Crackling on cold start

[TinSnips]

Hi Everyone,

I've just signed up to this site in the hope that I can learn some things about my ute. And since you all seem to know what you're talking about, I thought I'd throw this out there.

Has anyone else experienced quite a loud 'crackling' noise on a cold start in a VE SS? It's inconsistent but sounds almost like something is caught in a belt and is smacking against things as it goes around (can't find anything though and would think that the tension in the belts would knock anything out of there). I don't think it's coming from the actual motor but since I can't pinpoint the noise, I could be wrong about that. I've only noticed it for the last couple of weeks on my ute. It seems to sort itself out after about 3 minutes of normal driving but until then it seems to increase under load with the revs. It's a bit concerning. It sounds like it's coming from the right hand side of the motor (when standing in front of the car.

Any ideas?
Cheers.

 

[jasonsv6]

not piston slap by any chance is it

 

[TinSnips]

I don't think so. It's sounds fairly random. Doesn't seem to be in time with the engine's idle. But it does increase as it revs.

 

[HBDCalais]

how many k's are on the car?

as piston slap is a thing that occurs mostly as cold starts till the engine warms and expands has it has a hard life?
sorry for jumping to the worse case senario im a mechanic and im just used to things being a hard a job as possible and never easy

 

[TinSnips]

That's cool, HBDCalais, I appreciate the advice. It's only done about 27,000. It's an 08 model so it's had it fairly easy. Hasn't had any track time and nothing on dirt roads. Believe it or not, no circle work, either! It's also stock (for now at least).

 

[HBDCalais]

sorry about the same post as jason my page dosent seem to load up new replys as it said i was first to reply before,

but had a think about it, if its inconsistant and picks up with revs, try having a look at any of your idler pulleys lol making sure engine is off
see if there is any excessive move ment in any of them, if they are fine start going thru the rest like ac compressor, p/s pump, water pump and the like seeing if there is any movement in bearings and such give them a spin as well see if they are notchy
would be good if u can remove the belt aswell to remove any load on the bearing

 

[New2Holden]

May I suggest the cooling system.

 

[TinSnips]

No dramas, HBDCalais, I appreciate the assistance! I will go through and check all that ASAP tomorrow. I'd guess that anything major would be covered under warranty (hoping). If all else fails, I'll run it back up to the dealer. It's not far from the 30,000 Service anyway, I was just hoping to avoid the dent in the back pocket of a dealer service! Been bitten by that one too many times!

A smart bloke would have tried it with the a/c off as well. For some reason it didn't even occur to me. It's normally the first thing I try when there's an odd noise in my car. I've kept all my old cars set to arctic 100% of the time so have chewed through an a/c system or two! The sound didn't seem to come from the compressor so I let it go but will check it all out tomorrow.

Thanks also Jasonsv6 and New2Holden. I really appreciate the help!

 

[TinSnips]

Just a quick update. Turns out the power steering pulley threw itself out of alignment and was tearing at the belt. Had the pulley, belt and pretensioner replaced under warranty (took 2 days!) and so far so good.