Fellow listers,
I recently managed to total my Honda daily driver, which forced me to
press the 1980 TR7 into daily use. Of course, two days after I
started this plan, extremely ugly and expensive noises started
eminating from under the hood. Sounded like someone was taking a die
grinder to a small mammal. The noises only kicked in above idle rpms.
My first thought was either the alternator bearings or the water pump
(or possibly the clutch, but I don't think so). I removed the fan
belt and ran the engine briefly, and the squealing/grinding sound was
gone. Now is the point where I am unsure how to proceed.
The alternator was rebuilt by a very good shop two years ago, and
spins freely and silently with no side play in the pulley. I'm
starting to suspect the viscous coupling on the fan pulley. The thing
that's holding me up is the water pump.
On my older TR's, the top pulley drives the water pump, so if the belt
is off, the water pump is not turning. I'm not so sure on the TR7
motor. From the looks of the Bentley manual, the water pump is gear
driven by a jackshaft, and has nothing to do with the fan belt or the
pulley. Hence, removing the belt and having the noise disappear would
say that the problem is not with the water pump, since the pump would
still be working. Am I correct? If so, has anyone heard of a
situation where the fan pulley/viscous coupling made horrible grinding
and squealing noises?
Please respond directly, as I'm only on the digest these days. Also,
if anyone has a spare fan pulley/viscous coupling you could part with
for a nominal fee, I'd be greatly appreciative.
Thanks one and all,
Dave Rupert
1957 TR3
1967 TR4A
1980 TR7
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