Hello folks,

I just recently purchased a used MCS 2004 pretty high in mileage.

1st problem:

When driving a squeak/chirp sounds like its coming from the rear occurs at steady intervals and is related to how fast I am going. The faster I'm going, more frequent the squeak/chirp sound is made. The sound ceases when I depress the brake and once I release the brake it continues to make the sound. Unfortunately I cannot get a sound clip of this.

2nd problem:

I do not know if the sound that my engine is making is normal; sounds like theres a small knock but I have not had any experience with MCS nor am I at all mechanically knowledgeable when it comes to engines. Changing oil is about the limit of my mechanical knowledge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pW3474BHs

Any info/reccos would be very much appreciated; and local help would be good or if you you can recco local shops that are not too hard on the wallet. Strapped for cash like most but want to alleviate this problem before it turns into a costlier one.

THANKS!


SEN

 

1st problem sounds like brakes. It could be just the pads touching on the rotors, with the rotors being just slightly out of round (If you are not getting any pulsing in the brakes I would not worry). You can check this out yourself by jacking up the car, remove a wheel and rotate the axle and see what you hear. You can check the pad thickness when you do this by looking at them through the caliper. If it is from the rear as you say, it could be that the hand brake is not fully releasing but that seems unlikely...

The 2nd...your sound clip does not seem to be unusual but I have not been under the hood of a Gen 1 so maybe someone with one should chime in..

Good luck with your new purchase and hope it works out. They are great cars.

 

If the squeaking occurs specifically when you are going over bumps or through dips in the road, you may have worn out suspension bushings. Or someone has upgraded them to polyurethene. Maybe you have an upgraded set of struts/springs. The KW setup on my old '02 MCS squeaked every time I hit a bump.

It does not sound like there is anything out of the ordinary with your engine. The ticking sound is the injectors, and many of the superchargers make a slight rumble at idle. The best advice I can give is to get with one or two other MCS owners and compare the sound between them. If you really want to know specifically what's making the noise, go to Advance or Autozone and buy a mechanic's stethoscope. They are relatively inexpensive. You can also use a screwdriver held against the engine area and put the handle end against your ear.

Most MCS owners are able to go 100K+ miles before the supercharger needs to be rebuilt. I had 115K on my old '02 MCS, and I was on the original. In some cases, the part that actually makes the noise is the water pump (for which that did not sound like the case in your video, either).

 

Thanks for the input guys.

The squeak/chrip isnt when i hit bumps its constant when driving; which gets faster as I go faster.

Anymore ideas or anyone local to Temecula, CA?

 

Check the rear brakes. You say "it goes away when you depress the brake". This sounds like a slightly warped rotor and/or a worn brake pad. Check your brakes. That is something you can do yourself. As for changing them, there are some good posts on NAN here if you are up for it (not real hard).