Hi,

Hoping I could get a little advice / help.

Picked up a 2002 AUIII xr6 a month ago with 51,000 on the clock. I'm starting to regret my decision...

At the moment i have the following issues with the car, I'm going to take it to my local mechanic but as I'm not exactly that great with things mechanical any ideas to what the problems / fixes might be would be really appreciated

1/ Noticeable whine coming from the motor on startup which builds and lessens according the the revs. Can be heard at idle and while driving but quietens over time. (when i had the brakes looked over the mech picked it up and said bearing going in power steering pump?)

2/ Loud 'hissing' sound coming from the rear of the car on startup. Seems to originate around the left hand side of the car....once again after being driven for a while it disappears, only to come back again after the car is left for a while then re-started.

3/ A noticable 'whump whump whump' sound which is there all the time while driving - seems to be coming from the front wheels (left?) side. really noticeable when accelerating and slowing down.

4/ when turning left, noticeable squeak coming from the front wheels, which now seems to have spread sometimes to when the car is going straight. No sound when turning right. frequency of the noise increases depending on speed.

5/ A mate has told me that the centre of the rear seat got quite hot after a trip to the gold coast and back....diff problems????

6/ also when turning left, sometime the steering will shudder.

I might be paranoid, but any help would really be appreciated.

Cheers

most of that sounds like a falcon... what where you driving before it...?

1/ depending on how loud it is as to weather you think its worth getting it looked at... power steering pump is common to make i whine noise but im fairly sure a soft whine is normal

5/ i dont think the diff would cause the seat to get hot... diffs fine unless its clunking...

Thanks for the reply mate.

I drove, and still drive a 82 VH 308 and a 99 Excel (girlfriends). The VH has less rattles than a car which is 20 years newer lol.

So the Falcons are generally noisy? I'm just concerned as I'm going a bit of a road trip next month. The hissing sound really concerns me.

2/ Loud 'hissing' sound coming from the rear of the car on startup. Seems to originate around the left hand side of the car....once again after being driven for a while it disappears, only to come back again after the car is left for a while then re-started.


how long does is make this noise for?? it sounds like it ya fuel pump

the whump sound is possibly a crook tyre.put your spare onand see if it still does it.

Suggest getting a major service,and then afterwards,assess the situation

Got the same car. My idler pulley is noisy, just the bearing though, the hissing from the rear left should be the pump, the noise in the wheels and the steering wheel shuddering indicates a s**t tyre or buckled rim. Run your hand over the tread to see if the tyre has ripples in it. The back seat getting hot should be more on the right hand side where the exhaust runs over the rear axle. Doesnt sound like anything major. Even if i had all that id still love mine. Rips all holden 6's. (That ive raced anyway)

mine wasn't noisy till i got the 17's... when i can afford some decent tires i'll see if that helps... brouught them pretty much bald...

Thank for the reply mate.

So does the noisy idler bearing mean that it's on the way out? Also with regard to the hissing is this normal? Should I be having the fuel pump replaced / checked out? I took the car out last night and it was there again on start up but when i got home I checked and the noise had gone....is the fuel pump located at the rear of the car?

sorry for all the questions....I'm just not that good with mechanical stuff lol

even if you replace the fuel pump it probably wont take long for it to make the noise again,ya just cant let it get too low on fuel as i used to do it all the time caus id always have to wait for payday to put fuel in it.lol...but its definatly the fuel pump as my old mans does the same thing...

sounds like a few things need a basic service like maybe power steering rack..... the "whump" etc is prolly a dodgey tyre and the rear seat getting hot god knows.

So.....basically my fuel pump is rooted.

Get a mechanic to flow test the pump. Mine was gone so i got a new one fitted under warranty. The idler pulley is plastic, aftermarket ones are steel. Get it replaced if it bothers you, if the bearing fully goes it could cause problems with the belt. The only reason the seat gets hot is the exhaust. Run the car for a bit and remove the bottom of the seat the look under the car where the exhaust is. You'll see where the heat comes from. Use exhaust tape if its a problem. Id be getting a good service if i were you anyhow. Fuel pumps are a few hundred, idler pulley bout one hundred ea depending on where you go.

Thank you all for your help with this.

Crazy thing with the fuel pump / hissing thing is that it's not always doing it - just on startup. As i said before if i go for a drive and come back it's not there *shrugs*.

Anyhow I'll print this out and book the car in the my local guy.

Really quite p****d off atm considering $17000 laid out and only 1 month owned..I guess low k's really mean nothing anymore. (51,000)

But thanks all

$17k is a bit much. Got mine for 12 with new tyres, full year rego and warranty. Over 100km but manual and mint condition. I used sydney vehicle check to bargain the price. Full 8 page report on everything for $195 and the few small things he found got fixed under warranty. I'd never buy another car without it, they're licensed panelbeaters and mechanics and they go hard on the car. Just a thought for everyone