96 sl 2 only 55,000 miles and it sound like the valves are dry as a bone. but they are not i have good oil pressure the guy at auto zone thinks it is the air conditioning compressor. has anyone experienced this problem? need help[img]smileys/smiley7.gif[/img]

There’s an old mechanic’s trick to locate noisy problems. Take a broomstick; stick one end up to your ear and the other end on a suspect noisy part. Hold the stick at the end next to your ear so you have contact betweenyour hand, your earand the stick.You’re going to hear where the problem is coming from.

first of all, the guy at autozone is almost surely a moron...thats why he or she works at autozone selling cheap aftermarket parts instead of working as a mechanic..if the valves were that noisy all the time, it likely wouldnt last very long...





with it running, you cant tell if its coming from the AC or the valve cover?

IT DOES SOUND LIKE IT IS COMING FROM THE A/C BUT THEN AGAIN ITS HARD TO TELL. I WILL TRY THE BROOM STICK. COULD AN IDLER PULLY OR AN TENSION PULLEY BE MAKING THE NOISE? IVE GOT GOOD COMPRESSION AND PLENTY OF POWER. OR COULD IT BE PUSHRODS?

Absolutely, bad bearings are a very common problem with the pulleys. Place the stick on the head of the retaining bolts. Please be very,very careful around the belt. You can have a stick rammed through your ear if it gets caught up in the belt.

Check all of the rotating components. My friend has a 98 SL2 that rattled and would cause the belt to slip and squeal eratically. We both suspected the A/C until the harmonic balancer blew apart. After repairing that, there was still a rattle. It turned out to be that the power steering pump bearing was gone, causing the impeller to seize onto the casewhich caused the belt to slip and put excessive load on the harmonic balancer. Finding it was a real problem though with the A/C. idler pulley, tensioner pulley, water pump and alternator all so close to the fender well. The sound just reverberated through the well. I used a combination of a mechanic's stethescope, and an old furnace motor. I use the scope to find the suspectpart. Then pull the component andput it on your workbench with a pulley to the electric motor. This will simulate the tension from the drive belt on the bearings, and spin them up to around 1400rpm, which is usually enough to cause a bad bearing to make noise.


Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth, and it has worked well for me in the past.


p.s. The broomstick is not the greatest method....... but does work (somewhat)in a pinch like if you were stranded on the side of the road. Automotive stethescopes are cheap.

SOUNDS LIKE VERY GOOD ADVICE .I WILL TRY IT IF I DONT REPLY ITS CUZ I HAVE A BROOM STICK IN MY EAR. LOL

Ken, I think we are talking about two different nosies. My 95 has 210k on it and at low rpm (600) I get some valve slap. I've never really gone after the problem, but my guess is the lifters too. I just use a heavier oil and a little STP. I know one day I'm going to have to do something about it, but for now I'll just put it off. The noise that Elk is talking about, is a screeching,grinding noise, metal on metal. You'll know it when it happens. That's when it's time for new pulley bearings.

Could it be a timing chain rattle? Pull the belt off and run the car, that eliminates all pullys. chain guides are bad for breaking, plastic guide, usually due to lack of oil changes. Tensioner starts to stick and chain slaps against the guides and thats it. Car still runs fine cuz there isn't enough play in the chain to come right off. Keep me posted

i did the same thing with the valve cover and the belt yet the noise is still there. mabye new lifters and a new rod that they ride on will help.