1999 v70xc, 206,000 miles. my wife took the car wednesday, and reported that it was "squealing" real loud. it started and drove ok, just squealed like a stuck pig. (its been cold and rainy and wet). I started it up yesterday (thursday) and it squealed like perhaps a belt was slipping. but after I drove around the block, the squeal stopped....but now the engine is making an odd sound. drove it today, and the squeal is gone completely, but the engine clicking/rattling is still there. and I caught a faint burning smell when the heater kicked in (have the auto climate control)

It sounds like maybe a valve. It "taps" (or maybe "rattles" would be a good word) on the right (driver's) side...upper part as far as I can tell, opposite the serpentine belt. I'm also blowing ALOT of smoke out the back that smells faintly of coolant. I also have the dreaded ETS light (been on for almost a year). also have the drive shaft removed, running as a 2wd.

We are nursing this car into its death, and don't want to put any more money into it than we need to, and before I run to the mechanic, I wanted to bounce this off the forum. any ideas so I don't run to the mechanic dumb and blind?

thanks for any ideas/input.

 

Possible failure of idler/tensioner pulleys or water pump allowing the timing belt to skip over the cogs a bit. Ball bearing failure can make some serious squeals.
It might be worth taking a look before it's completely dead.
After that you can look into your coolant leak.
Ed

 

thanks for the info. so you don't think the smoke/coolant smell would be related even though the waterpump might be involved? I had some extra smoke/coolant smell before, but now its severe. the level is still above minimum, and I haven't had to add any coolant in about 6 months.

but lets imagine your suggestion is accurate. Is there any great fear to use the car to get to work and back this weekend (two mile round trip), or would that be absolutely foolish? Thanks again.

 

Well, Ed suggested that you pull the timing belt cover to check the idler and tensioner rollers. If they are squeeling it is possible that they are about to fail. If they fail your death has arrived. Pull that cover and if it looks like any of those rollers look bad or has lost any bearings DON'T EVEN START IT. I had one that was almost locked up in my 960. Tech told me to check it and I was able to replace it before it fell apart.

The water pump could be leaking but it sounds like you said it was coming out of the tail pipe. If that's the case, you likely have a leaking head gasket or some other internal motor failure (cracked block, etc.). You can drain the oil and see if it's milky.

 

One mile there and one mile back... I walk about 4 miles per day so I'd say walk or bum a ride.

 

Worry about the tensioner, belt, and idler(s) before the "coolant smell." Not having to add any in 6 months is not bad for a 12 year old car with 205k on the clock.
The engine is gonna have leaks internally just due to age and strain.
I would follow the advice given above.
Good luck! Let us know what happens.

 

Some smell and negligible loss of coolant is common for the age. The rattle and smoke, if it is oil smoke, can be associated to valve timing that is off.
It's likely that you see more water vapor than oil smoke, checking the oil level regularly will tell you where you stand. A compression check with a leak down test will tell more about engine condition.
Head gasket leaks are common, you have to determine the severity with a cooling system pressure test.
It's time for new timing components anyway.
Ed

 

she's parked. got a loaner from a family member. early next week, I'll have time to tear into it. (I work weekend shift). I thank you for the info. now its time to search the forums for schematics and how to's. If I find anything or have questions, I'll be sure to take my camera out into the cold with me. And I'll find out how well a space heater heats an un-insulated garage.

 

The best way to heat a garage is to pull a hot car in it. A car motor is about 200 degrees and the exhaust is likely hotter. Pull a car in the garage and it will warm it up at least 20 degrees.

 

guess the wife gets a new car. Timing is off (skipped....still has tension). looks like the valves on one cylinder are damaged. Its sad, cause the body is in great condition. I will try to post it in classifieds ($1000). thanks for the help.

 

Well, if in really good shape and you had the ambition--you could parts it out for lot more $. Are you sure it isn't worth repairing? All considered, it seems like you can't get much for even $5k except someone else's problems. Good luck.

 

Its winter now...and I need a dependable car. And I need it now. even if I could do the repairs (which I'm not comfortable with at my skill level), it would take time and money....a new set of belts, pulleys, etc plus a new (or used if I could find it) head plus gasket will run nearly as much as I paid for the car in the first place. to have a pro do it would double that.

we haven't had a car payment in about 8 years....so the wife finally gets her new car (got a new vw jetta for her....christmas is covered for the next five years. haha)

I could very easily part it out....but I was hoping to give the car a second lease on life if someone would be willing to do the work. Its on Green Bay wisconsin craigslist and the classified's here on the site. I'll probably wait until spring to start parting it out....alot nicer in the unheated garage come april. I was really hoping someone on this site would be interested, because without the help on these forums, it would have been sitting alot earlier. kind of paying it back.

 

Thanks for thinking about us. For a car with a damaged motor, it is not uncommon for people to pay about $500. You may unload it at that if you drop the price. You can also list it in the classified section of this site.