Pontiac Grand AM, Squeeling and Rattling Noise

Hi,

I have a 97 Grand AM, just bought from a private party 3 weeks back. Starting Friday, I am getting this weired noises,

i) When I turn the Engine on, there is a grinding or rattling noise coming from the passenger side in the engine compartment, some were close to the belt pulley. If I turn the AC ON, the noise goes away?

ii) If turn the Steering all the way to left or right, I am hearing a squeelign noise.

Can some one please help me? I am not a an auto mechanic, but if some one could help me what could be the problem, and how much this will cost me (approximately) it will help me to talk to a mecchanic. Just paid 3500, for this, I can't pay more right now.

Thanks & Regards,

Anand

your rattling noise is the clutch going bad in your a/c compressor. The noise goes away when you turn the air on, because the clutch is engaged, eliminating the gap between the clutch and the pulley. It will require replacement of the clutch and pulley to fix. The squealing noise is one of a few possible problems. the serp belt and or tensioner could be going bad (possibly a result of the bad a/c clutch), and at the end of it's travel, the rack and pinion feeds pressure back to the pump, causing it to drag, which will make the belt squeal. You could also have a bad power steering pump or a bad rack and pinion. there have been a few recalls reguarding GM rack and pinions. check with your dealer to see if your car is affected. If it is, it may be a free fix, if not, check the afformentioned things.

..lets not jump to conclusions here. I had the same noise that you are describing about 3 months ago and all i did was spray some WD40 on the a/c clutch and the noise went away. If you dont know, teh a/c clutch is located at the bottom of the engine compartment and is closest to the front of the car. It is connected to the a/c compresor. It should be pretty easy for you to find. then with the a/c off just give a quick spray of wd40 to the a/c clutch and your noise should go away. Like i said i did this about 3 months ago and i frequently use my a/c on and off and have had no noise since and the a/c still works great. hope this helps as a qucik, cheap fix

Hi Thanks a TON for both of you. Looks like the first one is permanant solution, but little expensive, I will try the second one time being and plan for the permanante solution in my next month's budget.

Now, can you please tell me what is this WD40, and where to get it?

wd 40 is an all purpose lubricant spray. you can buy it practically anywhere, i.e. walmart, any hardware store, an automotive store...
It comes in a Blue can and has yellow writing on it. Also, i believe this should solve your problem depending on severity, but like i said i do use my a/c all the time and i havent had the noise reoccur since reapplying the wd40. I would say if it fixes your noise there really wouldnt be a need to replace the clutch, until it goes completely (which may never happen)