Hi Guys,

Over the last few weeks several of you helped me try to track down "noises". One was the water pump bearing - replaced that big improvement. Then I had a strange occurance, after the water pump installation the car would really growl when you got on it. In all honesty I couldn't see any performance difference, but wow she sure sounded nice.

Checked the exaust, all ok. Went for a ride with my lady this weekend, lovely day for a cruise in the northeast, but man there was a loud noise at times. It was engine speed related so I thanked the stars it wasn't transmission related. Tough one to describe, kind of like something between a thousand crickets and high pressure air escaping. I figured it was another pulley bearing.

Yesterday I went in to 2x check my water pump torque and looked down while opening the hood to repair position - The snorkel that goes into the air filter had seperated! It must have worked its way out over time, seems to be only pressure fit together.

Well the thrilling growl is gone, but the good news is so is the annoying noise. While its' a good feeling to have such a simple solution, its kind of humbling - this one was pretty obvious.

So I hope this helps someone track down noises someday. You wouldn't believe the amount of and type of noises that this snorkel assembly supresses. Anyone have any thoughts on why it, the cricket/high pressure air noise swings?

I couldn't find any clear relation to driving conditions except maybe it was more prevelant when traveling up hill at cruising speeds. Just wanted to know what you think.

(swings - an old Bell Telephone repair bureau term for a problem that comes and goes)