......the clicking noise was caused by my air cond. belt. It has been awhile back that the discussion came up here concerning a clicking noise on my '86 Mondial. It was isolated in the area of the ac compressor and sounded much like the arcing of a loose plug wire. It would be most evident when the engine was cold and disappear when warm. I was advised that is was likely the belt itself though I secretly "knew" it had to be mechanical within the compressor clutch or compressor itself. Once the weather cooled, I cut off the old belt given the pain it is to remove it in one piece and went about my merry way through the winter w/o the annoying clatter. So having paid a hefty price for a lowly belt, I set about doing the deed this past weekend. Given the tight working space and low level of adjustment, I ended up pulling the compressor, bracket and all from the cam belt cover to get the new belt on. Not too bad but always a slow job when performing it for the first time. Besides, I wanted to get a good look at the clutch and get a feel for the clutch bearings so all in all it was worth the extra hassle to gain confidence that the unit was ok. Buttoned her back up to the minimum necessary to start the beast and see if the noise had been exorcised.......to my relief the issue had indeed been with the old belt. Thanks to the brothers here at F-Chat and the wealth of knowledge that one should never discount... Brock
. It seems to be the nature of the Ferrari owner to ignore Occum's Razor - to start troubleshooting the worst case scenario instead of accepting the principal that the simple solution is the most likely. The other Ferrari owner's downfall - defying the adage "if it ain't broke - don't fix it". .
Judicious use of some belt dressing spray could have helped you diagnose quicker. For some strange reason they all do it eventually.... old belts... newish belts.... doesn't seem to matter
Maybe my problem goes back to the fact that my first Italian car was a 70's vintage Fiat 124 Coupe...... Brock
Yep tried that, and seemed only to be marginally effective if at all....which steered me toward the worse case scenario..... The old belt certainly didn't look worn/separated/or otherwise damaged and am curious as to what mechanism creates the noise. Brock
Perhaps a grounding strap would solve the noise? I've always been under the impression that it is static electricity.
Me too. Timing belts can generate static electricity too under the right conditions causing a "slapping" noise which goes away after a while.
Brock, if you take the old belt and cross cut it, then you'll see that it actually has internal cords (just like a radial tire) comprised of a flexible plastic material. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that the plastic ages and starts to crack, with the rough ends rubbing together making a clacking sound. I had the same symptoms a year or so ago - read a few old threads on f-chat here and got the tip to check/change the AC belt et viola, clacking noise gone.
Good description of the sound. Mine car made the same noise and I got the same suggestion about the belt. In my case a squirt of WD40 on the water pump belt and it went instantly silent.
I have seen this clacking problem with the "polyflex" belts many times and I have the feeling that it is caused by the belt not flexing smoothly when it bends around the pully. It will slip - stick - slip - stick. You can sandpaper the pulley grooves and the noise probably will go away, at least temporarily. I guess it depends on the age of the belt, how hard or glazed it's surfaces are, condition of the pulley surface, belt and pulley alignment, and the temerature
