Loud screeching from the bottom of the engine bay, plus smell of burning rubber [SOLVED: Power Steering Pump]

[Austin06_M45S]

I wonder if anyone saw these symptoms.

I have a 2006 Infiniti M45 Sport that I got used back in 2009 with 47k on it and it broke down at 214k in March 2017.

It has been maintained at the same shop for most of the time I had it. Last time they saw the car when they installed new catalytic converters on it in November 2016 (they also religiously changed oil in it, knowing that VK45DE burns it at a good rate).
4 months later the car broke down. Since during 2016 I spent around $5k on it I did not want to tow it back to pour more money into it at that time. Now I do want to figure out if the engine is toast or something else might be the problem like an accessory belt or some pulley.

So back in March 2017, when driving back from work, literally 3 minutes away from my house, maybe at 40mph a LOUD screeching noise starting coming from (what it seemed) lower left side of the engine bay.
I thought something went wrong with the front left wheel.
I also smelled burning rubber or plastic from friction (it did not smell like oil to me).

I pulled it into the garage but the screeching and smell did not stop at idle.
The oil temperature was normal.

I started the car another two times and same horrible screeching with the smell of hot rubber/plastic.
It was not drivible. Considering it had 214k miles on it and I just dumped $2.5k on catalytic converters on it 4 months before this happened, I got a new car and this one has been sitting in the garage since March 2017.

Can someone suggest how I can find out if the engine itself is toast without towing the car to a mechanic ?

One simple suggestion I got was to take off the accessory belt and start the engine. If the noise is still there - the engine is toast. (I figure the engine will overheat very fast).
The dipstick shows oil level between the MIN and MAX dots. The coolant is at MAX.

Has anyone experienced anything similar ?
I listened to a few videos with screeching pulleys, there are nowhere close to the horrible screeching I heard.
Also, something leaked under the left side of the engine bay. I cannot say what exactly after so much time, looks like oil by color.

I'm attaching a few photos.
Thank you for your suggestions if any.

dip stick

under left side

underneath

IMG_0043.JPG[/attachment attachment=3]IMG_0078.JPG

left side of engine

pulleys, something leaked on the bottom

alternator

[Ilya]

I would agree...remove the belt and see what happens.

[DenisMcG]

There should be no need to start the engine with the belt removed. Just take the belt off and spin the idler and tensioner pulleys by hand. You will feel if one is bad. The burning smell is likely the belt rubbing across the pulley that has a bad bearing. If you find one of these pulleys to be bad, make sure you get a new belt as well.

[Austin06_M45S]

Thank you. I do need to check if it's the accessory belt or pulleys so I'll run it before getting the parts.

[Austin06_M45S]

Looks like it's the waterpump pulley or waterpump itself. The engine temp is all right so far.

(I revived the car by replacing the battery, pouring some fresh premium gas into it and adding some oil, it starts very well, the screeching is not as bad now, surprisingly; no error codes on OBD scanner ! First time start after 3 years ).

So, the waterpump pulley for 2006 M45 has been discontinued. Ebay does not have it, Infiniti parts does not have it, RockAuto does not have it...

Can anyone suggest a possible replacement that you know might fit from another Nissan/Infiniti model ?

Thank you for your time

[PalmerWMD]

I believe the FX45 had the same engine, the Q45 did as well... parts for those motors might be a good place to start looking. Of course for different models accessory pulleys could be different but something like a water pump pulley I doubt it would be any different.Same with the water pump ..how did u decide it was the pulley not the pump?

I once had a BMW and the water pump went bad and symptom was also a lot of screeching.

[LIBRILZ]

You need a pulley? Hard to see that being the case. I figure the water pump would be bad first

[Austin06_M45S]

I thought to replace both. I ordered a water pump too, but could not find a new pulley to go with it. I guess I'll re-use the original pulley.
An Infiniti parts rep told me the VK45DE water pump pulley is discontinued (part 21051-AR700).

I want to replace the serpentine belt too.
A post on this forum about replacing M45 belts mentioned
Goodyear Poly-V Gatorback belt as a good option (part #4060770), 6PK1955). I cannot find it new anywhere, ebay has some used ones.

There is some Continental OE 77' belt on amazon. I'll try that one.

[LIBRILZ]

I wouldn’t worry about the pulley. Maybe you
mean the tensioner though? Those do go bad way before 200k.

[Austin06_M45S]

The shop I was taking it to did a lot of work on the car after it hit 180K miles. Maybe they replaced the tensioner, was a while ago. They definitely replaced the belts several times.

[EdBwoy]

Replacing the pulley is a good idea to avoid future belt issues.

In such a failure where the accessory is stopped while the belt keeps moving, the result is that the belt sharpens the grooves on the pulley with that friction that caused the smoking. The next belt you install is likely to be damaged by this pulley.

I have a spare M45 water pump. The pulley is obviously used but in good condition; you can have it if you want it.
Email me at EdBwoy at gmail dotcom.

[Austin06_M45S]

Thank you !

Just sent an email.

[Austin06_M45S]

Finally I got around to doing this job and I discovered that the power steering is completely out.
Maybe it's not the water pump but the steering oil pump ?

The steering fluid was a bit below MIN but not by much. The steering wheel is very hard to turn as in no power assist at all.
I wanted to drive to a DIY shop to do the waterpump change and I don't think it's safe : I can barely turn the steering wheel. I did not know something is wrong with the power steering until now.

