| New Coupler? More Problems... | |
|
+6Rickw albertj Abaddon DEMonte1997 AA 99SilverArrow 10 posters |
Author | Message |
---|
99SilverArrow Rookie
Name : Shaun Joined : 2010-10-21 Post Count : 17 Merit : 0
| Subject: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:51 pm | |
| Hello all, First let me say, this site is awesome and incredibly helpful. Thanks to all the posters for making me feel welcome. This is my 99 Silver Arrow. You may have seen the pictures in the showroom threads. Love the riv and Buick, as my second car throughout college was a 85 Buick Electra. But, I think I need some help with the riv. There is a clicking noise coming supercharger (I think) and I believe it may be the coupler, but am unsure. Even though I'm no expert, I plan on doing the work myself, so I want to make sure the diagnosis is correct. Here is a video, my apologies on the sound quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkypU_Q3dLM Additionally, I had a mechanic change the intake manifold gaskets, the valve cover gaskets and oil pan. Problem is, I still smell oil. I also snapped a few pics of the right side of the engine where there appears to be a buildup of oil and gunk. Is this shoddy work? There have been no leaks, but the sight of all that gunk and oil is worrisome. What do you guys think??
Last edited by 99SilverArrow on Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:36 pm; edited 1 time in total | |
|
| |
AA Administrator
Name : Aaron Age : 47 Location : C-bus, Ohio Joined : 2007-01-13 Post Count : 18452 Merit : 252
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:56 pm | |
| How long ago was the work done? Was the engine cleaned? If not, it will take a while to burn off the oil accumulation from before the job. One of the best ways to locate a leak is to thoroughly clean the area and observe for new accumulation over a hundred miles or so. _________________ '05 GTO 6.0L • 6-spd • 95k miles • 0-60: 4.8s • 16.9 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:26'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30 3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails KYB GR2 struts • MaxAir shocks • Addco sway bars • UMI bushings • GM STB • Enkei 18" EV5s w/ Dunlop DZ101s • F-body calipers EBC bluestuff/Hawk HP plus • SS lines • Brembo slotted discs • DHP tuned • Aeroforce • Hidden Hitch^^^ SOLD ^^^ '70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles^^^ SOLD ^^^ | |
|
| |
99SilverArrow Rookie
Name : Shaun Joined : 2010-10-21 Post Count : 17 Merit : 0
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 4:13 pm | |
| - AA wrote:
- How long ago was the work done? Was the engine cleaned? If not, it will take a while to burn off the oil accumulation from before the job. One of the best ways to locate a leak is to thoroughly clean the area and observe for new accumulation over a hundred miles or so.
Work was done last week and I thought the engine was cleaned, but I could be wrong about that. Degreaser and brush should clean the area, right? Any ideas about the video/coupler? | |
|
| |
DEMonte1997 Aficionado
Name : Rick Age : 46 Location : CT Joined : 2009-03-03 Post Count : 1429 Merit : 37
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 4:21 pm | |
| That sounds like a bad coupler to me. Easy way to tell if it is shot is to take the SC belt off and turn the SC pulley by hand. If there is play (ie: turning it a bit before it catches) the coupler isn't good. The holes in the existing coupler probably have become oblong which allows for the play (they are supposed to be circles). Eventually they all go but are inexpensive to replace. I'm going to do mine in the coming weeks too.
I agree with Aaron about the oil you are seeing. I doubt whoever replaced your gaskets did a full engine bay degreasing. You can use some simple green or another type of engine degreaser a few times and get everything clean and then keep an eye on things to see where the oil is coming from now. A VC gasket bolt may have to be re-torqued very slightly. If you are smelling oil, it has to be leaking and burning off on a hot piece under hood (probably exhaust manifold).
