hi - I have a 2007 taurus vulcan. Runs great with 65k miles.

No issues except, going up hill or accelerating (under load), there is a clicking sound under the hood. Going down hill, coasting, it goes away. It started a couple of months ago, but got worse recently on a 5 hour trip. My guess is that it sounds like a bad bearing in the alternator. Would tension on the belt increase under load. Does this make sense? I searched the forum but I'm not seeing anything like this. Thanks for any suggestions!

rob

 

Hi Rob,
My first thought is that of a possible exhaust leak. Sometimes you can create the condition by applying some throttle , not a lot, with the vehicle in gear and the foot brake held on.
Just do it only enough (2-3 seconds)to hear if it is coming from the engine compartment or possibly under the vehicle. It is easier to do this with two people and make sure you can rely on the person applying the brakes.
Let us know if that suggestion was of any help.

 

A 2007 with 65,000mi? WOW!! Is a 'clicking' or more of a 'rattle' ? Maybe a loose heat shield, possible CV joint? Hanky has a very good idea.

 

I will take a closer look and try the experiment then report back. It's really a clicking and not a rattle. I'm familiar with heat shield and CV joint sounds and I don't think it's that, but as I said, I will take a closer look today!

(Lots of times, I get lucky and it's simpler.)

thx

 

well, I haven't done a lot of investigation, but I did determine that short trips to work don't cause the sound to occur. The car has to be completely warmed up and it will even do it in neutral. The key is to completely warm it up and rev the engine to 2k! I still don't know what it is, but it certainly seems to be coming from the engine compartment. It sounds a little like a chain. Does this engine have a timing chain? Still perplexed...

 

It sounds like the cam synchronizer is getting tired and may need to be replaced.

Do you hear a chirping sound from time to time, if so that would confirm the synchronizer which is in place of where dist was located.

 

I think I was hearing a chirping sound a while back. I don't drive this car all of the time, but I I am driving it more now. I will pay attention for the chirping. I'm hoping it's not a big deal to replace! thx

 

i replaced the cam synchronizer but it had no effect. while revving to 2k,squirted water on a serpentine pulley and the chirp went away. so removed the belt, cleaned the pulleys and put on a new belt. problem solved! thx

 

With that kind of luck consider playing the lottery !
Thanks for the solution and update.

 

Everything was ok for a while. Now it's clicking all of the time when it's warmed up. Even when I'm at the curb. Just for fun, I'm going to spray water on the belt when it's running and see if it has an effect. It seems to be getting worse. I hope this doesn't mean that I have to give back my lottery winnings!