hey everyone, i'm new to the site-i just bought a 94 ssei loaded, black on grey leather. i like the car so far but have a problem with it. i've been reading and searching things on here. i have a whining/grinding sound coming from the area of my */C. i hear it at idle(quite loud), and if i rev it or am driving (quite loud as well). i read about the coupler, but don't think that'* it cause it'* not just at idle, i changed my pcv and o-ring, so it'* not that. i took my belts off and spun the pulleys and they all seem to be okay-alternator, waterpump, a/c etc. i read about the bearings in the nose cone? and think that might be it. i don't want to do any work or spend money if it'* not going to fix the problem, but don't mind working or spending money to get rid of it. are there any suggestions or any way to test the bearings?? the car runs good too although my boost gauge bounces quite a bit, but i think that'* pretty normal? thanks for the input, i don't want to let it go too long-it sounds pretty bad. if there'* any info i forgot to write, just ask-i tried to include it all, and i did do a few searches, thanks again.

Mine was making noises too at all speeds. It turned out to be a bad tensioner pulley. Have you checked that, and the other adj. pulleys that the */C uses?

Just eliminating the obvious before you tear apart stuff.

i did check the tensioner yesterday when i had the belts off. i'm gonna have to take them off again and have a better look at all the pulleys. it does sound like it'* coming from the nose cone though a little-my brother thinks so too, but it changes depending on where you're standing.

Try a stethescope, or short piece of hose to try and narrow down where the noise is. Be careful around moving parts. I had the rear alternator bearing go, but the only time it made noise was when there was pressure on it from the belt. Could be that, the idler, or the water pump.

Good advice here so far. Don't tear into it until you KNOW what it is. Even the alternator can fool you in this case. The Alt bracket is connected directly to the nosedrive of the SC, and the alternators are prone to rear bearing failure, making a noise exactly as you describe.

Take the belts off one at a time to see what it is, but don't run too long without the SC belt driving the water pump. If it is the nosedrive, you can do it yourself. A full rebuild kit is available from many sources, including www.rollingperformance.com

We'll move this to the Forced Induction section if it proves to be the SC.

k, so i should actually run the car with the belts off, instead of just spinning the puleys?(obviously not for too long), and how would i check the alternator bearing-cause it sounds like it could be, but it spins free and quiet by hand and charges fine. also, the bearings in the nose-it says to check for play. does the supercharger fully turn at all by hand with the belt off, or just barely back and forth? thanks for the help so far.

First off, do ONE belt at a time and isolate it to a particular path. Your alt and SC are not on the same belt.

Secondly, the bearings will NOT cause back and forth slop. If you feel that, it'* the coupler, not the bearings.

Bearings may cause UP AND DOWN or side to sid slop as you WIGGLE the pulley, but not rotation slop.


Yes you can turn it by hand, and it will be minimal resistance. Any slop, consider a rebuild, but find out if you need bearings. If the alt or an idler is causing the bulk of the noise, it may not be necessary to replace bearings in the SC nosedrive. Maybe only a coupler, or nothing in there at all.

k, i'm gonna be lookin at it this week probably and i'll let ya know what i find-or see if i have more questions.