Car is driving me mad

[stu328is]

Hope someone can help me on this as its hard to describe so please bear with me, 2 mechanics think I'm mental and don't know what I'm on about

Had my cambelt changed about 400 miles ago now along with new water pump and rear axle bushes, month before had oil change and new oil filter and starter motor.

Got car back from having cambelt done and was going to see my mate and I kept feeling a slight vibration or maybe reverberation is a better word coming back through the accelerator pedal on way to my friends when I'm driving from 1.2k through to maybe 2.5k revs, I can hear another noise on top of normal engine noise like something out of balance ever so slightly as its revved and when you let the revs come down it does the same, it's so hard to describe it's like a droning noise, i cant hear it after 2.5k up or feel it although it may still be there

I took it back to the garage when I got back from my mates after maybe 200 miles, my mechanic said he couldn't feel it couldn't hear it and kept it for a week after apparently stripping it down and says its nothing they have done or touched and he doesn't know what it is, I knew that would be coming tbh

Took it to another mechanic who knows e30's better and he couldn't hear it or feel it either and said book it in and he'll have a proper look although he says it sounded fine to him, it's now done 400 miles and to me it seems worse, if I hold it at 1.5k I can hear this droning noise over the normal engine noise and haven't a clue what it could be it's not a metallic noise just a drone over the top and this vibration through the pedal

Now the car doesn't feel as spritley as it used to either, to me it feels like it needs more winding up than before to get it going and just doesn't feel as quick.

Im usually ok at knowing what a problem might be but this is driving me up the wall, I don't think it driveline related as it does it parked up just holding the revs.

I'm running an install in it, not excessively big or anything but keep thinking it could be Ive been killing the altenator slowly as the headunit clips sometimes if I have it too loud as it' drawing to much current through the amp, it comes straight back on after but i have to turn it down obviously and if it's when i have lights on and window wipers going it seems worse, if I've done something to the alternator wiring an amp into the car could something inside that be making this vibration or noise for some reason as its now knackered?, clutching at straws I know but I'm really baffled

Sorry for long post but any suggestions MUCH appreiciated

[BenHar]

What car is it?

Ben

[aimlessrock]

did you use oem parts?...cheap or poorly made parts have caused me so many problems over the years..especially waterpumps.

[Sanchez]

I would ask them to put another waterpump in, it could be the bearings on the waterpump. Make sure you get them to put a metal impeller one in.

[kam-325i]

I would ask them to put another waterpump in, it could be the bearings on the waterpump. Make sure you get them to put a metal impeller one in.

I would agree with this,

[stu328is]

It's my e30 325, I don't think the water pump was oem, I was going to get one from ecp and asked on here for advice on what one to get and he got one from the people he uses as he said he didn't like ecp parts and the place he uses gives a years guarantee on parts

How am I gonna get him to change it, he's not going to want to without proof and I haven got the money right now to pay for it to be changed again

[Billwill]

Vibration damper?

[Speedtouch]

Sounds like it could be a worn clutch release bearing or gearbox input shaft bearing.

What effect does pushing the clutch in have on the droning?

[stu328is]

Doesn't chaneyhe noise a all I had a release bearig go on my e36 so know what it sounds and feels like this is more of and extra vibration over the normal vibration of revving the car pretty sure it's engine and not gearbox, its so hard to describe

As suggested it could be the water pump as this definatley wasn't there before the cambelt and wp were done, it feels like a pulley or something is going out of balance at 1.5k on and I can hear the sound its making over the normal sound of the engine

[Speedtouch]

Worn engine mounts, maybe?

[broadie]

Have you double checked the cam timing,belt tension & if you have excessive bounce on the belt.
Could drop off the aux belts to rule out the altenator & steering pump.

[gooseygander110]

They may have over tightened the cam belt ..... That will deffo make an odd noise..........get someone to check the tension's not to tight ....also the auxiliary belts

[broadie]

Is it changing with temperature? Engine hot or cold.

[k]

Sounds like an overtensioned cam belt
There is a fine line between over/under and "just right tensioning" of the belt, and an overtensioned belt will make a droning sound

[Brianmoooore]

Sounds like an overtensioned cam belt

It does, but it takes a very incompetent mechanic to over tighten a M20 belt.

[broadie]

Any chance they buggerd up the fan coupling?

[stu328is]

All possible but got to wait until they open again, I mentioned the cambelt tension and he said it was fine they had the car back for a week and he said he had the belts off and was testing everything separately had the car running without belts on from what I can remember he said.

My thoughts are a dodgy waterpump after reading how crap non genuine can be, it was mentioned several times when I was asking on here about how I should get an OE waterpump and i should have but i was paying out 500+ at the time so was trying to save a bit if i could, I took advice on an ECP one on here and was going to supply it but my mechanic didn't want to use it and got one from parts direct I think as it had a years guarantee.

It's worse now so hopefully he'll hear it this time and know what I was on about, his advice was to use it until it got worse and he might be able to find the problem, lets see what he says as I'm going to say I think the WP is shagged

[bss325i]

Sounds like an overtensioned cam belt

It does, but it takes a very incompetent mechanic to over tighten a M20 belt.

Exactly!

They are self tensioned by the spring although i have seen plenty of M20's were the tensioner spring is MIA so much so that i actually stock a spring along with various clips and fitting that as also usually broken or MIA!

[stu328is]

Would an over tensioned belt cause the engine to vibrate back through the pedals and cause a drone though?

I could be imagining it but the car definatly feels like it's down on power to me like it's slightly holding back just feels like I need to wind it up more to get it to go, car just doesn't feel right would a knackered waterpump do that if the bearings are shagged?

[k]

Don't suppose it could be a tooth out on the cam timing? that would drop the power
But the mechanic says he's checked all that

[stu328is]

So he says, got to take it back i'm not enjoying driving it at the moment at all

[bss325i]

Would an over tensioned belt cause the engine to vibrate back through the pedals and cause a drone though?

I could be imagining it but the car definatly feels like it's down on power to me like it's slightly holding back just feels like I need to wind it up more to get it to go, car just doesn't feel right would a knackered waterpump do that if the bearings are shagged?

I doubt very much an over tensioned belt would cause a vibration back through the pedals.

This may be a shot in the dark but... when they did the rear axle bushes at the same time as the belt, how did the drop the rear beam to remove the bushes? If they removed it completely or dropped it down one side and too much on the passenger side then the exhaust would have been either removed or moved.

Have you/they checked to see if its touching anywhere it shouldn't?

[stu328is]

I'll get him to check it when I get back to the garage but I'm not sure if something like that could make the noise I'm hearing the feeling through the pedals maybe, be a touch if that is all it is it really would