On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:01:00 -0500, Sarah Houston
<SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:

>93 Corolla wagon:
>
>We were hearing a little chirping sound when accelerating from a stop.
>
>The woman at Express Lube told me my belts were a little cracked but not
>worn enough to replace, only about half worn.
>
>She said I just needed them adjusted. ( this car has 3 belts, no
>serpentine, from what I understand )
>
>So I took it in to Midas ( don't know a good honest local mechanic around
>here, who doesn't charge an arm & leg ) and they adjusted the belts ( so
>they say ), but I still hear a little chirp when accelerating from a stop
>sometimes.
>
>What else could be causing this?

I would take the time to find a good local mechanic that you can
trust.

Using Midas is a total crap shoot, in my opinion.

Either learn the car yourself, or find a good local mechanic....

--

Scott in Florida

Scott in Florida wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:01:00 -0500, Sarah Houston
> <SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:
>
>> 93 Corolla wagon:
>>
>> We were hearing a little chirping sound when accelerating from a stop.
>>
>> The woman at Express Lube told me my belts were a little cracked but not
>> worn enough to replace, only about half worn.
>>
>> She said I just needed them adjusted. ( this car has 3 belts, no
>> serpentine, from what I understand )
>>
>> So I took it in to Midas ( don't know a good honest local mechanic around
>> here, who doesn't charge an arm & leg ) and they adjusted the belts ( so
>> they say ), but I still hear a little chirp when accelerating from a stop
>> sometimes.
>>
>> What else could be causing this?
>
> I would take the time to find a good local mechanic that you can
> trust.
>
> Using Midas is a total crap shoot, in my opinion.
>
> Either learn the car yourself, or find a good local mechanic....
>
Since it's making this noise when accelerating I'd suspect spark knock
(preignition). It makes that kind of sound also. You can try a little
premium or change brands of gasoline. An over heated engine will also
cause preignition. There is no such thing as a good cheap mechanic,
there are a lot of overpaid people but good mechanics earn their keep.

Fat Moe <FatMoe@BubbleWorld.Com> wrote :

> Since it's making this noise when accelerating I'd suspect spark
> knock (preignition).

No, I know what ping sounds and feels like, this is a chirp on the
outside, in the engine compartment.

I'm wondering if Midas didn't even adjust the belts and charged me for it?

dbu wrote:
> In article <Xns9AF69CF215132SntzldfrdSntzldfrdco@216.196.97.1 42>,
> Sarah Houston <SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:
>
>> Fat Moe <FatMoe@BubbleWorld.Com> wrote :
>>
>>> Since it's making this noise when accelerating I'd suspect spark
>>> knock (preignition).
>> No, I know what ping sounds and feels like, this is a chirp on the
>> outside, in the engine compartment.
>>
>> I'm wondering if Midas didn't even adjust the belts and charged me for it?
>
> More likely a belt slip. Did you have new belts installed? If so take
> it back for adjustment. They tend to slacken up after break-in. That
> should be covered in their warranty. Hold them to it.
>
> Engine ping is entirely different sound and not likely with modern day
> engines.
Reminds me of the old forklift we used to use, there were three of us
working on it and it took three times longer to get it running when it
broke down than if only one worked on it. Each of us had our own idea
of what the problem was and how to fix it.
I'm still guessing preignition.

dbu <nospam@nospam.moc> wrote :

> In article <Xns9AF69CF215132SntzldfrdSntzldfrdco@216.196.97.1 42>,
> Sarah Houston <SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:
>
>> Fat Moe <FatMoe@BubbleWorld.Com> wrote :
>>
>> > Since it's making this noise when accelerating I'd suspect spark
>> > knock (preignition).
>>
>> No, I know what ping sounds and feels like, this is a chirp on the
>> outside, in the engine compartment.
>>
>> I'm wondering if Midas didn't even adjust the belts and charged me
>> for it?
>
> More likely a belt slip. Did you have new belts installed?

No, these are a few years old, but someone at Xpress lube said they
don't need changing, they're about half worn and probably just needed
adjusting.

> If so
> take it back for adjustment. They tend to slacken up after break-in.
> That should be covered in their warranty. Hold them to it.

Midas adjusted them last week, and we still heard a chirp, that was why
I posted this.

In article <Xns9AF7A4CC91DBESntzldfrdSntzldfrdco@216.196.97.1 42>,
Sarah Houston <SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:

> dbu <nospam@nospam.moc> wrote :
>
> > In article <Xns9AF69CF215132SntzldfrdSntzldfrdco@216.196.97.1 42>,
> > Sarah Houston <SHoust@pndfnospam.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Fat Moe <FatMoe@BubbleWorld.Com> wrote :
> >>
> >> > Since it's making this noise when accelerating I'd suspect spark
> >> > knock (preignition).
> >>
> >> No, I know what ping sounds and feels like, this is a chirp on the
> >> outside, in the engine compartment.
> >>
> >> I'm wondering if Midas didn't even adjust the belts and charged me
> >> for it?
> >
> > More likely a belt slip. Did you have new belts installed?
>
> No, these are a few years old, but someone at Xpress lube said they
> don't need changing, they're about half worn and probably just needed
> adjusting.
>
> > If so
> > take it back for adjustment. They tend to slacken up after break-in.
> > That should be covered in their warranty. Hold them to it.
>
> Midas adjusted them last week, and we still heard a chirp, that was why
> I posted this.
>

Could be the belt tensioner, just another guess.
--