Whirring noise !!

[GorgeousGeorge]

Mornin' all

so i get home last night and the missus' V40 is making a whirring noise.

popped the bommet and it "sounds" like its coming from the power steering pump, but the gezza in the garage says it could be the clutch !!!

now 1st gear is slightly hard to get in but i know this is a common thing with the rod gearboxes.

so should i bit the bullet and have a new clutch fitted or does this sound like something else, and how much is a new clutch if this is the problem.

thanks in advance

scott

[Dan F]

If it sounds like it is coming from the PS pump then that is on the opposite side of the engine to the clutch so it should be 'obvious' one way or another.

Don't you have a 2.0T? In which case you have the cable operated M56H gearbox. If first is hard to select your clutch may well be going.
If you have an N/A car, then you may only have a defective selector rod or something, but all these problems require things to be dismantled unfortunately.
Stick the car in 4th gear @ about 30mph and floor it. If the clutch is slipping the revs will rise too fast for the speed, (easy, new clutch) however it isn't slipping and you are getting to the rivets (hence the noise) then it might still be biting but you could be ruining your flywheel. You need to get it checked whatever.
Part of the joys of owning any car I'm afraid.

Check the power steering fluid level as well, if it is low that could account for the noise in the pump.
Get a long screwdriver preferably with teh shaft running all the way through the handle and place it on a NON MOVING part of the power steering pump. CAREFUL!!!!
YOu can then place your ear on the handle end of the screwdriver and if the bearings are going in the pump it will sound obvious, i.e. gravelly/grindy and horrible sounding. If it just makes a nice smooth whirring sound then it is OK.

Hope this helps a little.

Cheers,
Dan.

[GorgeousGeorge]

dan

what a suprise its you with the info;-)

yeah, i've got the 2.0T but the missus has the 2.0 N/A one and its hers that is playing up.

funny you should mention the steering fluid, it was low the other day and she swears blind shes kept an eye on it !!!

i'll have a listen when i get home and let you know.

once again thanks a million

scott

[Dan F]

The N/A car will have the Renault gearbox, and this does use a rod to change gear.

Could just be all the linkages/bushes needs lubricating, as that happened on my old 440 2.0i (same box) and once lubricated it felt like a different gearbox.
The rod is right on the exposed underbelly of the car and gets water and grit etc in its joints, so regular lubrication is a good idea.

Later,
Dan.

[GorgeousGeorge]

dan

well after the fantastic journey home on the M42 "NOT" , i didnt get a chance to check the P/S pump last night to any extent.

also i think the fluid could do with a flush as it looked rather black so that will be sorted next service.

the only obvious thing is that the noise is there all the time, no change when pressing the clutch.

so a quick lube of all the links under the car should help with the gear change, just some general grease should do ???

cheers mate

scott

[Dan F]

Hi Scott.
Grease will do it, but I would squirt some WD40 in there first as it can get to the parts Grease can't without dismantling.
When my car was done they took apart all the linkage and cleaned and greased it all. Worth getting it done properly unless you are happy doing this yourself.

As for the noise being there all the time, that points to it not being the clutch as it would (you would think) at least change pitch when the pedal is depressed.

Personally I think the 1st gear prob and the noise are unrelated. Difficult to be sure without being there however! :-)

Cheers,
Dan.

[GorgeousGeorge]

dan

i'll give it a squirt over the weekend but get it sorted in the service as well, worth the money to stop the missus moaning ;-)

as for doing it myself, i think not, i managed to snap the cover on the side of the seat, the one where the seatbelt goes in while vacing the car ARSE.

cheers for your help dude

scott

[Dan F]

>i'll give it a squirt over the weekend but get it sorted in
>the service as well, worth the money to stop the missus
>moaning ;-)

Amen to that!! I know exactly where you are coming from.

Is it me or do you find that the 2T feels almost like a completely different car to the 2.0i as well?

Later,
Dan.

[GorgeousGeorge]

dan

it sure does, the shift in mine is just soooooooo much smoother, hers is more relaxed all over, you dont bounce around as much when hitting pot holes etc etc and it is lighter on the steering, the turbo reacts more to road undulations than the 2.0i.

the turbo is just so much fun though, mid range power is fab, just what you need to shake the rice-boy off you arse }(

oh, and a power steering pump form europarts, not gonna be a lot of change from £300.00 x( , but this is the first MAJOR problem and she has got 115k on the clock so cant complain that much.

cheers

scott

[GorgeousGeorge]

mornin

o.k. so i finally got to have a good look at the car the weekend.
so armed with my trusty screwdriver i placed one end against the P/S pump, stuck me ear on the other end and it sounded BLOODY noisy, my ears are still ringing ;-)

but it didnt sound out of the ordinary, so revved the car a little and the sound fluctuates with the revving, so screwdriver onto the aternator and viola, thats the noise i can hear, so its into the garage on friday and get that sorted.

thanks for your help on this one guys, come saturday the missus will have to find something else to moan about :P

cheers

scott

ps as for the P/S pump, http://www.7-day-autospares.co.uk/ had one for £80.00 plus vat off a Y reg.