Water pump/idler pulley issues

[gone2]

Aaaaa

[klroger]

Remove the belt & spin the water pump & alternator by hand.. That may help pinpoint it. ( I'll bet it's not the power steering pump lol )

[Eggman]

So yesterday after about two hours of driving the car i started getting an intermittent grinding/whining noise. Im at 117,000 miles. I searched everything i could and it leads me to believe my water pump has gone bad. The car hasnt had the light come on for overheating but i don't want to risk it. Im more just looking to not replace the wrong thing. Looking for any experience or advice.

1. Have you checked coolant level? It is my understanding that when a water pump starts to squeal from worn bearings, the pump shaft is loose (as suggested, this can be checked by hand) and tends to leak coolant due to seal failure. Usually, the smell of glycol is apparent.

2. Do you suppose you might have picked up a stone that got caught in a wheel or brake assembly? That would be my first guess.

3. Can you post a video of your symptoms?

[foama]

FYI, the Smart For Four and some of the latest European Mitsubishi Colt supposedly have the identical water pump.

This forum also has a How To about belt tension.

[Fummins]

It's very doubtful you need a water pump unless it's leaking. I guarantee you'll never need a tensioner pulley! Hows your belt look, how old is it? Have you ever tightened it? It ain't gonna tighten itself like them fandangled cars with the spring loaded tensioners.

As the belt gets old and stretches and dries up, it'll start to squeak, especially when under load from the ac compressor or alternator. From what I've seen on these car's you can snug the belt up pretty tight and most noises will go away. Takes a minute with a 12mm. Or if its old and stretched, just buy a new one. They don't last forever.

I believe one or two members had the clutch fail on the ac compressor. You might want to look at that too.

So, first step: try to tighten belt if noise goes away great but I'd buy a new one.
If that doesn't do it take off the belt and spin the pulleys. Check for play and noises obviously.

Hope it's not the cvt whining. We had one at work that made a constant whining noise that varied with rpm.

[gone2]

Aaaaa

[Eggman]

I took a video but cant seem to figure out how to post it. It tells me its an invalid file

Are you trying to post the video to YouTube and linking the video here? The forum software only wants the YouTube video link, and the forum 'Insert Video Clip' dialog box gives an example of what it looks like.

[gone2]

Aaaaa

[Alex1a1f]

I dont have a youtube soooo

Soooooo maybe you should.

[Eggman]

I dont have a youtube soooo

How about a Gmail account? Those Google accounts will work across all Google services.

Also, the forum 'Insert Video Clip' dialog box lists other online video services that would be acceptable.