ih8danoles

I was coming home from Tennessee yesterday and when i downshifted to 2nd as i coasted up to a redlight this really loud whining noise started. I pulled over and called my uncle and he said it might be my alternator because the whine got louder as the revs went up. Well i just happened to look on the side of the engine and there was a screw poking threw that cover that goes over the timing belt. What happened and what do i need to do? The car still made it the 20 miles i had left to get home with no problems other than the noise.

Desslok

do you have a picture? A screw through the timing belt cover doesn't sound like good news. Take the timing belt cover off and look for signs of wear on hte timing belt.

ih8danoles

well the thing is i JUST got my car back from the mechanic last tuesday from having a new clutch, water pump, and new timing belt. He called me a few minutes ago and said he must not have tightened one of the bolts enough but the belt had some wear on it and hes replacing it at no charge to me. Thanks tho

Desslok

That is a VERY SCARY thing for your mechanic to say when talking about the timing belt. If the timing belt goes it will cost you over $1000 to fix the damage caused. I would take it to another mechanic to check the work, that way you have proof if/when something goes wrong.

MIRRAdekhtc

i will almost bet you a $1,000,000 thats its your (idle tensioner spring)

mine did the same thing, the idle tensioner spring is inside the timing belt cover, if you take it off, on front part of the timing belt, towards the front of the car, if you look down, its about a couple of inches down in there, is the idle tensioner spring, if it broke, it will get caught between the bottom part of the timing belt cover(plastic) and the timing belt, it will then start making a whining noise(b/c) it is rubbing the timing belt, wearing a groove in it, this will cause the timing belt to eventually break, maybe a day, maybe a couple of miles. When mine did this, i immediately drove it a couple of miles to my friends house and parked, for the night, we immediately fixed the next day. In just a couple of miles it had worn a groove thruout the entire timing belt, about 1/8 in. deep, almost all the way thru.
But your mechanic had just put a new timing belt on, he should of known to put a new idle tensioner spring on as well, better safe than sorry.

Amadeus

I have had 2 tensioner springs fall off. Once requiring a total head rebuild ($1700). Everytime I change my timing / balancer belts, I remove the springs once I tighten the bolt down. I don't take any chances.