HTH | |
|
| |
Abaddon Expert
Name : Scott Location : Macomb, Michigan Joined : 2010-02-24 Post Count : 4316 Merit : 185
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 4:34 pm | |
| Agreed on the oil mess. That looks like old oil, and it's also in the exact spots that the LIM leaks from. I'd spray it with degreaser, drive to the nearest car wash, and power wash that shit off. This way, you have no mess to clean out of your driveway | |
|
| |
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31 Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:19 pm | |
| Consider taking a bottle of degreaser (Purple Power, Simple Green, GUNK Engine Brite, what have you) and a cheapie toilet brush to a DIY car wash. At that car wash then degrease the engine bay using that brush to scrub the grime and power wash it off. Reason: If you use the degreaser and then have to drive a long way to the car wash, the grime bakes on. Be sure to respect the posted signs at the car wash about washing engines. Some of these car washes are in rural areas and the drains don't handle grease well - so they say not to wash your engine there. It's not because they are prissy, it's usually because they can't really handle the sludge. | |
|
| |
99SilverArrow Rookie
Name : Shaun Joined : 2010-10-21 Post Count : 17 Merit : 0
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:46 pm | |
| OK. Now that I've been driving the car for a few weeks, I can describe some of the problems the car seems to suffering.
If you watch the above video, the car is in drive. That noise, which I believe is coming from the coupler (took the belt off, it does have slight movement) occurs the most, idling, in drive or reverse. Just by doing a search, I see the most responses to supercharger issues have been the coupler, although, I'm worried it could be a bearing. The noises seems to be getting louder.
Additionally, there is almost a numbing vibration from the car from 70-74 mph, 60-69, none, 76+, none. A slightly lesser vibration/noise occurs from 40-45. The mechanic attributed this to a wheel hub, but I am doubtful. I noticed that when I am making turns going 30-45, the car loses power, almost dropping gears. The only way to break out of this "drop" is to really throttle the gas.
It seems to be happening sometimes going straight from 40-50 as well, unless I punch the pedal, which really makes the car move. I don't feel it losing or dropping gears, but it feels like it lulls down, sluggish even.
When in parallel parking, u-turns, etc, the power steering occasionally struggles to the left or right. Not sure if this is related to the turning or loss of power, but.... | |
|
| |
Rickw Guru
Name : Rick Location : Lancaster, MA Joined : 2008-09-13 Post Count : 6282 Merit : 119
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:53 pm | |
| Have you changed the fuel filter and checked fuel pressure at idle and at RPM.?
The NAPA Gold filter is about $12.00 and a decent fuel pressure gauge from Advanced Auto or even sears is about $29.99. Worth having the pressure gauge in the tool box if you don't already have one. | |
|
| |
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31 Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:15 pm | |
| - 99SilverArrow wrote:
- OK. Now that I've been driving the car for a few weeks, I can describe some of the problems the car seems to suffering.
If you watch the above video, the car is in drive. That noise, which I believe is coming from the coupler (took the belt off, it does have slight movement) occurs the most, idling, in drive or reverse. Just by doing a search, I see the most responses to supercharger issues have been the coupler, although, I'm worried it could be a bearing. The noises seems to be getting louder.
Additionally, there is almost a numbing vibration from the car from 70-74 mph, 60-69, none, 76+, none. A slightly lesser vibration/noise occurs from 40-45. The mechanic attributed this to a wheel hub, but I am doubtful. I noticed that when I am making turns going 30-45, the car loses power, almost dropping gears. The only way to break out of this "drop" is to really throttle the gas.
It seems to be happening sometimes going straight from 40-50 as well, unless I punch the pedal, which really makes the car move. I don't feel it losing or dropping gears, but it feels like it lulls down, sluggish even.
When in parallel parking, u-turns, etc, the power steering occasionally struggles to the left or right. Not sure if this is related to the turning or loss of power, but.... Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. You suspect you have a number of problems. You already ascertained the coupler problem.... so fix it. There is a write up on this site and you can get the parts from RockAuto.Com or darossillc.com. DaRossi sells a complete kit, I used it, works just fine. As for the wheel hubs if you have more than say 80,000 miles... maybe. GM dealers have a NVH diagnosis kit that helps isolate problems like this pretty well. Turns out that for a given speed, the source of a vibration can be isolated. For instance, the suspension is known to have some nasty harmonics at highway speeds depending on the distance between pavement seams on concrete highways. At the dealer you'll see a sign about "posted labor rate." For that price (probably between $65 and $100 an hour dep on where you live and what dealer) you should be able to talk the service advisor into having a mechanic spend an hour with the NVH kit and diagnose the noise. The can narrow it down pretty well and then depending on the noise source many of them you can fix yourself. the other thing to do is visually inspect the CV joints, if you need help on how post again. Albertj
Last edited by albertj on Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:45 pm; edited 1 time in total | |
|
| |
Abaddon Expert
Name : Scott Location : Macomb, Michigan Joined : 2010-02-24 Post Count : 4316 Merit : 185
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:21 pm | |
| Albert has taken the words out of my mouth, er, brain lol. I was also thinking CV joints (front axles) while reading your "turning" concern. They can also cause some funny noises/vibrations at certain speeds. | |
|
| |
99SilverArrow Rookie
Name : Shaun Joined : 2010-10-21 Post Count : 17 Merit : 0
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 16, 2010 9:52 pm | |
| I do have a new question. When the intake manifold and valve cover gaskets are replaced, with the supercharger out of the car during the replacement process, would the supercharger leak oil? | |
|
| |
robotennis61 Guru
Name : robotennis Age : 63 Location : las vegas Joined : 2007-12-17 Post Count : 5562 Merit : 143
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:16 pm | |
| no. the oil is sealed within the rotor housing. | |
|
| |
Karma Aficionado
Name : Andrew Age : 40 Location : Ontario, Canada Joined : 2008-01-14 Post Count : 1949 Merit : 123
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:26 pm | |
| ...but, if it was tipped with the snout down, then it *can* often leak past the snout seal... which won't mean the snout seal is no good, just aged a bit... sometimes even new ones leak...
