2001 Altima GXE Limited "grunting" noise

[ChachiNYC]

My Altima makes a grunting noise when accelerating from a stop (maybe also when accelerating while already moving, I don't remember). I brought it to the dealer and they suspected a pulley bearing so they replaced it. The sound didn't go away and in fact now comes and goes during idle! Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Charles


Follow-up:

Brought the car back to the dealer the next day and they said the new pulley was also faulty. They woked on it again at no additional charge, comped me an oil change, and now she purrs like a kitten again!

[methodmix]

Hi,
I am currently having a similar problem with my 2000 Altima GLE. I just purchased the vehicle 3 weeks ago, with about 66,500 miles on it. I noticed a similar noise, almost like something was shaking or vibrating, around idle. I took the vehicle back to the dealer, they inspected the fans and belts and everything checked out and they heard no wierd noise as I had just described. Now this was the dealer I had purchased the vehicle from, a Honda dealership, but still, they should have been able to figure out what could have been wrong. I noticed the noise usually happens after cold starts, but when the vehicle is warmed up after driving a few miles, it's hardly noticable. No engine lights are coming on so there is nothing wrong on that end. I am wondering if it could be some part of the exhaust manifold undergoing natural frequency and vibrating or if this is actually "engine knock". It could also very well be the same problem you just had, but I have no idea. I am a new owner of the vehicle, I have added only 1200 or so miles to it since I bought it and I really am not sure of it's maintenance history. Any ideas?
Thanks,
David

[ChachiNYC]

Originally Posted by methodmix

Hi,
I am currently having a similar problem with my 2000 Altima GLE. I just purchased the vehicle 3 weeks ago, with about 66,500 miles on it. I noticed a similar noise, almost like something was shaking or vibrating, around idle.

[deleted text]

Any ideas?
Thanks,
David

Maybe you should take it to a Nissan shop. Perhaps it's a problem unique to the Altima and common enough that they would quickly recognize it. With regard to my car's noise, I was tempted to mention to the dealer that it sounded like an exhaust problem, but I didn't. They said it was a pulley (or pulley bearings) and they did eventually fix the problem. BTW, mine has 45000 miles on it.

-Charles

[dec29p]

i had something like that to happen to me. if you notice it mor in the morning befor the car warms up and also when you a idleing, and if you feel that the car vibrates alittle, its your Transmision. mine went out just like that and i have a 99 with about 60k my hole car vibrated then i took it back to the dealer and got a new tran put in and i got car rental free!!!! because i bought the extended service plan

[methodmix]

Thanks for the advice. I will definately take it to a Nissan Dealership as soon as I can. I will let you know what they find.

[methodmix]

Originally Posted by methodmix

Thanks for the advice. I will definately take it to a Nissan Dealership as soon as I can. I will let you know what they find.

Sorry I took so long to reply. I took the car to the local Nissan Dealership to get a diagnosis about a couple months ago. They told me they "found" that I had bad motor mounts...two were definately bad and the other two were on the way to going bad. Now, keep in mind this car only had roughly 66k miles when I bought it. Do motor mounts typically go bad this soon?

Anyways, I didn't do anything about it because parts and labor was around $750 for all four mounts. Besides, it was end of semester and finals were around the corner. So, time goes by and I notice the sound becomes even more distinct, especially when I turn the steering wheel and I am at close to idle.

Curious at that point, I start the car, lock the steering wheel turned all the way using a tripod, pop the hood, and listen for the rattling sound. Sure enough, it wasn't even coming from the engine. It was coming from the belt drive region and it almost sounded like I had a loose pulley that was vibrating. I realized that when I forced the steering all the way, it made the power steering pump work harder which put more stress on the belt...hmmmmm.

Am I on the right track here? Could my power steering pump be on it's way to the graveyard or could it be as simple as tightening up a couple bolts?

I am scheduled for a secondary diagnosis at Nissan first thing tomorrow and I will update you with the results.

[IH8SPM]

Sounda like a combination of problems. The vibrating is from the motor mounts going bad and they have no life span. The mounts go when they go even at 2 miles if you reved the car hard enough and slamed in to drive they can break in severe cold weather. The pulley is on its way out it the norm with this car. The pulley is cheap and the labor is an hour. The mounts I would just deal with since they are so expensive and the engine is not going to fall out just vibrate more. For the price of these two visits you would have proably changed the pulley.

[methodmix]

Ok I just got back from Nissan. They were right about the mounts...they showed me the one on the front by the alternator and it looks rotted and loose. I have always noticed a little vibration in the steering wheel and in the car when I have the car stopped but in gear. They told me that the ones on the bottom are flexing due to the excessive strain caused by the one that's already bad in the front.

At this point, the mounts are simply causing the engine to vibrate, not making any noise though. I may just get that front mount replaced on my own, since it looks easy to get to and see if that minimizes the idle speed vibration.

As for the rattling noise from the belts/pulleys, all it needed was a simple tightening. I couldn't even hear the slightest rattle after that. Heck, it even got rid of the play in my steering. By the way, that last visit was free of charge since they mistakingly related the rattle noise to the motor mounts...plus they tightened the belt for free...Thanks for the help guys!