Weird Noise In My Housemate's Clio 16V

Weird Noise In My Housemate's Clio 16V

Author
Discussion

TimmerTVR

Original Poster:

387 posts

216 months

Monday 12th March 2007
quotequote all
Pretty sure it's a Mk1 phase 2 and it has developed a high pitch whine at exactly 4000rpm. It slowly progresses from 3500-4000rpm then dies off there after.

The noise sounds like it's coming from the lower left hand side of the car in fron of the passenger i.e. beyond the glovebox.

Our first reaction was the relays so we tried each one in the glove box individualy to no avail. There are a couple of relays on the left of the engine bay which could also be the source, however these are for the powersteering pump and the fuel injectors.

Now the good old haynes manual doesnt say which one is which and i dont want to remove the injector relay and start the car if its going to wreck it.

Any thoughts on which relay is which?

Or any ideas on what else the high pitch whine could be?

Cheers


We have also posted on cliosport and cliowilliams and knowone has had any ideas.

Edited by TimmerTVR on Monday 12th March 17:19

TimmerTVR

Original Poster:

387 posts

216 months

Wednesday 14th March 2007
quotequote all
No ideas i take it.....................

tigger1

8,402 posts

222 months

Thursday 15th March 2007
quotequote all
Have they tried dipping the clutch at that speed / and is it in all gears?

If it happens when the clutch is pressed then it's possibly wheel related. Mk 1 clios were notorious for wheel bearings, although CV joints can be iffy too.

nurburgring

162 posts

210 months

Monday 19th March 2007
quotequote all
As tigger1 says, you need to establish if the noise stops when the wheels aren't rotating. Which would point to it being related to movement of the car. E.g this could be a driveshaft / c.v joint / wheel bearing / brakes binding / gearbox wear / all the parts which move when the car is moving.

Park somewhere safe with the car in neutral with the handbrake on and have your mate rev the engine up to 4000, listen for the noise. It might be useful to have the bonnet open and stand to the side whilst you listen for the noise.


If you can still hear the noise when the car is stationary then it is likely to be something attached to the engine.

If the car has air conditioning try turning it on and off to get the noise to appear.

Turn the steering wheel to see if the power steering pump/motor is causing it.

Check for air leaks in the vacuume hoses - sometimes they're very small, make sure the hoses are all properly attached.

Check that all ancillary belts like the alternator are in good condition and not slipping.


If it sounds like a supercharger ( Wwwwhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!) coming from the cam belt side of the engine it may be because the belt is too tight or a tensioner has worn out and ceased up. Also a belt driven water pump may have got old and ceased up.

Sorry to be so generic, just a few ideas to check out.

Be careful with the clio bonnet to make sure its properly shut as they can fly open as the latch is rubbish!

Let us know how it goes,Good luck!! thumbupthumbup


TimmerTVR

Original Poster:

387 posts

216 months

Tuesday 20th March 2007
quotequote all
Thanks for the detailed replies! Much appreciated.

We havent tried dipping the clutch when the noise occurs yet so will try that soon. It doesnt occur when the car is staionary and its not the cam belt tensioners as we know that needs doing because it is producing a seperate noise. This sound definately seems like its coming from the front left and if it was the wheel why would it only occur at 4000rpm?!

Still perplexed at the mo but we'll see what happens.

Cheers