Hi Guys An intermitant clanking sound has developed from the front of the engine and seems to be coming from around the fan. There is nothing obvious that is loose and the temp gauge which is usualy at a steady 180 to 185 is close to maxing out at over 200 when the sound occurs. What do you think, water pump? I found an earlier post discussing removal while protecting radiator, and Knuckles with cardboard. Any further tips. Thanx Tim
Loosen up the generator or alternator and swing it inwards , remove the fan belt , run the engine breifly , if the noise stops , grasp the tip of one fan blade and wiggle it ~ there should be no lateral movement whatsoever and there should be no noise when you spin it . Same with the gen. / alt. , spin it and listen for a rumbling , this would indicate bearings going out or movement in and out of the pulley . Don't wait as water pump failure can easily take out the radiator . NAPA should be able to rebuild your old water pump in about one week if they cannot figure out the correct one from the catalog , DO NOT let go of your old pump in exchange untill you have the new one installed and working to your satisfaction ! . -Nate
Thanx Nate, Noise still persists after eliminating generator, only thing is is that temp stays steady at 185 and not overheating like it did when the noise first started. I have only been idling the engine and not taken it on the road. Am I still barking up the rite tree? Any more tests before I go with water pump swap. Thanx as allways Tim
Is there any wiggle at the fan blade tips ? if so , the pump is either bad or going bad . If the noise stopped when you took off the fan belt and the generator is O.K. , it's gotta be the water pump unless you have another belt driven accessory . Overheating is almost _never_ caused by water pumps , when they wear out they make noise or leak , once in a blue moon the impeller blades will corrode away from a DPO running rusty water as a coolant causing electrolisis (SP) . DO NOT let go of your old pump untill the new one is installed and working to your satisfaction ! . -Nate
