chirp, chirp, chirp - Update

[bunnyc]

The last time I started my A, this is the sound coming from my engine at idle (best way to describe it). Rhythmic and intermittent. Stops, then starts again as throttle increases.

At first I thought it was coming from the water pump. Now, I don't think so. Maybe a manifold leak?

I'll let you know what I find out. Working on it tomorrow.

[1955cj5]

Possibly the fan belt.

Adjust the tension or with the engine off rub a small amount of candle wax on the belt to help diagnose. I'll probably catch heck for saying it though....

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by 1955cj5

Possibly the fan belt.

Adjust the tension or with the engine off rub a small amount of candle wax on the belt to help diagnose. I'll probably catch heck for saying it though....

I agree that it may be fan belt and who cares if you catch heck! Wayne

[jthomas6]

Possibly the generator needs a couple drops of oil??

[BudP]

I had a similar noise. It was a dry distributor shaft.

[Mitch//pa]

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Take the belt off and see if the noise goes away. This will narrow it down

[tbirdtbird]

removing belt is always step 1 as Mitch points out. If you want to not do that I would not use wax, I would use a small spray bottle of water. And never use belt dressing

[Mitch//pa]

I don't like putting anything on a belt as Dave mentioned. It usually makes it worse, or causes slippage especially on how loose we run them. That's not the cure

[Ian in Mississauga]

I have had that sound twice just before a head gasket failed.

[SeaSlugs]

Agreed with the above.

remove belt and see if its still there

Have a good listener try to pinpoint it

listen close - does it follow engine rpm exactly or does it just change or go away or come back etc.

theres about a million points where two pieces of metal come together on a model A so check for loose fasteners, splash pans, etc.

try it with it in neutral with the clutch out and in. my s10 chirps due to the clutch throw-out fork lightly resting on the bearing retainer. Barely touch the clutch pedal and it goes away - only chirps with the clutch out.

If you cant pin point it and its not the distributor shaft but sound slike sheetmetal start spraying suspected areas and see if it goes away.

Check the choke shaft too - i think someone not too long ago had a squeak from dry hard rubber rubbing on the shaft.

[sommcain]

My chirp was cured by greasing the clutch throw-out bearing.
Neil in Oz.

[Benson]

I have heard a similar noise, first time was more than 45 years ago ... took a lot of trial and error to find it.

Sounds like a "chirp ... chirp "OR a metallic "Ching ... Ching" comes and goes.

If it goes away while troubleshooting ... stop engine and restart ...

1. Does it make the noise more often with the car pointing UP hill?

Engine idling while troubleshooting of course.

2. If so try jacking up REAR of car ... Should have less noise or it goes away.

3. When I have found this problem it was the Bendix gear on the starter hitting the teeth on the flywheel gear.

From OLD Ford Barn

Re: chirping throw out bearing? sound like a bendix problem.


[Follow Ups] [Post Followup] [Fordbarn Model A Discussion Forum]

Posted by Benson from h-68-164-105-249.dnvtco56.dynamic.covad.net (68.164.105.249) on Monday, June 01, 2009 at 8:35AM :
In Reply to: chirping throwout bearing? posted by modeleh/bc from ? (99.199.129.156) on Monday, June 01, 2009 at 0:09AM :

Sounds to me like it might be the Starter bendix gear hitting the flywheel.

If you have another starter the easiest way is to swap them.

There is a small spring loaded plunger (on the gear near the counter weighted part of the sliding gear) which is supposed to drop into another groove when gear is totally retracted. This holds the gear away from the flywheel while engine is running.

This plunger is INSIDE the bore of the moving gear that retracts when starter stops. The plunger rubs on the high part of the spiral on the matching grooves.

This plunger and spring is perpendicular to the starter shaft and about 1/16 diameter and 5/16ths inch long.

Many times the spring is broken or the plunger is rusted and stuck.

Benson

I used to have a photo of this but it got lost somehow.

Note: New design uses the black spring (at bottom of shaft) in this Bratton photo if spring breaks it will do same thing ...

https://www.brattons.com/stock-bendi...ter-drive.html

[Benson]

Note many changes/corrections have been made to my original post since it was first posted at 0604 PM!

[Barber31]

A rubber hose can be used as a "stethoscope". One end to your ear and the other moved slowly about the engine bay. That can also help narrow down noises to specific areas. It should go with out saying don't get too close to anything moving like the fan blades!

[H. L. Chauvin]

If all else fails, try bird seed on both running boards ....... even though it may not work, you will at least have peace of mind that you did all you could.

But, on a serious note, do not rule out sheet metal like maybe the metal hood or front fender vibrating metal to metal & rubbing.

[Greg Jones]

I have had engine splash pans do that where the bolts were not quite tight.

[bunnyc]

Neil in Oz (sommcain) nailed it with his first post to Ford Barn!

Greased the throw out bearing and the noise went away. Happy.

Thanks Neil!

[H. L. Chauvin]

I was hoping for the bird seeds on the running boards .............

Thanks for your reply .... it helps everyone tremendously to find out what can cause chirping.

[frmhrt]

How does one grease the throw out bearing without removing radiator, fan, generator, clutch housing bolts, and detaching and moving motor forward from drive train?
Alan

[Patrick L.]

Originally Posted by frmhrt

How does one grease the throw out bearing without removing radiator, fan, generator, clutch housing bolts, and detaching and moving motor forward from drive train?
Alan

The originals were greased by the fitting under the inspection. The carrier and bearing would receive grease. Some newer replacement bearings however can't be greased.

