine internals and exhaust.

I try to not post pictures of my engine compartment, its not as bad as that video makes yours look, but it's not clean either.
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04shadowvibe
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 1:08 pm

Re: Strange noise from engine in park or reverse in the AM.

Post by 04shadowvibe »

Started mine today and it made the noise. I opened the hood left it in gear and poked around with my stethoscope. Visually noticed the tensioner assembly rocking up and down as it was making the noise. After a few minutes it settled down and the noise stopped. The little shock on it is definitely leaking. I took the belt off and compared the stiffness and resistance of this tensioner to my other vibe and this car it is very weak and easy to move. Pretty sure the tensioner is shot. Just need to see the reviews on which replacement brand to buy.
2006 Vibe AWD, Platinum/Graphite, Sun and Sound Package - Sisters
2007 Vibe FWD, Neptune/Graphite, Base
PAST - 04 Shadow Base, Moons and Tunes, Monotone, Traded at 23K for the 06 AWD.
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