I have a '95 discovey with a returning noise. I have used belt dressing numerous times and within a few minutes the noise returns!! After running at highway speeds for a half hour or so the noise is greatly reduced. Today sprayed some more dressing and watch things. I noticed that the fan pulley was slightly moving in and out of the water pump! Does this mean a new water pump is needed? Could this cause the noise? If so, how hard is it to do (keep in mind I have little skill under the hood)? I'm really not wanting to take her to our local dealer after my sunroof issue! thanks in advance!!

 

If you can move the water pump pulley either "in and out" or it rocks back and forth with your hands at 3 and 9 o'clock --pushing with one hand--pulling with the other---then your water pump bearing is about to fail. Usually you will see evidence of a coolant leak from the "weep hole" under the front of the aluminum casting where the pump shaft protrudes. It may be dripping or at least a stain will be evident.

The reason for taking care of this NOW, other than the possibility of losing coolant over time and overheating the engine (see my tech info page at http://www.eurotekapg.com/ptrain.html about this issue) is that we see about 4-6 vehicles a month in here where the owner waited too long or wasn't paying attention, and the water pump impeller starts grinding its way into the timing case cover. Then-- you are facing an expensive repair.

It makes a racket----the squealing you mention--but many keep driving along anyway.

the water pump can be replaced by anyone with basic automotive repair skills. It is important to also check the drive belt, tensioner, and fan clutch while you are in there. These items have a service life that seems to coincide with that of the water pump (the drive belt should be replaced--actually---every 60K miles)

Regards,
Geoman
www.eurotekapg.com

 

I have had noisy belts before on my old ford ranger and my current Discovery. I tried belt dressing and it works for a few minutes then the belt starts squeeling again. I both vehicals I just replaced the belt and the noise went away.

Good luck,
Willie

 

My wife's Disco has a similar problem. The squeaking almost sounds like plastic rubbing as it is a high pitch that increases as rpm increases. It's difficult to pinpoint because when you park the car, the noice is completely gone. During an oil change, I noticed oil around the power steering unit and cleaned it up to check it later. After reading the above posts, I wonder if the water pump is the culprit? The Disco is a 2003 and the dealer replaced the belt about 10K miles ago. My problem is that I'm at least 3 hours away from any dealer. We have to drive the Disco back to California from Alabama in about a month, so I want to fix this problem!

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Steve
steven.krohn@us.army.mil