Dragging sheet metal noise an IMS symptom?

[Stroked & Blown]

As I was pulling into the parking lot at my office this morning, it sounded like there was a piece of sheet metal being dragged under the car.
I immediately pulled into a spot & shut it down.
Is that an IMS symptom? Should I get it towed?
TIA,
-SB

[RandallNeighbour]

What you didn't share above was if there was anything actually dragging on the ground under your car. I would assume from the question that there wasn't anything.

I'd definitely get it towed to a shop if you can't see anything external causing the noise. If you're up for it, you can pull the carpet and aluminum shield off the firewall between the seats and motor and have a look at the belt and pulleys...

It's hard to tell you what's going on without being there to hear it. Don't fret about the "what if's" of something catastrophic just yet. Let a mechanic tell you for a fact what is creating the noises.

[Jake Raby]

Don't start it back up until its looked at!!
A tremendous amount of our failure calls include the fact that the car was either pulling to a stop slowly or being parked when the IMS Failure occurred. Based on this I'd think worst case and hope for the best.

Do not even attempt to start it back up until the engine is looked at by a specialist that knows what the few symptoms of IMS Bearing Failure are. This one might be "saveable" at this stage if its not started back up to consume it's self.

There are a lot of other things that this could be as well, but I always default to worst case. Don't even allow the mechanic to start the car up to listen to the noise before the sump plate is pulled to look for debris.

[Stroked & Blown]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

What you didn't share above was if there was anything actually dragging on the ground under your car. I would assume from the question that there wasn't anything.

I'd definitely get it towed to a shop if you can't see anything external causing the noise. If you're up for it, you can pull the carpet and aluminum shield off the firewall between the seats and motor and have a look at the belt and pulleys...

It's hard to tell you what's going on without being there to hear it. Don't fret about the "what if's" of something catastrophic just yet. Let a mechanic tell you for a fact what is creating the noises.

Thanks for the input, Randall.
Yes, I got on the ground and looked under the car from the front, middle, and back. Nothing under there.

[Stroked & Blown]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Don't start it back up until its looked at!!
A tremendous amount of our failure calls include the fact that the car was either pulling to a stop slowly or being parked when the IMS Failure occurred. Based on this I'd think worst case and hope for the best.

Do not even attempt to start it back up until the engine is looked at by a specialist that knows what the few symptoms of IMS Bearing Failure are. This one might be "saveable" at this stage if its not started back up to consume it's self.

There are a lot of other things that this could be as well, but I always default to worst case. Don't even allow the mechanic to start the car up to listen to the noise before the sump plate is pulled to look for debris.

Thanks, Jake.
Calling AutoEngineering now....

[The Radium King]

were you running your car hard? i get that sound from the heat shields on my brakes when used hard.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

were you running your car hard? i get that sound from the heat shields on my brakes when used hard.

Or a small rock stuck between the rotor and the shield...?

Did the noise continued when you stop the car but kept the engine running?
.

[Stroked & Blown]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

were you running your car hard? i get that sound from the heat shields on my brakes when used hard.

I was not - typical commuter traffic.
I did lug the engine for about 5 seconds when a guy in front of me slammed on his brakes & I changed lanes w/o downshifting.

Originally Posted by Gilles

Or a small rock stuck between the rotor and the shield...?

Did the noise continued when you stop the car but kept the engine running?
.

Didn't think of that.

The tech pulled the sump plate & saw no signs of damage, but I am having him replace it after pulling my hair out worrying about it.

[Stroked & Blown]

Well - got the retrofit done - no play in the IMS they pulled out. oh well, at least I can sleep better when I AX it.
No dragging sheet metal noise anymore - likely a coincidence.

As a side note, I am surprised at how small the IMS bearing actually is - Jake must have a good macro lens on his camera.