1995 Buick Century Special Weird Noise when running

[Blownchevelle503]

I have a 1995 buick century special 3.1L V6 4dr sedan 4T60E 187K

when the car is running, it makes this sound that would be similar to a bad power steering pump. I have the alt, idler, power steering pump, a/c motor, water pump and crank pulleys. I haven't been able to pinpoint the sound yet. it doesn't seem to be the power steering pump, I haven't noticed any bubbles in the reservoir, the sound doesn't change while I'm turning the wheels.

The car sat without being driven or started since 2006 and I bought it november 2010, been driving it since. she runs pretty solid just a few annoying quirks.

sometimes when she's cold, she'll fall on her face from a stop. and every once in a while she'll fall on her face when she's plenty warm. any suggestions?


thank you for your time.

Kyle B.

[Casper]

Have you taken the belt off and tried turning the pullies by hand and feeling for roughness in the bearings? I'd try that first. Does it do it all the time?

[Century7667]

I have a 1995 buick century special 3.1L V6 4dr sedan 4T60E 187K

when the car is running, it makes this sound that would be similar to a bad power steering pump. I have the alt, idler, power steering pump, a/c motor, water pump and crank pulleys. I haven't been able to pinpoint the sound yet. it doesn't seem to be the power steering pump, I haven't noticed any bubbles in the reservoir, the sound doesn't change while I'm turning the wheels.

The car sat without being driven or started since 2006 and I bought it november 2010, been driving it since. she runs pretty solid just a few annoying quirks.

sometimes when she's cold, she'll fall on her face from a stop. and every once in a while she'll fall on her face when she's plenty warm. any suggestions?


thank you for your time.

Kyle B.

I've got two 3100 SFI Centurys ( a '96 and a '95), on both of them the idler pulley began to fail at 90,000 miles or so. So that's a possibility. I purchased my Garnet Red '95 Buick Century two years ago, it was only getting 750 miles per year for 4 years before I purchased it. It also had some issues with drivability; 2 years later, I'm still working through them a bit. Mostly is runs well. Get a scan tool and check for DTCs; that's a start.

Casper suggestion to pull the belt and turn everything by hand is a good one; taking the belt off is easy on this motor. In the case of the idler pulley, if it's starting to go, you'll notice that the idler arm won't be aligned straight, it will bend towards the engine.

Ken T.

[occupant]

That is the sound we heard for about a week before the alternator failed from bearing damage in my wife's '99 Taurus about 3 years back. But the alternator failed because the tensioner was jammed in a tight position. A lot of WD-40 and a little luck and a lot of banging and the tensioner worked again.

So if you're eating alt bearings, check the tensioner.