[98_Q45]

Any updates to this??

Having 4 belts, I’ve come to recognize what belts make what sounds lol. Thin power steering and compressor belts tend to make continuous pig-like squeals. Also, turning the steering wheel will often replicate the sound, as does turning on the a/c.

I had waterpump start to fail by leaking and making grinding noises. But it never slipped the belt or caused squealing. But since waterpumps are spinning as fast as the fan, it’ll be a very loud obvious squeal if not tightened enough.

Also 2017 is a very long time to let a car sit. Might wanna run some bars pro grade valve seal, as it may begin to leak oil from those dried seals. Along with some Star-tron in the gas tank to eat the bacteria that’s formed. Personally, if I’d spent that kinda money (which I have), I woulda just fixed it lol. Sometimes it can seem like a never ending quest fixing s*** left and right, but to me...it’s no different than rent or a car payment. Some people paying $800, $1,200 every month to a landlord agency, to hell if someone has to pay $500 every few months for car repairs lol.

[Austin06_M45S]

No squealing noises. A buddy of mine who has his own small BMW/Prosche shop listened to the startup and said it's the waterpump. I got the parts. When trying to drive out to the DIY shop like 10 min away from the house I got this new symptom, at least I need to diagnose and get parts for this. I figure the power steering oil pump. What else might be the culprit ?

[Austin06_M45S]

Guess what..
I poured some Valvoline MaxLife Mercon LV ATF into the power steering fluid reservoir - power steering works just fine.
Can't wait to go to DIY shop.

[98_Q45]

No squealing noises. A buddy of mine who has his own small BMW/Prosche shop listened to the startup and said it's the waterpump. I got the parts. When trying to drive out to the DIY shop like 10 min away from the house I got this new symptom, at least I need to diagnose and get parts for this. I figure the power steering oil pump. What else might be the culprit ?

If it’s the waterpump, he might wanna change the fan clutch too (assuming it’s the fan on waterpump design). It’s not much more expensive. You’re pretty much removing the fan to get to the pump.

I’ve had both go out: the fan clutch can bind and seize, where it won’t disengage from the waterpump automatically as the engine speeds increase. Creates a tremendous draw on the engine along with the high speed. I didn’t replace the waterpump at the time because I was in a hurry. But it did last a few months and few thousand more miles before going out. It was more of a leak and a grinding during cold idle. Fortunately I was able to make it 1,200 miles back before I needed to to fix it.

I wish there was a way to start my engine without the roaring fan all the time...and even not have it spinning all the time. But I guess V8’s need that constant airflow. Albeit...I have 1 condenser fan that seems intermittent, and I seen my temp gauge start moving past half while idling with my recently repaired a/c on.

[Austin06_M45S]

The oil temp is stable and a bit below half, I need to check what it's at with OBDII scanner, probably around 200 F.

The waterpump is by Hitachi, there is no fan on it. There is a fan behind the radiator. Maybe that one does need to be removed to work on the accessories.

I've looked up Star-tron, I'll get it. Thanks.

If all goes well we'll do the job next week.

[Austin06_M45S]

It turned out to be the power steering pump, not the waterpump.
If I had gotten it fixed 3 years ago, with my commutes to work, the M45 would have 320k miles or so, if survived that long. My 3 year old daily Tacoma already has over 96k - though it's mostly highway miles.

Now I need to change the tires and do the alignment, quite wobbly over 60mph.

[98_Q45]

It turned out to be the power steering pump, not the waterpump.
If I had gotten it fixed 3 years ago, with my commutes to work, the M45 would have 320k miles or so, if survived that long. My 3 year old daily Tacoma already has over 96k - though it's mostly highway miles.

Now I need to change the tires and do the alignment, quite wobbly over 60mph.

Wow. That would be a lot of miles on a luxury car lol. I’m at 273 right now. Engine, trans and differential is sound, suspension is a bit in the red. But it still drives as smooth as ever. If the roads in America weren’t so damn s***...both my 97 maxima and 98 q45 would be in far better shape. Seems like before the engine and trans dies, the under carriage and suspension goes to s***.

Power steering pump was the first repair I made when I got mine. It came with a growling noise when turning the steering wheel. No sudden belt squealing sounds though.

[Austin06_M45S]

I agree on the under carriage and suspension. I like the car a lot though. So far that's the highest mileage vehicle I have whose engine is doing quite good over 200k.

[LIBRILZ]

It turned out to be the power steering pump, not the waterpump.
If I had gotten it fixed 3 years ago, with my commutes to work, the M45 would have 320k miles or so, if survived that long. My 3 year old daily Tacoma already has over 96k - though it's mostly highway miles.

Now I need to change the tires and do the alignment, quite wobbly over 60mph.

Wow. That would be a lot of miles on a luxury car lol. I’m at 273 right now. Engine, trans and differential is sound, suspension is a bit in the red. But it still drives as smooth as ever. If the roads in America weren’t so damn s***...both my 97 maxima and 98 q45 would be in far better shape. Seems like before the engine and trans dies, the under carriage and suspension goes to s***.

Power steering pump was the first repair I made when I got mine. It came with a growling noise when turning the steering wheel. No sudden belt squealing sounds though.

The maxima and Q won't break anytime soon, so long as you do oil changes and such. The Trans may give you issues depending on how it was taken care of though. I had a 98 Q45, miss it so much! One of the best cars I ever owned hands down. Also miss that whine the engine made when accelerating. Such a smooth engine