Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

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trtlflwrs
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:06 am
Location: NE OH

Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

Post by trtlflwrs »

Ok, so now that the weather has broke and I'm running around town with all the windows open... I caught wind of a "rattle". Oh joy. I hear it most at idle and it gets faster as I accelerate through the gears, until I can't hear it due to road noise. The sound I hear is close to what another poster said sounds like "marbles in a tin can".

I'm not sure how long it has been going on... my guess is 3-5 weeks(500miles? :shock: ). I searched the other threads and can't seem to get anything that fits. I initially thought it was a rattle b/c a cover or pan was loose. To me it sounded like the rattles my old Civic had. Hubby said no. He primarily diagnosed it as a bad bearing in the alternator. (He even used a stethescope to listen to it)

He did an R&R (ripout and replace)... still made the noise. Boy was he peeved! So he put the old alt back on and returned the part. His buddy and the auto parts guy seem to think it's the tensioner on the serpentine belt. Is this possible? My hubby has jumped to the conclusion that it's the water pump but I'm not convinced!

Thought I'd come here to get an idea from my genvibe crowd :D

Oh, she's just under 80,000 miles and 5.5 years old! This is the first problem we've had to deal with other than standard maitenence!
2007 sun & sound, preferred pack, 5-speed, mono Abyss with metallic blue pins... oooh aaaah
star_deceiver
Posts: 5802
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:49 pm
Location: Airdrie, AB

Re: Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

Post by star_deceiver »

"Marbles in a tin can" as I recall is the telltale sign of a bad tensioner.
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trtlflwrs
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:06 am
Location: NE OH

Re: Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

Post by trtlflwrs »

Thanks! I think I'll see if I can't get the hubby to try that first ;)
2007 sun & sound, preferred pack, 5-speed, mono Abyss with metallic blue pins... oooh aaaah
trtlflwrs
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:06 am
Location: NE OH

Re: Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

Post by trtlflwrs »

Ha. Open mouth, insert foot... :oops:
Hubby recruited his buddy wednesday and together, they ruled out everything EXCPET... the water pump. Of course. Although, it barely showed any signs of leakage, the bearing was very obviously blown. Glad "we" caught it early!

So, my vibe has a new serpentine belt, a new tensior pulley, a new waterpump, and in the process she got a radiator flush and an oil change! :D
2007 sun & sound, preferred pack, 5-speed, mono Abyss with metallic blue pins... oooh aaaah
jasonvibe
Posts: 544
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:00 am

Re: Shake, RATTLE, and roll... water pump or tensioner???

Post by jasonvibe »

I had th eexact same issue. Using stethoscope found loudest at water pump. Yes, the water pump. 88k on mine
2005 AWD PlatinumAlloys, Moon & TunesPower group...just enough to be fun
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