I think I found the reason my belts are squealing. 1983 F150 4.9L. The water pump pulley and the fan are loose. They seem to be mounted to each other good. It's a side to side movement, almost as if the water pump is worn out. Hope that makes sense. I tried to tighten up the bolts to the pulley, but it didn't help. I'm going to get back to working on it tomorrow, but thought I would run this by y'all before then. Is it most likely just the water pump worn out, or could the fan shaft be loose? Is there some kind of washer benind the pulley that might be worn out? It's not overheating, and I can't find any water leaks.
Thanks,
Greg
Just remove the four bolts holding the fan and spacer on, or if you have a fan clutch, remove the four bolts holding the clutch on. Then remove the water pump.
With mine that has a fan shroud and fan clutch, I find it's easier to remove the radiator, for clearence.
I think I found the reason my belts are squealing. 1983 F150 4.9L. The water pump pulley and the fan are loose. They seem to be mounted to each other good. It's a side to side movement, almost as if the water pump is worn out. Hope that makes sense. I tried to tighten up the bolts to the pulley, but it didn't help. I'm going to get back to working on it tomorrow, but thought I would run this by y'all before then. Is it most likely just the water pump worn out, or could the fan shaft be loose? Is there some kind of washer benind the pulley that might be worn out? It's not overheating, and I can't find any water leaks.
Thanks,
Greg
Side to side movement is a sure sign the waterpump bearing is bad.
Using both hands, take hold of opposite sides of the fan, then try wiggling it, if there's play, it's time for a new waterpump.
__________________ Bill / Retired Ford Parts Manager ~ 1962/1997.
Part Number Research: Trucks: 1928/2002 / Cars: 1928/2003.
1965 F100 Styleside Pickup / 390 w/Borg Warner T-85N 3 Speed Overdrive / Original owner.
Do it soon or the fan will try to take out the back side of the radiator with expensive consequences. Ask me how I know!
84 F150 short bed I6 T18, 3l55 diff, 232,000 miles, oneowner
The squealing was most likely your bearings and not your belt. The bearings can fail without causing a leak. I found my water pump bearings were shot when I was just changing belts as preventitive maintenance. I happened to grab the pulley and noticed it had a lot of play.
__________________ 1985 F-250HD XLT Lariat Supercab 4X4 460/5spd
2000 Ford Mustang-3.8/AT
2006 Jeep Liberty-3.7/AT
1967 Ford Mustang-351W/4spd
If there is no leaks and the bolts are tight and you still get movement then time for new water pump ... Same for gassers and diesels in this situation ...
__________________
Current:
1986 Ford F250 XL Exploder--4x4, 6.9 NA IDI, C6
.. body by Rusty Crunchy
Also, usually overlooked when replacing a waterpump with bad bearings, always replace the fan clutch. The bearing vibrations will tear up the fan clutch and it can actually ruin the new pump.
