Funky noise

[mmichelee]

Well let me first of all say that I am very uneducated when it comes to cars.

I just recently bought a 1997 Cavalier.. It drove fine for a while and then it started making a noise from under the hood on the right side. It's a whining/grinding/hissing noise.. When I go around 30mph it would be very present. Once I got up to 60mph.. it was fine.. when I would sit at a redlight or be idle it would get really loud. After driving the car for around an hour it would be REALLY loud. Also when I put it in reverse it would also be loud. It's an attention getter

I took it to a Chevy dealership and they said it was normal and fine. They told my father that they've seen 100's of Cavaliers that are like that and there's nothing to do about it and that it's completely normal. I went and talked to them myself and they said the same. That it's okay that it gets really loud..

Well my brother tends to work on cars a lot and he had an idea of what it was right away. He went to look at it, and said it was either the serpentine belt, or something(I forget what he said) was tapping on a valve and if I opened it, I could wiggle it.

Now like I said before I am by far a mechanic.. So would it be more easier to take it to a shop to get it fixed? Is this really normal? If I do take it to an auto shop about how much would it cost to fix?

Thanks for any help.

[Mod'd_Cav]

do not take it to a mechanic...if anything..try and find a back yard mech...a shop will only charge you an arm and a leg for something that could have been solved for 30 bucks or so...try and find a friend that works on cars and is very knowledgeable..or if your local highschool has a mechanics course...try and get them to look at it...they might do it for free since it would be learning at the same time..and you woudlnt have to worry about them doing something cuz the teacher wouldnt let them mess around when they dont know what they are doing and run the risk of having to pay for your cars damage..

[MacAttack]

Have them check the A/C clutch...the Cavaliers are notorious for them going and with quick attention can be serviced fairly cheaply. If the clutch breaks, then you are into $$$.

Good luck!