03 V70 non-turbo Belt or bearing noise?

sobo49 · Post by **sobo49** » 17 Oct 2015, 18:56

Had a screeching noise coming from the front of engine area, at the same time the rpm's bounced up & down or the idle would go rough. Two shops told me the AC compressor was bad so I replaced it along with aux belt & tensioner pulley. Ran OK for 500 mi then started to do it again today. If I turn off the engine for a while it's back to normal when I restart. Car has 127k miles and timing belt has been replaced. Saw some posts with similar problems but nobody mentioned the rpm's going up & down, maybe that's a clue? I'd appreciate your advice.

Post by **oragex** » 17 Oct 2015, 19:28

I would put my guess on the power steering reservoir - either it has a fluid that is not the green one, or is low in fluid or is sucking air from somewhere.

If you can post a film with the engine running it may help give a hint. You can also - but with care - use a plastic pipe and bring it near parts of the engine while hearing at the other end. This is a good way to isolate where the noise is coming from.

If everything checks fine, it's not a bad idea to remove the timing belt cover and look see if the tensioner needle is shaking a lot. There have been reports of aftermarket timing belt parts that failed rather soon after being installed.

sobo49 · Post by **sobo49** » 17 Oct 2015, 20:12

Now that you mention it, the hose is wet with steering fluid leaking out of the reservoir. I didn't associate it with this problem. I was going to do a rough fix like cutting off the top inch of the hose to get a tighter fit inside the clamp. I just bought this car, maybe the last owner added the wrong fluid. Should it be a particular brand of fluid?

Post by **vtl** » 17 Oct 2015, 23:01

Volvo 30741424 or CHS 202.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Volvo-parts/V70 ... =20&page=1

I had to use two liters to flush ATF from the steering system in 2002 V70, otherwise 1 liter jug is enough.

Post by **vtl** » 17 Oct 2015, 23:06

Also your alternator can be a source of noise. Bearings get bad in about 10 years, more quicker if flooded by a coolant or PS fluid. Don't buy cheap rebuilds, they are all utter crap. Only Valeo or Bosch. Or rebuild it yourself using quality bearings.

sobo49 · Post by **sobo49** » 18 Oct 2015, 07:57

Thanks for the advice.