[bobusnick104]

I just had that problem. Sounded like chipmunks in a cage. Only heard it when there was high vacuum, like at idle. It was a vacuum leak between the carb and manifold. I removed the Tillotson carb and checked the flange flatness with a straight edge. It showed about .040" gap. With the carb in a vise, I used a file to face off the flange. Then checked the manifold for flatness and it was ok. New gasket and sealer and back on the road.

[harryc]

My first "chirp" when I was a kid driving my A daily in the 60's turned out to be a head gasket. The car wasn't missing or exhibiting any obvious problem other than the noise. I finally pulled the head at my dad's suggestion and discovered a tiny blow out on the back end of the head. I have also had the fan belt chirp as well. I just spray it with silicone and that ends it.

[Purdy Swoft]

I had a chirping sound that sounded like a chirping , slipping fan belt . It turned out to be the seals in the rear water pump bushing . I use the rear bushing that uses two seals in the water pumps that I rebuild for our model A's. I don't use antifreeze in warm weather because it increases cooling system temperatures . I was running water as a summer coolant .I added a small bottle of water pump lubricant , soluble oil , to the radiator and the chirp went away. Soluble oil also prevents rust in the cooling system . Works for me in all of our model A's .

[100IH]

Water spray on the edges of the belt should tell you if the belt or pulley area is the culprit.If so, look at the generator pulley. Some are cast iron and some are riveted together sheet metal. The riveted pulleys get bent sometimes so that the "v" on the pulley is pinched together and forces the belt up as the belt passes over the pulley creating a chirp sound. Also, the rivets can get loose letting the 2 halves move.

[100IH]

I hate it when that happens. Read right over the " It's fixed" Can't have too much good answers.

[OL JENNY]

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I fought the chirp also. I had installed a new crank and bronze timing gear and while doing this replaced my old front motor mount with a new original mount. I would have the dreaded chirp at lower rpm and to make it more confusing it would usually stop when the clutch was held in. Throw out right, no plenty of grease and not the problem. Changed fan belts, lubricated fan belts, new water pump, pulled hair out all to no avail. On a tour with the help of several club members we could get the chirp to stop by putting more tension on the alternator, but tightening the alternator did not solve the problem. To finish this up, I eventually realized when I cleaned up my frame and installed the new front motor mount correctly with the spring just tight enough to get the cotter key in the bolt, the plate was dry and all the grease had been removed and it was my motor mount chirping with certain tensions. A little lithium grease between the motor mount flat plate and the frame and my problem was solved. This only took 3 months and considerable frustration.

[antiquepa]

OL JENNY. Thanks for the post..I Think you just answered my problem!!

[Bill Goddard]

Old Jenny, I am trying to remove my front motor mount to replace the leather washer and springs to improve the lineup of the crank pulley to the radiator hole. I followed Les Andrews instructions but it seems he neglected to mention the crank pulley needed to be removed. Was this your experience too, or should I raise the motor more than a 'little bit" to get the mount out from under the pulley? Did you have to loosen the rear mounts? Bill G

[Benson]

Bill B,

Some say to remove only 1 bolt on each side.

My experience is that it is safer to remove all four and only go as high as needed. You do not want to break a flywheel housing.

[gustafson]

and away we go with a 2 yr old resolved thread morphed into a motor mount issue LOL

[OL JENNY]

Yes Bill I did loosen the rear mounts when I originally changed my front motor mount. It was after having everything clean and painted (and unfortunately dry) that I had the chirp. I had removed the crank pully because I installed the matched set of gears. My chirp has not returned since I have lubricated the plate under the front motor mount.

[California Travieso]

Originally Posted by harryc

My first "chirp" when I was a kid driving my A daily in the 60's turned out to be a head gasket. The car wasn't missing or exhibiting any obvious problem other than the noise. I finally pulled the head at my dad's suggestion and discovered a tiny blow out on the back end of the head. I have also had the fan belt chirp as well. I just spray it with silicone and that ends it.

Harry,

They say you always remember your "first chirp"!

David Serrano

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Can't help you, still have a CHIRP-CHIRP-CHIRP, in my Left Ear, that I brought home from a RE-HAB. Once I brought home a "floater", in my Left Eye, still there!
Bill Pathetic

[monto]

Ditto on the dry distributor shaft.

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Sounds like it could be the spring plunger at the end of the camshaft. remove the front cover and clean out the oil hole in the casting, clean and oil the spring plunger and it should be ok.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Barry B./ Ma.

Sounds like it could be the spring plunger at the end of the camshaft. remove the front cover and clean out the oil hole in the casting, clean and oil the spring plunger and it should be ok.

That's exactly what I found on an engine I started for a customer. The guy who rebuilt the engine must have put the plunger and spring together dry. It took several short runs before the squeak went away. Every moving part needs lubrication.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

A QUICK, TEMPORARY way to quiet a fan belt: Just spray the inside of it, with PLAIN old water! When it dries, the noise will come back.
THEN, it's time to adjust or replace it. DON'T rub soap or any other GOOP, on it, fan belts only grip well, with a COMPLETELY DRY surface!!! When you replace a belt, save it in the trunk, with its' I.D. jacket, for future reference, or to use for an "EMERGENCY" spare. Same with hoses.
Bill Squirt