Loud grinding/engine noise every 5-10 seconds / 2007 Mazda 3 2.0

[JonfromOttawa]

Hey Everyone,

So my splash guard under the engine compartment got destroyed in some deep snow (we just got a crap load of snow in Ottawa). I didn't realize it until I tried to back out of my driveway, and I heard some snapping noises and the sound of things breaking. Turns out it was what remained of my splash guard breaking even further. What happened when I back out of my driveway was the splash guard acted as a scoop, and all the snow collected in my engine compartment as I reversed out of the driveway. So I took a skill saw and sawed off the remaining pieces of splash guard and unpacked all the snow out of my engine compartment.
The car now starts up fine, seems to work fine, I have no engine light, nor have I broken any lines it seems. The rotation of the engine doesn't seem to be laboured in any way. The problem is, about every 5-10 seconds, there's a loud grinding noise coming from the engine. When it happens the lights dim a little and the heater decreases slightly. The sounds happened while the car was idling, although I haven't driven it any further than back into my driveway for fear of making it worse.

Any thoughts? I'm going to try to get it into the dealership tomorrow... :S

Thanks guys.

[sudz]

Turn off your AC... see if it continues. maybe something got in the A/C compressor (I believe the lowest point in our cars?)

[sudz]

And?

[shu5892001]

I had this on my 05 mazda 3, I needed a new engine

[JonfromOttawa]

Sudz - Yeah I noticed today the noise doesn't happen when I turn the heater fan off.

Do you know the part that might be broken?

Thanks

[sudz]

AC Compressor Motor? - Its the thing at the very bottom that hangs down (on the left side, if you are looking at your car head on, without a splash sheild)

Turn the Vents to Face only, and turn it on without AC - no noise? Press AC button... Noise?

Its the thing all the way at the bottom, There's a belt going to it as well.

http://mazda3carpet.com/wp-content/uploads/belt.gif

heres a picture of it with the wheel and splash guard off, If the clutch or pump is done, that could be the cause - Its hard to test of A/C is blowing cold in the winter though... lol.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/2200/acbelt.jpg

This guy has a video of a dying AC Clutch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCkIxv7t1Bc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCkIxv7t1Bc

Hope that helps.

Its not cheap, sadly.