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Rattling noise near water pump/pulley

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mike Mc, Aug 31, 2011.

  1. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    My wife calls me yesterday and said she could hear a rattling noise from the engine area, but no other issues presented themselves. Later, I checked the engine compartment for the noise with the engine on and found that the noise was coming from the area of the engine water pump/idler pulley but i couldn't really narrow it much closer. The noise honestly sounds like bearings about to go out. I did see that behind the water pump pulley there was a small buildup of corrosion on the water pump, but no apparent leaks or wetness. The car has the original water pump and idler pulley with 140k. I plan on replacing the water pump, idler pulley and thermostat in the morning. Any thoughts? or is this overkill? I don't want to lose the engine nor do I want my wife to get stranded anywhere.
     
    #1 Mike Mc, Aug 31, 2011
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I agree that your wife's car deserves an exceptionally high maintenance standard and I would do the same as you if in your position. My wife & I have an agreement that she doesn't question what I spend on vehicle maintenance and in return, I ensure that all family vehicles have 0% unscheduled downtime.

    I suggest that you buy a couple of gallons of Toyota SLLC, as well as the parts you listed. See my posts #22 and #42 here for info about changing the engine coolant:
    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...shooting/30813-changing-engine-coolant-3.html
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 31, 2011
  3. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Thank you sir,

    It appears from all of your post's that I have been reading, the hardest part of the process will be getting the air out of the loop. I do however feel pretty confident with all of the tips and hints provided that I shouldn't have any issues.

    This all comes at a great time...were putting new tires on next week!
     
    #3 Mike Mc, Aug 31, 2011
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I forgot to list the serpentine drive belt, if original it will have numerous cracks on the inside surface and hence should be replaced now. Good luck.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Aug 31, 2011
  5. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Yeah,

    I forgot to mention the belt...it's sitting in the box with the other parts waiting for me to pick them up.
     
    #5 Mike Mc, Aug 31, 2011
  6. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    One more thing, I plan on taking pictures and logging my experience throughout.
     
    #6 Mike Mc, Aug 31, 2011
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  7. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    it's good you're pro active on this. i started to hear my water pump rattle around 140k miles or so... then i was in an accident.. they said it was shot (slowly dying actually) and not part of the wreck.. but if they wrote it up as "front of engine" damage and not it's actual location (side of engine bay).. they could replace it. so they did.
     
    #7 V8Cobrakid, Aug 31, 2011
  8. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Just wanted to let everyone know it took me about 3.5 hours to do this job. It would have been less time but I was interrupted several times and I was taking pictures documenting the repair process. The only real problem I ran into was not having a water-pump pulley tool. I went to a few local shops and no-one had the tool I needed. I went back home decided to find something that would work. I ended up using a large allen wrench and wedged it in there. Patrick...getting 1.5 gal of coolant in took forever! I ended up going for a drive with the extra gallon of coolant, it was 104 degrees.
     
    #8 Mike Mc, Sep 2, 2011
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  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Thanks for the update. Next time I would suggest that you loosen the water pulley bolts prior to removing the serpentine belt. The belt should hold the pulley stationary.

    Similarly, you can tighten the pulley bolts to the correct torque after the new serpentine belt is at tension.
     
    #9 Patrick Wong, Sep 2, 2011
  10. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Hopefully there will not be a next time...at least anytime soon. I have several friends that drive a Prius and now they know I have experience with it.
     
    #10 Mike Mc, Sep 6, 2011
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