[kevster]

Hi Guys
Still working my way down my list of niggles to sort out and wanted to run thios weekends jobs past you.
1. I have a whirring pulsing sound that I think is comming from the passenger side front wheel when ever I turn left. It is most obvious when at speeds of over 30mph and especially when going down hill. It occurs only on left hand corners and is regardless of it being a gentle or sharp corner. This sounds to me like a worn or pitted wheel bearing. Does this sound right? The car has 120k miles on the clock.

2. I sometimes get a smell that I can only describe as damp curry (this is the car I'm talking about, not me) . It may be my imagination but it seems to me that it is strongest when I am accelerating hard, although this doesn't make much sense to me. The most likely thing I can think of is that the ventilation heat exchanger is leaking. Again, what do you think? and why is this more noticable when accelerating? (I've checked the pipes going into the heat exchanger compartment, but not the heat exchanger it self)

Cheers for any advice
Kev

 

[ylee coyote]

sorry but
ime....damp curry = clutch
the other sound I have no experience but it does sound like a goosed wheel bearing

 

[Anthony B]

Kevster
People often describe the smell generated by a leaking heater matrix as "damp" and "curry" so it could possibly be that. Is your car losing water at all?Steaming up the windows?

The sound you describe is much like a shot wheel bearing.The local specialist I use descibed it as being a sort of chainsaw type of sound which you can almost play a tune with by loading/unloading the suspect wheel. Not done a bearing myself but doesn't sound too bad apart from the very high torque required to tighten up the hub nut.

HTH
Ant

 

[kevster]

Cheers
Sounds like the wheel bering is pretty much a cert' then. Apart from the part cost I don't think this is too bad a job...provided nothing is ceased.

If the option for the curry smell is a duff clutch them I'm hoping for a leaky heater matrix. If only the clutch was like my old Cav' How do I tell if it's the clutch slipping? Apart from the funny smell I don't experience any other clutch-like problems.
Kev

 

[mpen]

I had the curry smell it was the heater matrix

 

[1989agoodvintage]

Originally posted by mpen:
[qb]I had the curry smell it was the heater matrix [/qb][/b]

I guess it must depend on the type of antifreeze you use, when my heater matrix was leaking I could smell antifreeze inside the cabin. Must admit I've never experience curry scented antifreeze.

 

[mpen]

Mine must of been an Indian import then Jason, thinking about it my clk smells of Sauerkraut every once in a while...or maybe I'm being a smart ****...Maybe you need to change your antifreeze, the curry ones much better after a few pints of lager

 

[billythekid]

I have a curry sort of smell coming from the ACC of my car aswell, I doubt very much that it is the clutch as my car is an auto.
My Nissan Skyline also had a similar smell coming from the aircon. I fixed it with a aerosol of some stuff which is supposed to deodorise your aircon system. (sorry i cant remember the name of it) Aparently 'things' can start growing in your aircon system and make it smell ( i had a mental image of those green germ things from the toilet duck adverts )
But anyway, it did stop the curry breath.

Billy.

 

[kevster]

I'd definitely prefer the aircon'/heater matrix senario, but the 'smells strongest when accelerating hard' thing is a niggling 'might be the clutch' worry

BTW, my antifreeze is only about 200 miles old and is halfords better grade stuff. Didn,t smell of curry at the time, but wouldn't like to think what it might smell of when hot and mixed with what ever [expletive deleted] there might be in the heater matrix.

I've just been looking at the Haynes amnual at the heater matrix and clutch ......Ggggggggrrrrr ....... why is it that I have a photo , for instance, of how to identify and remove the top radiator pipe (duu...fink I could manage that OK actually), but there is not one photo of what I would consider to be a job of a tad more complexity such as removing the gear box????????