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Squeak in Engine Bay, THINK It’s The AC

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Last couple of starts and also during a journey (after ~90 mins driving) today, I could hear a squeak from up front. This is not the HPFP/crickets sound and does not appear linked to engine/drivetrain/wheel speed. It’s a little intermittent, but when I parked up and had a listen under the bonnet, I could have sworn it was coming from the AC compressor. Toggled the AC on/off a few times and I think it did fluctuate, but not on/off with the AC switch. Battery voltages seems fine (OEM has been replaced with an upgraded unit). Aux belt was replaced a few thousand miles ago.

Anyone had similar occur? (~70k)

Is there anything else around there it might be, that I should look at?

Is there a bearing and or clutch in the AC unit that might be replaceable?

Any other ideas/suggestions welcome. Thanks, Stu.

 

 

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Thanks Lauren, it’s a (relatively) inexpensive place to start, so will try that as a starter. I’m pretty sure it’s less than a year old, might have a look at the tensioner too.

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Yeah, in most cases squeak from engine bay comes from worn belt. But there might also be less common cases of bearing of some auxiliary device driven by belt (A/C compressor, generator, or at some idler pulley) gone bad.

If belt it is, slightly weird that noise propagated after driving. Most often worn/untight belts squeak during cold starts in winter or if got wet on rainy days, due some slipping, and after a while driving, squeak goes away. Also you mentioned that belt was changed few K miles ago? Was it changed to OE one or some cheaper replacement? Was it tightened when changed?

From quick googling, maybe these might be of help: -1- -2-

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1 hour ago, Church said:

Yeah, in most cases squeak from engine bay comes from worn belt. But there might also be less common cases of bearing of some auxiliary device driven by belt (A/C compressor, generator, or at some idler pulley) gone bad.

If belt it is, slightly weird that noise propagated after driving. Most often worn/untight belts squeak during cold starts in winter or if got wet on rainy days, due some slipping, and after a while driving, squeak goes away. Also you mentioned that belt was changed few K miles ago? Was it changed to OE one or some cheaper replacement? Was it tightened when changed?

From quick googling, maybe these might be of help: -1- -2-

Cheers for the links, I will have a read after work. 
 

I checked my history, new belt went on in Feb 2019, probably done 10k. I think it was a Gates belt, which I’ve used before on my 350z with no issue, but I’ll replace as a matter of course.
 

I’m due a service in 6 weeks so I’ve just brought that forward and will ask my mechanic to investigate both the suspicious compressor pulley and the tensioner tension then. 

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Apart from wear, the belt could be squeaking due to a slippery substance it might have picked up (oil, grease...). Inspection of the belt and eventual cleaning may cure the problem.

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Got it looked at by my mechanic during a service. The AC pump is the source of the squeak, not only does the sound come right out of it, it temporarily went away with a little lube -sadly returned with a vengeance shortly after. Will try and source a replacement from a breaker.

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