Some of you might remember this post a few weeks ago when I was changing my timing chain and water pump.

Well, it's been doing fine since then mechanically; however, it has recently developed an awful squeek at idle. Actually, it's worst at idle, but the squeek can be heard up until ~2,250 RPM, after which I can't really hear it anymore. I listened around my engine bay with the engine on with a long aluminum pipe to my ear, and I could hear the squealing best in the area between the water pump and crank pulleys.

I also removed the belt and started turning pulleys with my hand. I could tell that when I turned the water-pump pulley CCW (counter-clockwise), it was much louder than when I turned it CW. My alternator bearing squeaks too, but it's always done that.

I don't know if it would make a difference, but AutoZone (the same one that I bought the new/rebuilt pump from) told me to use a different anti-freeze. It's Prestone anti-freeze, but not the one in the yellow jug; this one comes in a gray jug and it's orange colored.

I'll also mention that, while I had my timing cover off, I changed out the front seal and put a harmonic balancer sleeve on the balancer. I did lube both of those things before I put them back on, though.

Will this just go away, or is there anything that I can do to fix it?

Thanks

 

Check the belt and tensioner... also check the belt routing. If the belt is too loose, it'll squeal, too.

Other possability is the pump has a bad bearing - may need to yank it back off.

 

Squeek
Squealing
Which is it?
DID YOU ALSO CHANGE THE BELTS?
What I think ya have is something that is RUBBING against something
LIKE THE PULLEY AGAINST THE WATER PUMP!
OR power steering pump is worn.
I would try a LONG screwdriver,
I THINK
the pipe is picking up noise from other source close by.
Does the car idle well, now?
How is the power, smoother?
How is engine temps?

 

Well, it's a difficult sound to describe. But, since I have been paying more attention to it since my original post, I have noticed that it doesn't always do it. In fact, I was driving it for about 20 minutes tonight, and I didn't even notice any noises at all. Then, right as I was pulling into my destination, I heard what sounded like a bird squeaking--but it was a constant sound. And it was completely out of nowhere; I even had my radio off to listen, and the squeak was as loud as I have heard it. After a few seconds, it started to get quieter, but never completely went away after that.

I don't expect that it is another component like a steering pump or anything, because I never heard the sound before changing the water pump.

I didn't change belts because the belt that I had was still in good condition (no noticible cracks or wear marks). I can check it again to see if there's any new wear.

The car does idle a little bit smoother now, but not by a whole lot. I would chalk that up to the injectors, though; after 130K miles on them, I would expect that they're a bit dirty. I don't notice very much of a power gain--mabye a little bit of a gain in the higher end (2700+ RPM). I do have a transmission that's going bad, though, so that might be a limiting factor power wise. I haven't noticed any difference in the engine temperatures.

I was actually a little surprised that I didn't that much of a change in my car after the timing chain swap. The chain that I took off was *really* bad--I could almost pull it off without even taking the gears off. And the new chain was very snug--as snug as the double roller chain that I put on my L98. Plus, everyone that I saw on the boards that had done the timing chain swap raved about it. Somehow, I'm not all that impressed. But, like I said, there are probably other limiting factors there...

 

I would have to say the tensioner is the chirping culprit. A bad tensioner is a direct result of a water pump going bad- it puts a strain on the pulleys/bearings when it is not functioning smooth.

 

I'd say that's a good call.
I've never worked on tensioner set ups so I am unaware of "details" for a call like that.
IF ya tranny is on way out, plan on that being done soon.
While tranny out, ya can scrore the injector cleaning service in NJ for about $10/injector + shipping or score a spare set & send those out.
After certain amuont of milage, these engiens can just be worn out.
Yet, all ya do is swapable to a 3.4 mill!
Have you rebuilt your distributor yet?
That is a simple at home project, too.
Sometimes it's really hard to work on POS (Previous Owner Syndrome) handywork!
Been there.