I thought I heard a knock under the front valve cover gasket and thought it might be the bearings for the pulley. Then taking a closer look and listen, it seems that it might be coming from the thing that drives the belt and pulley system on the front right side. Has anyone had this problem or heard of this before? Thanks, RL
The right front side......of the engine......as in: standing in front of the car looking straight back toward the windshield.....the part you touch with your right hand ?
Maybe a problem with the water pump drive system which is driven off the end of the left bank intake cam.
Very possibly the water pump belt or tensioner pulley/spring. Remove the stamped steel cover over the pulley, stick a 1/4" (3/8"?) socket drive handle in the face of the tensioner arm and remove the spring tension. Flip the belt off the pulley and inspect it. OK? Spin the pulley to see if it's quiet and free. Do the same for the water pump pulley..spin it. The belt is around $5 and the entire tensioner system is ? $40 - 50 at www.rockauto.com. Drill down to your car, cooling system, .... or call Lindsay Cadillac, over there ----> on Monday AM and ask for parts, Luke.
Yes, if your standing in front of the car there is a pulley system that looks like it runs the lifters or OHC. Does the water pump run off of that? I will definately pull those things and see if the move freely. I don't quite understand what "Drill down to your car, cooling system" means. Thanks for the info. RL
rjlsho, Your engine uses a single width double roller chain drive for the four cams. There is 1 chain from the crankshaft sprocket to an intermediate sprocket, then 2 more chains, 1 to each pair of cams (intake/exhaust) in each cylinder head. The chains are controlled and tensioned by hydraulic rams and slippers on each chain. Oil is supplied by spray/squirt nozzles in strategic locations. As indicated on the engine cover there are 32 valves; 2 intakes and 2 exhausts per cylinder.
The water pump is driven from the rear (driver's) end of the left (front) bank intake cam, the cam nearest the center of the engine. Because the cams operate at half engine speed, the water pump pully is smaller than the cam drive pulley to provide a speed increase to the pump. The tensioner arm, pulley, and spring provide a constant high tension on the 3-ribbed belt.
I will have to say you guys or gals are a wealth of knowledge and all of you deserve a great big THANK YOU. Submariner409, I did exactly what you mentioned and pulled the belt off and turned the tensioner pulley and the water pump pulley. The tensioner pulley was very stiff and almost feels like the bearings (if any) are locked up. I also noticed that the water pump pulley wiggled alot when I moved it. I don't think it's supposed to do that so I'm sure thats the problem. I was looking for the water pump on line and noticed it looks like you pull the pump housing off and replace the insides. Is that right? I guess I'll try to find something in the tech discussions. Thanks again for all your help and thanks in advance for all the questions yet to come. RL
You will need a special tool to remove the water pump, after you remove the housing. They go for around $20. Also, be prepared to have a long handled breaker bar and pipe for leverage and turn the pump clockwise to disengage
Here is a picture of a pump socket I made so you know what you are looking for. Be advised that the $20 versions are stamped heavy gauge sheet metal as opposed to an $80 machined version. Some people have complained about the cheap version slipping IF the pump is corroded in there, a more likely case on a pre Dex engine. http://www.geocities.com/grandolfo
Also keep in mind it is cam locked, not threaded. It only takes 1/8 - 1/4 turn clockwise to loosen it. If it is stubborn, a few short bursts from an impact will do wonders.
Thanks Tateos. Wish my welding was a little better. It was good insurance making it as I have yet to "test Drive" it. Now that I think about it, 1/4 turn does sound way too much. Even an 1/8 may be pushing it. Thanks, I'll adjust my advice accordingly.
