Another Odd Noise

[gahigalaba]

Hey guys, was just about to leave work and started up for the first time in like 10 hours and got this crazy loud noise. The same loud noise in higher rpm in the video is exactly how it was for like the first 15 seconds of initial startup.

Sound is definitely coming from the front of the motor. Not ruling out the serpentine belt but the belt looked fine and didn't look caught up on anything. First time hearing this noise and didn't do this in the morning.

Anyone come across this before? Really hoping I don't have to do timing yet since it only has like 25k since last service.

[rguil]

Viscous fan clutch perhaps.

[gahigalaba]

Gonna look into that and the serp belt tensioner. With the fan clutch I should be checking for resistance and possible play, correct?

[rguil]

At first i would just pull the serpentine belt off and run it and rev it to see if the noise goes away.
You can run it for a bit without a serp belt on a full battery

[gahigalaba]

Just went out to try and diagnose and started it up. Heard that noise ever so slightly and went away after like 10 seconds. Was not loud at all like the video. Would almost sound like nothing if I wasn't looking for it. Guess i'll have to wait to see if it comes back up and take off the belt then.

[gahigalaba]

Noise is still there now. Took the serpentine belt off and it went away and came back when I put the belt back on. Going to try replacing the tensioner and get a new belt and see how that goes.

[gahigalaba]

Noise did quiet down as coolant got up to temp.

My understanding is that with a cold engine, the clutch fan should spin easily and freely, and that with a hot engine, the fan should have resistance. My clutch fan spun just as easy hot as it did cold.

[rguil]

Noise did quiet down as coolant got up to temp.

My understanding is that with a cold engine, the clutch fan should spin easily and freely, and that with a hot engine, the fan should have resistance. My clutch fan spun just as easy hot as it did cold.

Im glad you found your issue. People around here usually delete their viscous fan clutch in favor of a EFK, and you can source parts for the EFK a lot cheaper than JHM if you are curious how

[gahigalaba]

Yes thanks for the info. Tearing into it tomorrow and deleting the fan clutch and throwing in a new belt and tensioner just to be sure. Ideally I get an efk in there at the same time, but I need to source one out and want to get the fan clutch out of there asap since this car's my daily. Pretty cold in WA now so not too worried about no primary.

Havent looked too much into efk's other than ECS and people getting them off ebay. I've read mixed ideas of people wiring it to the secondary fan or running an independent switch. Would wiring it to the secondary fan be a little easier especially if I'm looking to sell the S4 down the road?

[rguil]

Wiring is up to you, i have my efk running off coolant temp with my standalone ECU so i have no clue how to wire it with stock wiring, i would follow the jhm recommendations when it comes to wiring.
You can get the timing belt blockoff plate from jhm as it is a good price, then you can get the fan from summit and save 100$.
You can run without your viscous fan for a while if you need to just get down the road while your waiting on parts, i ran mine without any fans for 6 months just fine, your car will over heat if your stuck in traffic though, but if your moving you will have no overheating issues.
I THINK the fan is a hayden 14 inch. Part # 3690. You will want to double check on that.