Diagnose this sound!

[taz4432]

So...just took my car out. Filled her up and got a carwash...went to go for a drive and within a minute I heard the following.

Tried my best to record it. It starts *just* after I touch the accelerator and dies off *just* after I let off. The first file is with the car sitting and me just revving a bit, the 2nd is me holding my phone out the window trying to record it as I drive around my rez parking lot - my hand is still numb.

The first one is a lot better as after the a few seconds, the second one is filled with wind noise.

To me it almost seems/sounds like it might have something to do with the fan? I have no one else here to help me out and with electronic throttle I can't rev the car while I'm not near the driver's seat.

I just uploaded the 2 sound recording files (very small...listen to the first one before bothering to dl the 2nd one) to MegaUpload.

Weird Sound 1 (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UC9LQH7A)

Weird Sound 2 (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3A67Z3LO)

Any assistance is appreciated. May have to swing by Forbes Mazda tomorrow since I happen to have come out to the Loo for a day or two.


YouTube of the first file --> Weird Sound 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhfnpWd5s9Y)

It should be obvious which sound is the exhaust and which is the 'noise'.

LATEST EDIT (Approx 12:30AM Tuesday Morning) --> Went out with the car briefly...took it to a gas station to see under some lights. I think it's coming from the engine. Whatever it is started with the car in 2nd in the 5k rpm range...that's when I noticed it anyways (Earlier tonight).

[Donutz]

Can you host it somewhere that I don't have to download it?

[taz4432]

Can you host it somewhere that I don't have to download it?

I can email it to you if you don't want to download it from there, but as far as sounds go, I don't know of anywhere that hosts them in an online player format (MySpace is the only thing I can think of and I don't do MySpace). To do it on youtube I'd have to make it into a video format and my comp is pretty barebones atm as far as any software goes.

[taz4432]

I can email it to you if you don't want to download it from there, but as far as sounds go, I don't know of anywhere that hosts them in an online player format (MySpace is the only thing I can think of and I don't do MySpace). To do it on youtube I'd have to make it into a video format and my comp is pretty barebones atm as far as any software goes.

Alright...quickly did a Windows Movie Maker thing to it so now I uploaded it to YouTube. Here's the link.

Weird Sound 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhfnpWd5s9Y)

[rick10]

thats messed up ... It sounds like something is loose ...I would take it to the mechanic asap

[ST3ALTH]

Yea i have no clue what that could be? It sounds like a loose part flapping when you rev the car. Mabye in the exhaust? wheres the noise coming from roughly?

[taz4432]

Yea i have no clue what that could be? It sounds like a loose part flapping when you rev the car. Mabye in the exhaust? wheres the noise coming from roughly?

Definitely coming from the engine itself or in front of the engine. There shouldn't be anything in the exhaust that can be flapping (Vibrant Headers/CBE...can't think of anything in that that would flap). I have a feeling it's the fan or maybe the shroud...hard to see in the dark (even at a gas station, particularly since I have no one here to help me out).

[taz4432]

Just took the car in to Forbes here in Waterloo. They're gonna have a look at it and do the TSB for Rustproofing as well (only good thing about having to go in).

The car will probably get looked at around 9:30 so I should hopefully know by 10:30. *Fingers crossed* (Sounds like internals though...ugh)

[stevenma188]

Good luck man. It's really weird how you only hear it when you touch the gas, which means it's probably not a fan.

[taz4432]

Good luck man. It's really weird how you only hear it when you touch the gas, which means it's probably not a fan.

Yah...I think the fan idea was just wishful thinking. I can hear it at idle a bit too (particularly on a cold start because of the elevated RPMs)...almost 100% sure it's coming from within which makes me ='( . Just got the car end of November and I'm broke as it is paying for school/food/rez/car/etc...any kind of internals is gonna be an arm and a leg to say the least. Hoping for the best though!

[rick10]

Yah...I think the fan idea was just wishful thinking. I can hear it at idle a bit too (particularly on a cold start because of the elevated RPMs)...almost 100% sure it's coming from within which makes me ='( . Just got the car end of November and I'm broke as it is paying for school/food/rez/car/etc...any kind of internals is gonna be an arm and a leg to say the least. Hoping for the best though!

Welcome to owning a mazda 3 ... Hopefully is not something stu pi d and cheap to fix but so far every fix on mazda are pretty damn expensive

[Donutz]

Possibly a spun bearing. Search the forum and you will find others who have had spun bearings; they have posted vids and audio files that you can compare your sound to.

[taz4432]

Possibly a spun bearing. Search the forum and you will find others who have had spun bearings; they have posted vids and audio files that you can compare your sound to.

Just got a call from the dealer...they too suspect a spun bearing.

I've been quoted $5324 for a new engine ('07 with 42k on it, 1 year warranty) and rebuild/install/labour. They'll take the 'best of the parts' from the two engines to make the best engine.

Ugh...I've had this car for not even 2 1/2 months and I'm going to have to spend half of what I paid for it. NOT happy right now.

[rick10]

Just got a call from the dealer...they too suspect a spun bearing.

I've been quoted $5324 for a new engine ('07 with 42k on it, 1 year warranty) and rebuild/install/labour. They'll take the 'best of the parts' from the two engines to make the best engine.

Ugh...I've had this car for not even 2 1/2 months and I'm going to have to spend half of what I paid for it. NOT happy right now.

You can find cheaper engines out there... I remember seeing someone getting an engine for about 2500 plus 1000 labour.. Search the forum s..

it sucks man ! good luck .. Did you buy your car at the dealer by any chance...

[taz4432]

You can find cheaper engines out there... I remember seeing someone getting an engine for about 2500 plus 1000 labour.. Search the forum s..

it sucks man ! good luck .. Did you buy your car at the dealer by any chance...

