Hi,

In the last week my 2009 Focus has started making excessive noise from the engine, but I'm not able to pinpoint the issue.  It's quite a high pitched whiney noise and is coming from the belt area.

Hopefully this video captures the noise:

 Anyone any ideas what this might be and whether I need to get it sorted asap, or can I leave it until it's MOT in a month or so?

Also noticed a split in one of the hoses (see pic).  What does this do, and can this also wait to be fixed at the cars MOT?

Thanks for any advise.

Get it repaired for the MOT, so it's a straight pass

That split hose wants to be replaced asap.  That's the air intake hose, basically it's sucking a load of dirty air into the engine now instead of it going through the air filter first.  That will also cause a considerable noise! 

The whine could be a few different things on that side, it's unlikely to be an MOT issue but would need further investigation.  Could even be the cambelt slipping off and rubbing the cover.

 

you could try dribbling water onto both sides of the alternator drive belt and see if that changes the sound. 

15 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

That split hose wants to be replaced asap.  That's the air intake hose, basically it's sucking a load of dirty air into the engine now instead of it going through the air filter first.  That will also cause a considerable noise! 

The whine could be a few different things on that side, it's unlikely to be an MOT issue but would need further investigation.  Could even be the cambelt slipping off and rubbing the cover.

 

Thanks Tom.  Could I insulate tape over the split and then get the hose replaced at the garage in a month or so time, or is that a dumb idea?

If I should replace it asap, how big a job is it.  Looks to be just a case of untightening each end and pulling off, but I don't want to end up with some horror once I start it.

14 hours ago, isetta said:

you could try dribbling water onto both sides of the alternator drive belt and see if that changes the sound. 

So quite literally dribble water onto each side of the belt whilst it's running?  Thanks.

3 minutes ago, CassandraC said:

Thanks Tom.  Could I insulate tape over the split and then get the hose replaced at the garage in a month or so time, or is that a dumb idea?

If I should replace it asap, how big a job is it.  Looks to be just a case of untightening each end and pulling off, but I don't want to end up with some horror once I start it.

You can try tape yes, that hose only holds vacuum so there's no pressure to blow the tape off.  It has that concertina effect because it constantly moves as the engine rocks back and forward so tape may not last long.  When you do come to replace it, it really is as simple as unbolting the jubilee clamps at each end.  You may find it has a single use clamp without a screw under the engine cover, if so you can replace that one with a jubilee clip instead.  The engine will still start and run even without that hose in place if you really get stuck, but it's not advisable.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

You can try tape yes, that hose only holds vacuum so there's no pressure to blow the tape off.  It has that concertina effect because it constantly moves as the engine rocks back and forward so tape may not last long.  When you do come to replace it, it really is as simple as unbolting the jubilee clamps at each end.  You may find it has a single use clamp without a screw under the engine cover, if so you can replace that one with a jubilee clip instead.  The engine will still start and run even without that hose in place if you really get stuck, but it's not advisable.

Thanks Tom.  I'll tape it up this weekend and keep an eye on it.  I'll then get it replaced at it's service/mot end of March.

"So quite literally dribble water onto each side of the belt whilst it's running?  Thanks. "

yes, when I say each side, I mean the ribbed side and the smooth side (the back and the front you could say). It does not look very easy to get to so you might need a pipe or something to get it in the right place . Sometimes rubber belts squeak on the pulleys, and water would make that sound change, hence showing that is what causes the noise. or at least you might eliminate that as what causes it. Always hard to give opinion on what makes a noise if not there in person.