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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
Water
Pump Squeal
Q:
I have replaced the water pump on my car twice in the last week, and it
is failing again. There is a horrible squealing noise upon acceleration.
My question is, is the noise coming from the water pump? (Plenty of water,
new hoses, belts not slipping.) The new pump has not started to leak out
of the weephole...yet. Maybe I just bought a bad pump the first time,
but surely not twice (its brand-new, not a rebuilt). The old owner put
stop leak in the radiator. maybe, the pump is not getting good flow? However,
the car does not overheat. Would a water pump, not getting good flow,
make such a sound? The bearings are supposed to be sealed anyway, right?
Would running straight water through the pump without antifreeze cause
the pump to squeal and fail?.... Joe
A: I'm
not convinced that you have a water pump problem. The possibility of three
water pumps causing a belt squeal, is far too difficult to accept. There
is something else that you're not picking up on. I would suggest a closer
inspection of all the fan belts. If your vehicle is equipped with the
flat serpentine type fan belt the tension settings are critical to proper
belt performance. Many vehicles with serpentine type fan belts also have
an automatic belt tensioner. A weak or failing belt tensioner will cause
the fan belt to slip and squeal under acceleration. Stop focusing on the
water pump and look at the whole picture, the answer to your problem is
right in front of you.
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