water pump

[ssvejiita]

alrite..heres the story..began a three years ago.witha squeaky belt..during the course of the three years ive had several belts replaced a power steering pump replaced, two alternators a coolant resevior, tensioner and about three pulleys, all for the same problem a squeaky belt...all of which i never paid for...and my vehicle hasnt been under warranty for about 30000 miles.
it happens about every three to four months if im lucky..the dealership can never give me a definite answer, a series of bad belts, and so on..finally they refused to keep giving me free service repairs....i took it home and started it..water was squirting me in the face..to be more specific dexcool...dropped the belt and removed the water pump pulley, surenuff coolant was leaking from the pump...i replaced it,,,ran it for a week and once again the noise...took it apart adn once again the pump...replaced that one and now im tired the noise is back...
i need to take a pic of the pump but if ne of you have seen it ..there are two what look like holes on the front of the pump..what they are there for i have no idea..but both times there was a leak from one of those holes...any ideas??

[ssvejiita]

yea this is just for me

[1mean99grandam]

ok, so have you ever had a cooling system flush done? Also, make sure that everything is straight and alighned - any pullies that are set off because of not meing torqued down will cause issues.

when installing the new water pump - did you remove the old gasket off the block with a soft paded angle head grinder? and put on the new one??? how many grooves are in your pullies that the belt rides on???? They should all be the same number and your belt should have the same number of grooves - sounds stupid, but honestly it is overlooked all the time by techs.

Ever had you lower intake gasket done?

[AeR0]

when my car is jsut running it has a squel like a bad belt but when i accelerate just the tinyiest bit it stops..

whats up with that?

[1mean99grandam]

spray it with some belt dressing or pour some Coke on it as it's running, It'll stop.

[AeR0]

Coke?

like coca cola?



if this doesnt work than what?

[1mean99grandam]

oh, it'll work. it causes stickyness on the belt and pullies. quiets right down.

I'm sure the old timers might have another idea - but Coke works.

[AeR0]

cool ok thanks

i will try it later today!



if not what else could i use?

[ssvejiita]

well see my squeak is from that leaky pump..that was the original as you can see where it was leaking from..i changed it twice..both times with the same belt on same pullys..i dont kno if youve ever changed the water pump but the pulley wasnt replaced..its just a cap...the new pump i got started to leak from the same spot..ive never had a flush done to my cooling system...see the coolant dries and becomes real sticky too..im just pissed cuz ive taken it so many times to the dealer they dont kno jack..and im jsut tired of replaceing the pump..someone suggested dropping in one of those stop leak products

[rixGAphx]

Do NOT use stop leak!!!
I keep a bottle in my Cherokee when I'm driving the back desert roads, as an emergency to get me back to civilization.
Using it will surely cause more gum-up problems than it solves, and it won't solve your current problem, anyway.

* * * *
I'll bet at this moment you have a REALLY tight belt, one that's too small but the mechanic stretched onto your engine to stop the squeak.
Instead, it's prolly pulling SO HARD in one direction against the waterpump that it's wearing out the seal soon after a new one is installed.
The belt should be nicely loose, not even a little snug, when the tensioner is rotated to 'no tension'.
The only tension on the belt when operating sshould be the force of the spring in the tensioner.

* * * *
Those holes at the front lower edge of the waterpump are SUPPOSED to be there, and they are supposed to leak (weep) about a drop or two of coolant every 10-20 miles.
The seal on the end of a shaft that goes into a pump cannot be 100% liquid tight. Even giant pumps for industry have a weep hole at this same point. Usually on a car engine, the weepage will be so minor that it looks goopy ('teary') like your photo, but isn't liquid or dripping.
quote "...see the coolant dries and becomes real sticky too.." is absolutely NORMAL.
If it's leaking noticeably or dripping, then the seal at the shaft has failed, or the pressure inside the coolant system is too high (and therefore forcing too much coolant thru the 'normal' weep space).

* * * *
With good light and a straight yardstick, examine the belt arrangement.
Everything must be in a perfect plane, straight and even. If one of pulley the devices, say the alternator, has been installed wrong, with its axis cocked and the pulley out of alignment, it will put 'wrong' forces into the belt as it goes 'round the other pulleys.
May cause a skeaky or an early bearing failure.
I mention the alternator because:
1) You say it's been replaced twice.
2) There are two stupid diagonal brace rods bolted from the rear of the alt to the cylinderhead. These are *nearly* idiotproof, but if mixed-up the alternator can possibly be forced back into a wrong position.

* * * *
There are two parts to the tensioner: The spring-loaded arm, and the rotating pulley.
The two parts are sold separately, and tho you *think* it was replaced, one or the other may not have been.

* * * *
Aeros: Coke may work to silence a squeeky belt because of it's syrupy guminess.
The real stuff to use is Belt Dressing. It's available at every auto parts store, it doesn't cost much, and it's easy to use.

Do NOT use butter, oil, teflon, vaseline, grease, graphite, silicone, or other slippery stuff. You're trying to create friction, not eliminate it.

If belt dressing doesn't work, you need a new belt, new tensioner assembly, or both.

Good luck.
-Rick

[1mean99grandam]

Holy crap Rick - good stuff. never thought about the "streched belt" being too tight on them pullies.

[99capergrandam]

I believe that those holes, at least 1 of them anyway, are there to give you a visual indication of a bad bearing....hence faulty water pump. If there is any moisture at all around these holes it means that your water pump is on it's way out.

[ssvejiita]

rix is the man that stayd in school...lol..thanks for all the info ive been trying to figure out the purpose of those weep holes....keep in mind that the belt has been replaced only by the techs at the dealership and the alternator as well...i have replaced the tensioner since the dealership said that might be a problem..which i did myself..the same belt...as well as the pump ive replaced myself..too much pressure makes too much sense..i do remember dumping some coolant and quieting the belt for a while..mustve been way too late for the pump tho..man this forum is awesome..thanks again