What the H#!! is this noise? Slant six mystery engine sound...

[MN1968Valiant]

I'm not gonna hold onto his comment or anything...it just got frustrating to keep coming back to this thread and finding endless reminders suggesting the alternator as the culprit. In the case of StrokerScamp's comment, it's just tough to make the call on someone's intended tone via typed words on the internet.

The fact is, 1wild&crazyguy, you were right about the alternator being pretty close to the fender. The belt that came on the car turned out to be about half an inch too long, and although that doesn't seem huge, it certainly does account for the alternator's proximity to the fender--although not close enough for contact between the two.

Lastly, although the video doesn't do it justice--and which I should have probably mentioned earlier, the noise is heard most clearly from the driver's side. These different observations, I guess, are what led me to make the strongest case for the PS pump.

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

fair enough.

 

[blind_in_1_ear]

so, what was the cause of the noise??
i ask b/c i think i heard the same one tonight on the way home..70 Valiant 225, sounded loudest right at front of valve cover/alternator area...my fan belt was super tight, and was a little gummed up in the alternator pulley area...smoke and everything..
been a while since i have done anything to anything in there, so could be anything :help:
Blind

 

[169dart4y]

Instead of something with a plastic handle, use a long extension. Plastic is an insulator and will distort and muffle the sound. The steel extension will amplify the hound out of it and you'll find it real quick. I've heard alternators make noises like that.

I second the alternator

 

[2 Darts]

I noticed in the first video that the fan extension has been polished a bit by the PS belt. If the belt isn't under enough tension, it could hit the water pump pulley and cause both the polishing and the noise. The pump pulley moving back and forth could be what is causing the PS belt to not align properly on the crank pulley, throwing the belt onto the fan extension. If the car throws belts at higher rpm, the pulley alignment issue is the culprit. IMO

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

fair enough.

Cool, but keep an eye on it cause the motor torques over to the pass side when rev'd...

you say you removed all the belts and it still sounded the same?

let me know, it's been a while since I've read this whole thread.