WUMP WUMP, GURGLE, GURGLE noise

[ptprice]

I heard a Wump Wump, Gurgle Gurgle noise coming from under the hood yesterday while I was waiting at idle for a light to change. The duration of the this new sound couldn't have been more than ten seconds and then it stopped. No idiot light came on and everything continued to function normally.

When I got back to my apartment complex parking lot I let the engine at idle and popped the hood. No masticated dead critters on the engine. I thought maybe a field mouse might have invaded the engine compartment and got a coup de gras from a something rotating under on the engine. Everything looked and sounded normal so I closed the hood and turned off the engine feeling satisfied and complacent.

As a last effort I got down on my hind quarters and peeked under neath. The bottom pan under the right side of the engine looked just a bit out of shape. I took a photo of it for consideration later.

Bravely, thinking of dead masticated critters, I reached inside the pan to feel around and possible remove a small body. I felt something long and thin that at first seemed like an oversized rat tail. Stoically I grabbed this unusual appendage and pulled it out.

Apparently it's an edge piece torn from one of the exterior belts. But at least it hadn't come from an inanimate object. I called my mechanic Grady and he'll check it this morning. It looks like the alternator belt might be as little narrower than it should be.

He'll probable decree a replacement of alternator and serpentine belt are in order. I thought that had been done a month ago.

I might be right, but are there any other Forum opinions of what belt it came from. I'll know for sure later on this morning and will post the findings. I any case there goes this month's savings.

Happy PTin', ptprice
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[rckstein]

Kind of hard to tell from your last pic, but is that section of belt flat and have a couple ribs or ridges on it? If so, that would be a section of the serpentine belt.

Maybe everything is not quite aligned from the timing belt work you recently had done?

[Handy_Cruiser]

Yep.

On some PT's, the power steering pulley does not align correctly. So at the factory when pressing the power steering pulley on to the pump shaft, they left it out about 1/4 or 1/2 an inch from being fully pressed on.

If someone saw this pulley out on the shaft a 1/4 or 1/2 inch, they may have pressed it all the way on during the timing belt job. Not all PT's have this, so the mechanic simply needs to check to see if the power steering pump pulley lines up as it should.

Here's a photo of one that's positioned out a ways on the the shaft as I described:

[VsandFords]

It's possible that when reinstalling the serpentine belts, they did not seat one of them properly into the pulley. I have seen this many times working in a auto parts store. Lack of space under the PT hood.

[ptprice]

No more WUMP WUMP, GURGLE GURGLE. It was the alternator belt that tore up.

On my receipt both the alternator and serpentine belts are referred to as Poly ribbed belts. Both are ribbed. The piece was stripped off the alternator belt. See photo.

In SOOO BIG's case, none of the pulleys are miss aligned. The belt was just old, looked good but deteriorated on the edge. Fortunately, at least in that short interim till replacement, that missing strip didn't interfere with alternator function.

Grady reflected both exterior belts should have been replaced during the timing belt installation. They were the original Mopar belts with over 89,000 miles on them. Maybe a bench mark of when to consider replacing them?

The replacement belts Grady used were Dayco from AutoZone. Parts # 5040345 Alternator belt and # 5040550 Serpentine belt. Three year warranted.

Grady charged me a flat $40.00 for both the belts and his installation. That covered the cost of the belts and he waived the labor. What a guy!!!

Happy PTin', ptprice
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[rcktpwrd]

Good to hear it was an easy and inexpensive fix. But it is also something that should not have happened, that should have been done with the timing belt job...

while he was in there did he reattach the hanging splash shield under the car? In your first picture, that plastic panel should be flush with underside of the car. There is a plastic push pin that holds the back in place. It was either left off or broken... A medium sized zip tie works well there...

[ptprice]

Originally Posted by rcktpwrd

did he reattach the hanging splash shield under the car? In your first picture, that plastic panel should be flush with underside of the car. There is a plastic push pin that holds the back in place. It was either left off or broken... A medium sized zip tie works well there...

Thanks, I noticed that deflection. That's why I took the photo right after the WUMP WUMP, GURGLE GURGLE. I don't remember the pan being like before. Maybe the remnants from the belt slamming into it might have done that? I crawled under and checked that out. The plastic retaining pin is in there. I'll probably have to take the pan out and reshape it with a little heat from a hair dryer.No biggy. There's an edge flange that strengthens the true line of the pan but a good wack messed it up. Once I get it right I'll quench it cold with a wet rag.
Happy PTin', ptprice