rattling, grinding, bearing noise

[TIL52]

i have a VN Calais 89 model and i notice a loud rattling, grinding and bearing sounding noise from the engine. it doesn't seem to be coming from the front of the engine more towards the back of the engine and underneath. i'm lost as to what it could be and it is very annoying as it is loud under acceleration. in idle it seems to be there but not as loud, even quieter in neutral. but as i accelerate through first it becomes the noisiest and then seems to disappear at higher acceleration. it also becomes worse when the air con is engaged. whatever it is, it seems to be responding to the various vibrations. i'm hoping it's not an expense problem. any ideas as to what it could be?

[accentstencil]

I know you said the noise didn't appear to be coming from the front but check the condition of the harmonic balancer. I went through several of them when I had a VN.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Also check the rest of the pulleys while you are at it.

[PaRaDoX]

if i were you id be doing 2 things

1) remove your inspection plate and check your torque converter bolts
2) record the sound and post it up

i know the sound of a spun big end... the the most horrible thing you can imagine, like a prostitute flapping round in the wind

[TIL52]

well i took my car in for some diagnosis and found the problem. but the day before i took it in is when my harmonic balancer and crank angle sensor screwed up. so i got that fixed and found out the main problem. it looks to be that my balance shaft is making all the noise, probably from the balance shaft bearings. this is giving it the constant cyclic rattling and grinding. and now there is not much i can do about it. i'm probably better off replacing the whole engine with another one.

[Morton]

Ooooh darn. That's a bastard. How many ks have you got on the old girl?

[TIL52]

only about 240...it's in beautiful condition inside and out and i get many compliments of it's condition for the age. i don't want to have to see it go to waste...

[Morton]

Sounds like a candidate for a 308 V8 transplant