m20 fan clutch tight but whole assy slight wobble

[Gene in NC]

m20 fan clutch tight but whole assy slight wobble. Water pump 30k mi. No leak, no water loss, no o'heat. Assume pump 30k mi. because t belt done by reliable indy.

Noise at idle is irregular light rattle with irregular belt chirp sound. Wiggle of fan blade shows nut tight, checked 32mm wrench, but nut moves relative to front of engine.

Could fan pulley nuts/bolts be loose or can the waterpump shaft wobble w/o leaking?

[Kalevera]

Gene, I don't get the comment, "Assume pump 30k mi, because t beld tone by reliable indy" -- was the pump done or wasn't it? A reliable indy will assess the pump when the thing is apart and make a decision -- I've replaced the pump whilst in there and I've also put it back together if the bearing is tight and the thing isn't leaking. A leak can be hard to see because of the way the cog is designed and where the fluid would go. Also, the heat from the engine tends to evaporate a lot of fluid, so the leak has to be huge to be visible. Remove or loosen the belt, remove the fan, then assess the bearing.

Yes, the cog nuts can be loose. Check it out.

Another thing that can happen is the fan itself (4 or 3 hex bolts) can get out of balance due to a bolt getting a little loose. That'll kill a water pump with some time, too.


best, whit

[Gene in NC]

Slacked off the alt/fan belt. Water pump pulley rocks pretty good/bad. There is no coolant loss.

T belt last replaced 6/02, now at 30k. Should we go ahead and replace the t belt now?

[winfred]

if you can sneak the pump out without loosing tension on the belt then change just the pump, me, id do a belt too as it's about the same work and a new belt is only 20-30 bucks. look at the old pump and see what brand it is, that may give a clue if it was changed with the belt, unless you have a oil leak the pump should be varly clean with 30k on it

[632 Regal]

change the pump regardless, document it along with the belt and be done with it.