More rattle/tap type noises

[dnb]

Hopefully this is the last tapping noise to deal with, but I suspect there's some fight left in the car yet.

I started the car yesterday to do some mapping, and was greeted by a loud tapping noise. It's not a metal-on-metal nasty noise, and it goes away completely when the serpentine belt is removed - so it's one of the water pump, PAS pump, altenator or idler pulley.

When each of them is turned by hand no tapping is heard, but the water pump squeaks a bit. (I think it's always done that)

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what this is - I haven't got the car properly mapped yet so it doesn't like to idle, and I don't want to run it too much with this noise happening.

Tonight I intend to use my det cans to try to hear exactly where the noise is coming from.

Any more suggestions?

[coetzeeh]

The belt tensioner pulley is known to make a tapping noise suggesting it needs attention.

[2Munkys]

Do you have something trapped in the V belt grooves? On in the grooves of a pulley wheel?

[dnb]

Interesting about the tensioner. I didn't look at it last night as I ran out of time.

I don't think anything is trapped in the V grooves because the pulleys were all cleaned up and painted before I put them back on, and the V belt is pretty new.

[350Matt]

check the power steering fluid level

If yours is a serp engine these pumps 'click' when low on fluid

Matt

[dnb]

PAS fluid is definitely not low unless it's airlocked somehow and it won't prime. Steering feels too good for this to be the case.

I looked at the tensioner over lunch and there seems to be a bit of play in it - far more than anything else on the belt.

I took the pulley off and looked at the bearing, and it looked to be OK - no play in the bearing when I jam the pulley on a socket, so it must be play between the bearing inner and the tensioner. It does look to be a bit of a silly design - the tensioner shaft doesn't go all the way through the bearing and the silly locating washer on the outside doesn't do its job very well. I'm wondering if there is a bush missing from the bearing centre?