Hi guys, Please help. I have a 2006 F430 spider with 17000 miles. While my way to dinner tonight, driving about 40mph, there was a weird squeak noise (like a rubber squeegee on glass). Just one squeak. That was followed by a strange smell. Hard to describe. Then that was followed by a strange noise (like driving on gravel road and the gravel is bouncing off the wheel wells). I pull over and see smoke coming up from the vents near the glass window over the engine. I turn off the engine and call a tow truck. None of the gauges were showing anything abnormal. No warning lights. Now, after all this drama, when I turn the ignition on (without starting the car) it still says, "Check OK." Any ideas what this might be? How expensive to repair? Thank you in advance.
Get the floor off and check the auxiliary belt to see if it is breaking up, also check the pulleys it is driving. About an hour to change if needed
Like Mike above .it definitely sounds like the belt .. or maybe the idler pulley bearings are going and causing stress on belt etc Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
Assuming you take the aux belt off , which drives most things, be sure to renew it if not done recently, very cheap and no point putting old one back.
Sounds like a idler pulley or tensioner failed, the bearings let loose, and the belt smoke-checked itself.
Looks like 3 of us are saying the same thing .let us know if we are on the money Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
I agree, sounds like accessory belt crapped out. Cheap and easy to replace. I have a DIY post here on it's replacement. Kindly do a search. Dan Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Check the alternator too. Mine crapped out 2 years ago with the power cable. A known weakness even in later cars.
I was driving down the freeway one day, looked in my rear view mirror and saw smoke rising in my engine compartment. I freaked out, pulled over, opened the hood, and......................... Earlier in the day, I was detailing my engine. I had a big Ziploc freezer bag in the engine compartment so I could put soiled paper towels in there. Well, I sat it down right on top of the exhaust manifold, and completely forgot about it. Now fast forward to when I popped open the hatch - the bag was all melted to the manifold, yuk. I felt like a moron.
What @vvvmd said was going to be my input too. Different car, but burnt clutch fiber and rubber smell, squeal and rattle, thump on hood when belt snapped, and smoke.
Alternator crapped out on the Miata too, but after 19 years of trusty service. I heard it laboring but forgot about it on Easter Sunday when I was taking her up to my Brothers for dinner. Of course I had the phone charger plugged in and NOT my volt meter. I saw an error code on my A/F meter for the supercharger. Figured it was for the O2 sensor and thought I could reboot it by shutting the car off. Big mistake, like with my 360. When you see something funny with electrical do NOT shut the car off until you get home! I jumped the Miata from the truck but it was coming up slow and I had a long haul back home even without the trip. So I flat bedded her home. The tow was $300, alternator replacement and labor, $500. Ah well, but the factory Denso unit should go another 19 years or more, especially with trickle charger. Of course the big kicker this time of year is the weather load on our cars. Lights, defroster, AC, wipers, GPS. What a pain. And my wipers were chattering like crazy too. Has happened a lot the past few years. They just don't last, but then the Mother's California Gold wash n wax is a cuplrit too. The wax (and city grunge) builds up on the glass. I cleaned the windshield with SoftScrub again like I did in the fall. Installed new Bosch Micro Edge blades and ...SILENCE! Ahhhh. We'll see how it goes on the way home tonight.
I almost did the same thing. We were going on a group drive and one guy was running late. As we were standing around waiting, someone asked to see my engine. I opened the hood and I had left a microfiber towel on top of the exhaust can. That would have been a melted mess Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
at least it is not a timing belt pulley since the 430 has chains. You just got this car, right? Was there any records of service performed?
Hi, Sorry, I did not reply earlier. For some reason, I got notifications for receiving the first couple of comments after my post, but after that, no more notifications. The problem was exactly the same as VVVMD above. The AC compressor froze and the belt burnt off/broke. Thank you all for your input. I just got this car about 5 months ago. Drove almost 3K miles already and loving it, except for the repairs. Haha.