when in normal orientation, no oil really rests against the inside side of the snout seal... _________________ | |
|
| |
Jayrydingslab Amateur
Name : REMY Age : 41 Location : Maryland PG county Joined : 2010-06-21 Post Count : 41 Merit : 1
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Mon Nov 29, 2010 3:57 pm | |
| ??? mines does almost the same thing but only makes the same noise yours makes when i turn the car off so i should replace the coupler then? | |
|
| |
Abaddon Expert
Name : Scott Location : Macomb, Michigan Joined : 2010-02-24 Post Count : 4316 Merit : 185
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Mon Nov 29, 2010 4:10 pm | |
| - Jayrydingslab wrote:
- ??? mines does almost the same thing but only makes the same noise yours makes when i turn the car off so i should replace the coupler then?
Before you buy anything, remove the S/C belt and turn the S/C pulley back and forth by hand. If it "clunks", the coupler is bad. It shouldn't make any clunking whatsoever. Even a slight "clunk" means the coupler is wearing, and will soon get much noisier. | |
|
| |
DEMonte1997 Aficionado
Name : Rick Age : 46 Location : CT Joined : 2009-03-03 Post Count : 1429 Merit : 37
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Mon Nov 29, 2010 6:54 pm | |
| Mine made a clunk when I turned the car off. Almost startling. You should have seen the holes where the tabs go into the coupler. Instead of being perfect circles like "o" they were more like "0". They had turned into ovals which allowed for the play and all that noise. Like Scott said, if you turn the pulley and feel the slightest play before the pulley catches, you should replace the coupler. It's really easy. The worst part is the smell of SC oil when you are removing it. | |
|
| |
Abaddon Expert
Name : Scott Location : Macomb, Michigan Joined : 2010-02-24 Post Count : 4316 Merit : 185
| |
| |
DEMonte1997 Aficionado
Name : Rick Age : 46 Location : CT Joined : 2009-03-03 Post Count : 1429 Merit : 37
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:32 am | |
| Good call. I wanted to say it smells like a foot that had bad gas but I like your analogy better. | |
|
| |
Eldo Expert
Name : Mark Age : 60 Location : West Salem, Oregon... FINALLY Joined : 2009-04-09 Post Count : 3176 Merit : 104
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:44 am | |
| I still say rotten cheddar cheese - in an army boot, worn by a fish... | |
|
| |
albertj Master
Name : Location : Finger Lakes of New York State Joined : 2007-05-31 Post Count : 8688 Merit : 181
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:29 am | |
| - Abaddon wrote:
- DEMonte1997 wrote:
- The worst part is the smell of SC oil when you are removing it.
Yeah, old S/C oil smells like a fish's foot....if a fish had feet
if I am not mistaken it is whale oil Albertj | |
|
| |
Abaddon Expert
Name : Scott Location : Macomb, Michigan Joined : 2010-02-24 Post Count : 4316 Merit : 185
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:56 am | |
| - albertj wrote:
- [if I am not mistaken it is whale oil
Albertj
You are correct sir! | |
|
| |
Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: New Coupler? More Problems... | |
| |
|
| |
| New Coupler? More Problems... | |
|