General Water pump on a HGT

[pile]

Thanks for the quick reply Jug. Thats exactly my dilemma, I could have the idlers changed and it may not be the problem. The guy I brought the car from had no proof of the cambelt change and having not done my homework on the HGT before I brought it I didn't anticipate the amout of work involved for a cambelt change. :bang:

The piece of mind of having the cam belt and all the other bits done by powerfiat would be great (assuming is fixes the squealing) but I'm skint at the moment so am leaning towards the cheaper, but possibly wasteful option.

What the hell are idlers anyhow? Im useless when it comes to car mechanics.

 

[jug]

an idler is simply a small pulley that is used purely to guide the belt, rather than other pulleys that are used to drive something (e.g. water pump pulley)

the noise you are hearing could simply be a dry bearing, but it could be any bearing in any pulley and there are plenty to choose from, so the chances of guessing it right first time are not good.

if there is no evidence of the belt change, i would definately have it done. an hgt is too much of a risk to ignore it.

 

[pile]

Ok, cheers for your advice, I was thinking the same thing. I'd better get saving some money!

 

[Besty77]

an idler is simply a small pulley that is used purely to guide the belt, rather than other pulleys that are used to drive something (e.g. water pump pulley)

the noise you are hearing could simply be a dry bearing, but it could be any bearing in any pulley and there are plenty to choose from, so the chances of guessing it right first time are not good.

what about your hose pipe idea? is there a way of getting the cambelt cover off with everything in place and having a butchers? My slight squeal is now a worrying squeal

 

[jug]

yep sticking a piece of hosepipe in one ear can help you pinpoint the noise.

you can remove the timing belt cover to investigate, but first you need to reomve the aux belt.

the best thing to do is remove the aux belt and then run the engine to see if the noise stops. if it does stop you know it is something on the aux belt that is causing the noise.

if the noise does not stop you can then remove the timing belt cover and CAREFULLY use a piece of hose to listen at each pulley. dont let the hose get caught on the moving belt or a pulley, that could easily be very very bad.

 

[Besty77]

Are there any downloadable manuals for the HGT engine? ive got a couple of PDFs called VOL 3 and Vol 4 that i got off this site but they are more like technical specs than a "how to" type of thing. anyone ever done a guide for fiddling with the cambelt cover and aux belt etc?

 

[jug]

there's a cambelt guide in the guides section, and on fiatboo.

 

[Si - Punto]

What about a guide for doing the aux belt?

I'm going to have to take a look at mine this weekend because the whining noise is starting to scare the sh*t out of me...

Also if mine does turn out to be the aux belt/tensioners what do I need to order? Is it just the aux belt and 1 tensioner?

*Edit* Forgot to ask, is it just the pas pump and alternator that the aux belt runs?

And is removal just the case of slackening off the tensioner bolts?

 

[jug]

you'll need to order a belt and replace/fix whatever is causing the noise, if that is a tensioner then you'll need a tensioner, but it could just as easily turn out to be a misaligned alternator (loose bolts for example).

the aux belt is connected to (and driven by) the outer crankshaft pulley, and the tensioner, and the PAS pump, and the oil pump, and the alternator. i dont think there is a guide pulley involved on this model.

to remove the belt you need to get a 13mm spanner on the bolt holding the tensioner in place, and then simply turn the bolt (move spanner anticockwise direction). the bolt will not loosen, instead it should lever the tensioner out the way so the belt becomes slack. you will need to apply a fair bit of force to fully lever the tensioner out of the way, and then you need to hold it in place while you slip the belt off. dont underestimate how painful it is if you let go of the spanner and it hits your hand, the tensioner is strong, i know this only too well

 

[Si - Punto]

Cheers for the info Jug

I've got to get the car up on axle stands today to sort out my blowing exhaust (downpipe-cat mating flange I think) so I will try and take the time to have a look and listen to the tensioner while Im down there

Welcome back btw mate

 

[Si - Punto]

Right I need to stop messing about and get this sorted.

I had a listen last weekend while I had the undertray off and it sounds like the whining noise is being emmited from the bottom pully/tensioner (next to the engine mount).

Now Im just trying to get my bearing on what does what and how to go about the job so here we go:

Is what I've done above right?

Whats the process for removing the belt and the bottom tensioner? Is it a case of slacking off the adjustment bolts for the top tensioner to take the belt pressure off the bottom tensioner and then just unbolt it from the engine?

Im planning on replacing the belt and bottom (plastic) tensioner but out of curiosity what is the cost of a new adjustable tensioner (ePER had it priced at £80 )?

Help needed please.......

 

[jug]

the bottom pulley is an idler. you're correct to remove it you release tension on the belt by loosening off the tensioner, and then unbolt the idler. i think a fiat dealer may be the only place you can get a new one.

 

[Si - Punto]

Ta mate.

I've checked and Shop4Parts sell them, Im pretty sure Partco do too. I shall pay them a visit tomorrow and see if I can get all three parts (belt, fixed pully and adjustable pully)

Is the adjustable pully hard to remove? What's the process for removing? You said previously on how to remove tension from the belt but not how to remove the tensioner itself.

 

[jug]

unwind the centre nut (13mm iirc) and the tensioner slots off afaik