Yah...I'm looking around at the moment...I see some on car-part that I may have to peak at. Problem is...the car and I are here in Waterloo...home is in Richmond Hill and my bank account is in the red as it is. This will be an interesting next week or two, to say the least.

[Donutz]

Call Street Performance. Tell Jimmy your situation and ask him for a quote...

[rick10]

Yah...I'm looking around at the moment...I see some on car-part that I may have to peak at. Problem is...the car and I are here in Waterloo...home is in Richmond Hill and my bank account is in the red as it is. This will be an interesting next week or two, to say the least.

just curious , if you bought it at the delaer wouldnt they provide some kind of warranty , even if you bought it privately and the car is less than 5 years there may be some warranty left.. Also call the junkyards , i see a lot of writte off mazda in this forum , i m sure there are a lot of engines around that you can pick up for cheaper..As per the money issue , it sucks !! , maybe you can grab a 600$ xcivic or corolla that you can drive around until you get enough money to buy an engine ..

[taz4432]

So...just bought a new engine --> 2008 w. 18k on the clock. Got it from Lecavalier Auto. Shipped, 1 years parts/labour warranty and taxes came to around $2100. Engine is complete - comes with the sensors, exhaust manifold, intake, etc. etc.

The engine should be arriving at Jimmy's (had the car towed there from Waterloo today...thank goodness for CAA Plus) either Thursday or at the latest, Friday. Jimmy's been very helpful/insightful in the whole issue and his pricing is spectacular. Couldn't ask for better service, especially on such short notice.

Can't wait to get the car back on the road. Will definitely keep things updated.

All said and done it should come in under $2750. Just over half of the $5300 quoted (with TM3 discount) by Forbes Waterloo Mazda (great guys over there and will definitely be going back if there are ever any issues while I'm in Waterloo).

[Kappa]

glad you got it fixed man!! that sucks you had to pay to get it fixed though..

[Gizzmo_jr]

Any idea how this happened? Seems kinda random, these 'normally' don't happen on their own.

[taz4432]

Any idea how this happened? Seems kinda random, these 'normally' don't happen on their own.

I have no idea. Like I said...I bought the car under 2 1/2 months ago and within the first week had the oil changed to full synthetic German Castrol (as I had no idea of prior oil change history) and although the oil was dirty when it came out, there were no signs of metal particles/excessive gunk/etc. I also changed to full synthetic tranny fluid within the first 2 weeks as well.

The oil temperature (according to the gauge) has never been a problem, particularly in the cold weather and there were and are no signs of any oil leakage. My best guess is as good as your's. It could just be bad luck..could be due to prior miscare/abuse...who knows. I've made every effort to keep it in tip-top shape since it's been in my possession never letting even the slightest variance in performance/sounds/etc. go left uninvestigated.

If anyone has any suggestions/ideas as to what (else) may have caused it to happen please share!

I guess I'll have to follow a new car maintenance schedule now as this motor has 18k on it. Hopefully it'll be even a little peppier than my '06 engine was with 115k on it.

[froggy]

I don't mean to rub salt in the wound, but where did you buy the car? I've been to some "dealerships" and have seen some pretty shady things like people replacing gauge clusters to make the car look like it has fewer kms on it and stuff. did the waterloo dealership do a service search for you? 4 year old motors shouldn't do stuff like that, and I"m pretty sure that there is something in OMVIC about recently purchased car warranty.

[taz4432]

I don't mean to rub salt in the wound, but where did you buy the car? I've been to some "dealerships" and have seen some pretty shady things like people replacing gauge clusters to make the car look like it has fewer kms on it and stuff. did the waterloo dealership do a service search for you? 4 year old motors shouldn't do stuff like that, and I"m pretty sure that there is something in OMVIC about recently purchased car warranty.

I bought the car at Scarboro (yes, spelt like that) Suzuki. They are one of a few dealerships owned by the same person/company. Better than a 'typical used car dealership,' or so one would like to think. I don't think the gauges were replaced because it's an '06 and when *I* got it it had 109k and change, and I've put on nearly 6k in less than 2 1/2 months. That's pretty high mileage as it is.

I just glanced around the OMVIC site a bit and found this

"3) Is there an automatic warranty when I buy a used car? What about the Safety Certificate?
There are no automatic warranty provisions in Ontario. The Safety Standards Certificate is not a warranty. It just means the car met a minimum set of safety criteria on the day it was examined. This certificate is valid for a period of 36 days only.
....
7) I want my car declared a lemon.
There is no such thing in Ontario. If required, civil action – Small Claims Court, for example – may be your best option. If the car is a current model, or up to four years old, you may qualify for assistance from CAMVAP. However, this is for problems with the manufacturing, and not those arising from a dealer's service. "

There's also CAMVAP (http://www.camvap.ca/) although I don't know how much use that will be to me.

[thanu31]

since its an 06 dont you have a 5 year warranty? :S or am i missing something

[stevenma188]

its over the warranty because of the high KMs.

[taz4432]

since its an 06 dont you have a 5 year warranty? :S or am i missing something


its over the warranty because of the high KMs.

Yah...it's an '06 but I picked it up with 109xxx km on it and as of last night it had around 115300 or so...either way it's past the 5 year/100 000km powertrain warranty, unfortunately. Sucks big ones but not much I can do at this point.

[thanu31]

oohhh forgot about that

dam that sucks

[Donutz]

I saw your new engine tonight; it looks clean.

[taz4432]

I saw your new engine tonight; it looks clean.

Sweet...glad to hear it. I couldn't get out there to look at it but Jimmy said it looks good. Can't wait to get the car back....had they started working on the car when you went?

[JSI]

had they started working on the car when you went?

I would say yes: http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?41750-Things-you-see-at-Street-Performance&p=572000#post572000