Water Pump problems??

[craigkirk]

Hi, I am a month into owning a lovely Nov 93 Chimaera which runs beautifully; however, the other day after driving for about half an hour, an awful screeching came from the engine as I was sat at traffic lights. It varied in pitch as I went through the gears after driving off and eventually went away. It happened again on my next outing but only after about half an hour of driving. Both times the water temp remained around the 75-80 degree mark so it wasn't overheating. Has anyone got any ideas what the problem might be? Thanks

[TVRThomo]

Fan belt ??

[GreenV8S]

Yes, most likely a slipping fan belt. Check the tension.

[craigkirk]

Many thanks for the fan belt option - now being a dunce, are they easy to tighten or does it mean getting a new one?

[GreenV8S]

Preserpentine (single V belt), the fan belt is tensioned by moving the alternator. Serpentine (poly V belt), it's tensioned by a sprung pulley (if the tension is too low this implies the tensioner has failed or run out of travel).