I have an automatic V6 coup w/ 100k miles on it (runs just as great as it did when I bought it with 10k) but I've recently noticed a sound coming from (or near) the crankshaft area underneath the car near the lowest pulley from the frontside. At least, I believe it's the crankshaft area: I know nothing about cars really but it's coming from around the pulley on the lowest frontside of the engine just inside the area where the pulley shaft goes into the body of the engine block itself. This sound--this "card in a bicycle spoke" sound--seems only to happen when the car gets up to operating temperature and can be clearly heard at low RPMs--anything beyond this and the sound gets almost to the point where it can't be heard.
After I put the car up on some ramps, I got underneath it and looked at the area where the crankshaft goes into the main engine body and from what I can tell, the crank sleeve (the plastic piece that's around the shaft and between the pulley and the main engine block boady?) had an even split down the middle. It may have been the wrong move but I bought some automotive epoxy / cement from a local Autozone and put a tiny dab around it thinking that this was causing the noise. Unfortunately, even after it dried up to a point where the sleeve was VERY secure against the block, it seems as if the sound remains once the car warms up still.
Here's the kicker: there's no smoke or leaking fluids at all, no engine lights are on, and the car still drives perfectly fine. Heck, it still drives like new! I'm very worried I'm going to be forced to replace the engine though because these things usually end badly for me, so I'm just kinda freaking out right now...
Any suggestions? How much would a replacement engine of the same type cost (including ballpark tax / labor)? I plan on taking it back to the local Ford dealership to get their guys to look at it *again* but the first time they checked it out, they inadvertently assumed that the sound was coming from the top of the engine (the intake I think they said?) but the thing is that the techs didn't go underneath the car when the car was being lightly accelerated--they just barely looked at it because I asked if they could squeeze me into their day without an appointment... That aside, had they put the car up on a lift and had someone lightly tap on the accelerator with someone under the car, they would've realized that the sound was in fact coming from the crankshaft area. This much at least, I know for a fact. So yeah, I'm going to take it back in sometime this week and explain all this because I discovered it myself this weekend. I hate waiting!
I could use some insights / advice. I love my car and since it's paid off, I'd hate to replace it and even if I'm to do that, I'm not sure what route I should take knowing that this could be a serious issue. Heck, I'm clueless on how much a trade-in with this could get me even, so feel free to provide some insights into that too (just for thoughts).
Advice would be really appreciated and thanks in advance. I really hope this turns out to be a somewhat simple fix that is less than a thousand...
After I put the car up on some ramps, I got underneath it and looked at the area where the crankshaft goes into the main engine body and from what I can tell, the crank sleeve (the plastic piece that's around the shaft and between the pulley and the main engine block boady?) had an even split down the middle. It may have been the wrong move but I bought some automotive epoxy / cement from a local Autozone and put a tiny dab around it thinking that this was causing the noise. Unfortunately, even after it dried up to a point where the sleeve was VERY secure against the block, it seems as if the sound remains once the car warms up still.
Here's the kicker: there's no smoke or leaking fluids at all, no engine lights are on, and the car still drives perfectly fine. Heck, it still drives like new! I'm very worried I'm going to be forced to replace the engine though because these things usually end badly for me, so I'm just kinda freaking out right now...
Any suggestions? How much would a replacement engine of the same type cost (including ballpark tax / labor)? I plan on taking it back to the local Ford dealership to get their guys to look at it *again* but the first time they checked it out, they inadvertently assumed that the sound was coming from the top of the engine (the intake I think they said?) but the thing is that the techs didn't go underneath the car when the car was being lightly accelerated--they just barely looked at it because I asked if they could squeeze me into their day without an appointment... That aside, had they put the car up on a lift and had someone lightly tap on the accelerator with someone under the car, they would've realized that the sound was in fact coming from the crankshaft area. This much at least, I know for a fact. So yeah, I'm going to take it back in sometime this week and explain all this because I discovered it myself this weekend. I hate waiting!
I could use some insights / advice. I love my car and since it's paid off, I'd hate to replace it and even if I'm to do that, I'm not sure what route I should take knowing that this could be a serious issue. Heck, I'm clueless on how much a trade-in with this could get me even, so feel free to provide some insights into that too (just for thoughts).
Advice would be really appreciated and thanks in advance. I really hope this turns out to be a somewhat simple fix that is less than a thousand...