Hi yall,

i replaced my serpentine belt yesterday and while i had it off i checked all of the pulleys.

couple of questions....

grabbing the fan and wiggling it up and down there is an ever so slight movement in the water pump. is that normal or how much is too much.

the power steering pump pulley was the only pulley that didnt rotate freely when trying to spin it....it had some resistance and was not smooth. also that pulley and a little in/out movement on the shaft.

everything else was tight and smooth.

oh i went with the Gates microV belt...$50 something bucks from orielys.

 

From what I remember, a very small amount of play in the fan clutch is normal. I don't remember any play in the water pump shaft itself though.

 

what about the power steering pump? should it spin freely/ smoothly like the water pump? it felt almost like it had compression behind it....it was nothcy if that makes sense.

 

Not sure. It is a different kind of pump than the wp so I presume there should be some resistance. My pump and I are not on speaking terms so I've never laid a hand on the pulley to see how easily it turns.

In Jan of '08 I decided to change my PS fluid since the pump was starting to whine a little bit. I even was a nice guy and went with fully syn (Mobile 1) and the ungrateful thing actually started to make MORE noise. A few weeks later it burped all over my driveway. I checked the fluid and the level was perfect. So I cussed at it and dared it to explode on me so I can replace it with a brand new pump.

We haven't spoken to each other since. It still whines...I turn up the radio.

 

Your p/s sounds fine to me, mine is just like you describe & has a little in & out movement.

Like the old saying "if it ain't broke"