Need help.

Im so annoyed at this point. My car right now seems to have an HLA tick, which has worsen due to the cold weather. I drive my car around during the day today, and everything seemed fine. First start up, the usual HLA tick, but then goes away within minutes. Tonight I start the car, and now the noise sounds twice as loud, and won't go away. I popped the hood to see what it might be, and I see what looks to be my timing belt with 2 small frays in it. Would the car make such a loud noise/tick/rattle if the timing belt was soon to snap? I cant get a video of the noise as my camera is broken. It really does sound like an HLA tick, but twice as loud, and gets louder as the RPM's go up. If it is the belt, im screwed as I do not know how to replace it, or have the mechanical skills to perform such a job. Really fed up with the car at this point, and need some imput. Please!

Did you check the oil level?

If the timing belt is really coming apart I'd park it now since you are just minutes away from walking..... :-(

I cant really tell if its the belt due to it being dark outside and only using a flash light. But I went and listened to it again, and its coming from the engine. It literally sounds like a rod knock, but I dont see how. It was a weekend car for the guy who had it before me, but kept up with all maintenance. I did an oil change, and still have another 2k or so to go till the next one. Car has about 132k. And the oil gauge is reading correctly, doesn't say its low.

Oil gauge?? If your referencing the dash oil pressure gauge that only shows oil pressure not the amount of oil currently in the engine.

How about checking the oil level with the dipstick?

Has the valve cover been modified? If not, you can't see the timing belt. Secondly, are you saying the oil pressure gauge on the dash reads normal? That doesn't necessarily mean correct oil level. How does the dipstick read?


Edit: B10 by POS.

Sorry, my brain is completley fried right now. Yes the oil pressure gauge, my mistake. And no the VC hasnt beent mod. Like I said, very very new to understand components of a car. It is the power steering/AC belt that I am referring to (just looked it up).

Well you need to check your oil level and see if the car is low on oil. Hopefully it is something simple like this rather than you prognosis of Rod Knock which normally requires a replacement engine.

Yeah Im hoping this as well. But, I did my oil change at a local Firestone. If theres no oil in it, would they have something to do with that? Because i still have about 2k miles left till the next one. Or maybe my car is just eating oil?

Many motors use oil as they run so it is always a good plan to check you oil at every fill up so you can gauge how much oil your engine uses. And no the Firestone more than likely had nothing to if you happen to be low on oil today.

At 132,000 miles on a 22 year old car it never hurts to check all the basic fluids regularly.

Im going to change the oil tomorrow morning and see if that helps any. Going to do it myself also, instead of hoping Firestone does it correctly. Would you recomend 5w-30 since it's the winter? Or is there a better type to help reduce/eliminate HLA tick? Thanks so much for your help. I really do appreciate it.

I don't know what kind of oil is currently in the engine, but I'd think that unless they used something really heavy this won't solve your problem UNLESS the oil level is really low.

Check the level after you wake up.

Go to WallyWorld and get a big jug of Rotella T5. It will help lessen the HLA tick (if that's what it is).

Karo syrup (brown, not clear) will significantly reduce HLA tick. It will also do some other things, but it should eliminate your need to worry about HLA tick, permanently.

Im doing an oil change here in a little bit. Gonna try the 5w-30 this time. Im going to look into the the Rotella stuff. Praying to god its not a knock.

What year is your miata? First, check that frayed ps/ac belt by running your fingers along it, inside and outside edges, see if theres a piece peeling that could be flapping on something..

With the engine running, look at the big round pulley at the front of the engine that the belt rides on. See any wobbling?

Good luck.

Just for shits and giggles, check the oil level before you drain it.

Check your oil level WITH the dipstick and report back. How many people have said to do this now? If you dont want to listen to anyones advice then why did you ask for help? Hell it might take you a whole 5 min. counting the time it takes to walk outside. How long do you figure it is going to take you to change your oil? There is saying Keep It Simple Stupid KISS it works very well try it out.

My problem (loud knocking) a couple weeks ago was a loose spark plug.
If there is plenty of oil, while the car is running push down on each spark plug cover and see if the sound changes or just check each one to make sure they are tight.

I've listened to everyone's suggestions...Sorry, I just wasn't able to be on the computer all day. Anyways, today I tackled it. I checked the oil level, and it was at about half way, so I flushed it anyways. But before that, I went ahead and seafoamed the car to hopefully get out any carbon build-up. Afterwards came the oil change, went with 5w-30 this time around. When it was all wrapped up and finished, I started the car and it sounded great. There was still a tiny bit of tick, but it went away within 30 seconds or so. Thanks again for all of the help and tips you guys shared.

:facepalm: