Robert the Swordsman

I was driving down Pico Blvd. yesterday, and all of a sudden, there was a burst of sound and an atrocious squealing noise.

I pulled over in to a spot with a parking meter and shut the car off. All the gauges checked out okay, so I opened the hood. Nothing seemed to be out of place and there was no smoke, but you could definitely smell some kind of burning friction-type smell.

Coolant was full, oil said it was half-full so I added a quart anyway, tried to start it again.

Same awful screeching sound (it's SO loud), would start for half-a-second, then shut off, squeaking the whole time. Tried this a couple more times, same result.

Called a tow truck, got it towed home. I started it again, same unbearable sound, but it stayed running this time. Still, I was afraid of letting it idle because it sounded like it was being ground down and torn apart, so I shut it off after a few seconds.

This afternoon, I tried it again. I noticed that the fan doesn't move; it jolts a little bit, but it doesn't spin. I turned it off and found that I was able to spin the fan freely with my hand, tried it again, same effect: the fan stood still. Upon further inspection, all the belts appeared to be moving, but like I said, not the fan.

What does this mean? Is it something I can fix myself? For the record, I know little to nothing about fixing cars (though I want to learn), but after doing this, it almost seems like a minor thing that I might be able to work on by myself.

Then again, if any rotorheads are in the Los Angeles area and have some free time within the next few days, that'd be sweet as well, but don't worry about it.

In any case, thank you very much.

web777

It's most likely a loose belt. Where in LA are you?

rotariesrule

sounds like a water pump failure.

Robert the Swordsman

That's what other people have been saying.

I'm not so sure about it being a waterpump failure based wholely on concensus, but then again, I don't know nothin'.

I live a few miles from where the 405 meets the 10; Pico and Fairfax, if that makes any difference.

Thank you for the responses.

Kentetsu

My guess: water pump blew up. Now the pulley that the belt runs on is jammed and can't move, thus the fan does not turn and the belt sizzles up on the pulley. The fact that you can smell something burning eliminates motor issues. Other possibility would be a seized alternator, power steering pump, air pump, etc. But since the fan does not turn, that pretty much narrows it down (good call RoteriesRule). Obviously, running the engine without a water pump is a bad idea. Cheer up, easy fix!

Paradox

iTrader: (1)

you shouldnt be able to move the fan with your hand, theres a clutch mechanism to hold this stiff when its not needed. (cold engine)


but yes, i'd be looking more into water pump, alt, etc.

Kentetsu

I think you have that backwards; fan is loose when cold (spins freely), stiff when hot (turns with engine).

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Hmmm...... Sounds like the oscillator. Unplug that little black box up by the right front headlight. If the screeching goes away, you're done.

Ray

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Water pump.......plain and simple.

Robert the Swordsman

Thanks, that's a bit of a relief.

I tried this, and unfortunately, it didn't work; same obnoxious noise, same non-function. Thank you very much for the suggestion, though.

SparkienSuggah

oscillator?

why does the RX have an external oscillator module? more rotary majik?

racintang

Take the fan belt off and start the car to see if the sound goes away. If it does then attempt to turn every acc. by hand until one does not want to move. replace that part and get a new belt.

Robert the Swordsman

UPDATE:

This afternoon, I tried to start it.

It was still screeching as I turned it over for a few seconds, but suddenly, the noise stopped.

After a bit of fiddling with the gas pedal and turning the key, I was able to get it to start.

It'll idle for about a minute and a half, then sputter and stall.

I think that if I kept doing this for a while, it'd actually run. Unfortunately, I can't tell if it's overheating because I can't get it to stay idle long enough.

On a possibly related note: my clutch cylinder leaks, so I refill the fluid usually once a week or so. Without my realizing it, it ran dry over night. This has happened once or twice in the past, and I usually just add clutch fluid / pump the clutch until it works again.

Now, however, no matter how much I pump, the clutch will stay stuck to the floor; I can't get it to work.

Does this have something to do with it, or would this be entirely seperate?

Also, one last clue: the "Add Coolant" came on and off intermittently the week before this occurred, and now it's on all the time while the car is running (even though the coolant is quite full). Also, the oil light fades in and out every once and a while, but that is also full.

Thank you very much.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

well you clutch master cylinder has nothing to do with the problem. But you should get it fixed... You should be able to physically pull the clutch pedal back by hand, then add hydraulic fluid to the system and bleed it... Get the leaking part fixed, leaky hydraulics is always bad.

The coolant sensor is located at the top middle of the radiator, it is possible it has come unconnected. But you never really described if the problem sounds like it could be belt noise... But it also sounds like to me that something has seized or locked up, like others have suggested, take your belt off and turn things over making sure they aren't locked up.

OnlyOnThurs

Sounds like a similar sound i had a couple of weeks ago...look at my thread...could it be a posible bad shutter valve making that noise????

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/what-hell-noise-i-need-help-guys-484559/

Robert the Swordsman

UPDATE:

Okay, by some obsure miracle, the car all of a sudden drives just as it did a week ago.

There is probably still something wrong; I just find it so hard to believe that a problem like that would fix itself.

Astonishing.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

You are sure it wasn't the oscillator? If it comes back, unplug it again. The oscillator screech is a high pitched noise that sounds like a fan belt slipping and seems to be coming from underneath the dash or someplace around the firewall from the engine side. It's very hard to locate and very annoying. And then it just goes away and comes back later. Mine was especially bad when the weather got cold, I had to stop driving the car for a few weeks until I figured out what it was. I unplugged it, noise stopped, then I plugged it back in and haven't had the problem since.

In any event, hope it's fixed. Merry Christmas!

Ray

matgls23

What does an oscillator do? My neon POS makes that noise when I get on the gas hard in low gears. I was thinking it was a belt slipping though.

Matt