Help With Noise!!!
 

So this will probably be somewhat long but I'm going to try and explain what I do and do not know about this mystery noise that has been plaguing my car for the past 3 weeks, and has baffled two mechanics. It kind of sounds identical to this guys noise:
So about 3 weeks ago a noise showed up that is a "ticking" or "clattering" sound like whats present in the video above. I originally thought flex plate as I have had two break before. I have been told lifters, possible timing chain, harmonic balancer and the biggie....main bearing? I can't get a good audio on my own car so I know its going to be tough to help diagnose this without that, but maybe someone has some tips or pointers or tricks on how to eliminate some of these things I listed above?

I had a buddy tell me that if it was main bearing you don't "recover" from that in that the noise should be present all the time. I know this about the noise: It goes away if the car sits turned off for a while, it is not present normally at low speeds, if I take it up around 55 or above the noise is there, sometimes its louder if I turn to the left as I'm entering the highway, the noise does NOT increase with engine speed in fact it gets quieter (or is drown out), if I let it sit and idle sometimes it will get quieter, I have also noticed as I sit and idle if the noise is present and I shift it into 1st---it goes away, as I'm coasting without hitting the gas its almost like the noise is mimicking the speed or rotation of the tires?

I have been to two mechanics one tells me main bearing and I need a new engine, the other says wait until it gets louder or breaks something which I don't really wanna do? Any help from anyone who has had a similar sound and maybe ruled out things and how they did it would be greatly appreciated. I'm lost here!! LOL

Thanks guys. :confused:

Hard to say what a noise is without being there. Here's a couple of things that might help locate the source. A stethoscope , wether it be a good one or a broom handle they work. A stethoscope is obvious how to use . A stick or likewise requires putting one end on suspected area and other to your ear. As you move spots the noise will change weather louder/quieter or problem found. Also you can try to remove the serpentine belt for a few seconds to disqualify any of the moving parts. Good luck

Thanks for the tip I had heard mention of a stethoscope. I know its hard to diagnose this thing literally two mechanics have thrown up their hands one saying "new engine" and the other saying "just wait until something breaks". Neither of those are options I really want to go through.

Soooooo possibly unrelated or related? I have noticed that the harmonic balancer "wobbles" on its shaft at low speeds and at high speeds it spins true? I have not noticed the noise getting worse OR excessive vibration at higher speeds? Could the harmonic balancer being bad cause the "clattering" I'm hearing? Or would that be coincidence that the balancer is wobbling? Any other advice or help on this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys. :)

Yes a bad balancer can create noise and damage if not addressed right away. I have heard of more than a few people that had to replace. Hopefully it solves your problem, good luck

Thank you!!! I'm going to get it replaced ASAP.

So unfortunately I have not replaced the harmonic balancer as I've gotten 3 different mechanics that have given me THREE different diagnosis now....UGH.

I'm going to upload a video with what this sounds like now. It doesn't sound like the original video I posted but now sounds more like an exhaust leak but there is no leak as I've had it looked at. What I do know about the noise in my video is this: The noise fluctuates with what fan speed I am set on and what position the fan is on as in defrost (loudest), feet (not nearly as loud) or blowing out the dash (almost gone). I have noticed too that the the intensity of the noise fluctuates or keeps in time with how fast I set the fan speed? If I turn up the fan blower the sound increases in intensity and is louder where as if I turn of the fan blower its almost nonexistent. If I have my foot on the gas and the car in gear and go through the speed selector of the fan blower it is loudest when turned all the way up and on defrost. If I turn it down and on blowing out dash it is almost gone. If I put it in park it lessons more. It can really only be heard driving below 45 MPH? There is no check engine light and no driveability problems and I have plenty of power?

Oh, almost forgot so the mechanics are telling me: Main bearing? Wrist pin? and the engine is toast? I have a feeling its something accessory related like water pump? A/C? This is my daily driver and I really don't want to wait until it leaves me stranded or the entire engine is gone----unless it already it is? :(

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KoO...ew?usp=sharing

I remember a while ago, I replaced my water pump and heard a similar, (but RPM-dependent) noise when I started the car back up. It turns out that I didn't properly torque the pulley bolts and it was wobbling.

It might be worth checking everything on the belt drive to see if anything is loose or wobbly. Take the belt off and feel/spin all of the pulleys you can, you should be able to spin everything but the crank pulley. If anything feels loose, wobbles with rotation, or just looks off, that may be the culprit. However, since you said that it doesn't change with RPM, this might not be the problem.

Another thing to look at might be the evap. system purge valve, which can make a clicking noise when it's running. It shouldn't be that loud, but if its failing it may be making a lot more noise. Take a look at this post for a little more info. You may be able to put your ear to the purge valve and see if it's the source, it sits right on top of the engine and is easy to get to.

The fact that you say it doesn't change with RPM makes me think that it isn't valve/lifter/bearing noise, because all of that would be RPM-dependent.

Sorry this is kind of a late post, I just figured there's a small chance it will be helpful.