Q: What is the grinding sound coming from passenger side of engine

asked by on September 02, 2017

I hear a grinding sound on my passenger side of the engine why?

My car has 228000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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It sounds like this may be related to a couple of different possibilities. This could be a bad idler pulley bearing, which is a bearing inside an idler wheel that the serpentine belt rides on. When these bearings wear out, they sometimes produce a bit of a grinding sound.

The other possibility may be a failing AC compressor, which may also produce a bit of a grinding sound as the bearings inside the compressor begin to fail. When this happens, you may also notice other issues with the AC not working properly or potentially the engine overheating due to the additional stress put on the motor to turn the compressor with bad bearings. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and repair your vehicle.

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