Pardon my ingnorance on this but as always I am still learning. I was giving my engine compartment the weekly-once-over and some odd movement caught my eye. The serpentine belt was wobbling like a you-know-what. Further inspection revealed the culprit to be the engine fan. The clutch looked like it was doing fine but the bearing holding it all onto the engine looks like it is shot.
First question: Is this the water pump?
Second: If not then anyone have a part number?
Third: If it is the water pump how much fun am I going to have replacing this?
This is a 98 E320 125k.
Let me know if there is any more info needed.
Drew
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Pardon my ingnorance on this but as always I am still learning. I was giving my engine compartment the weekly-once-over and some odd movement caught my eye. The serpentine belt was wobbling like a you-know-what. Further inspection revealed the culprit to be the engine fan. The clutch looked like it was doing fine but the bearing holding it all onto the engine looks like it is shot.
First question: Is this the water pump?
Hey, Drew. It sure sounds that way to me. To be sure remove the serpentine belt and see if you can move the pulley up-down/side-side (show me paint fence!)
An easier check would be to leave it in place, run the engine and VERY CAREFULLY use a mechanic's stethoscope to check the bearing (same goes for the tensioner noted below).
Quote:
Second: If not then anyone have a part number?
Third: If it is the water pump how much fun am I going to have replacing this?
A lot.
Seriously, the WP on mine doesn't look like it's a bad job, same setup as yours once you pull the fan and shroud. Check the tensioner (if it hasn't already been replaced) before you order the WP, at that mileage you want to inspect it closely. Be a shame to do all this work and then miss that while everything is out of the way.
There may be a wiki out there for this, I haven't looked. Either way if you want to shoot a few pics and do a write-up, you can gain immortality in the DIY thread.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
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Here is a quick PDF that shows the Fan Wheel circled in red. This is what is wobbling. I see no evidence of a coolant leak but then again I do not see any hoses running to or from this. Thoughts?
The circle is around the pulley, that is mounted on the top of pump shaft. With no coolant leak not likely it is bad bearing. More likely those 4 bolts got loose. Did you try to tighten them up? I remember 10 mm open wrench.
Here is a quick PDF that shows the Fan Wheel circled in red. This is what is wobbling. I see no evidence of a coolant leak but then again I do not see any hoses running to or from this. Thoughts?
Do one of the bearing tests (pop the belt and manually check free play or use the stethoscope) to confirm the issue. That is indeed the water pump, the four visible bolts go into the hub on the water pump.
There are seals on both sides of the bearing, typically when the bearing is failing water will get past the inner seal and leak through the bleed hole. However, it is possible that it can have play without leaking. While it's most likely that bearing, I' definitely check it more closely before proceeding.
Thanks Greg for both your posts. Where is the bleed hole? I do not see anything but I am a little bit ADD sometimes...oh look something shiny. But I digress.
Can the bearing be replaced as opposed to the whole Water pump? Or is this another hermetically sealed piece of mechanical engineering by Dr. Otto?
Thanks Greg for both your posts. Where is the bleed hole? I do not see anything but I am a little bit ADD sometimes...oh look something shiny. But I digress.
Can the bearing be replaced as opposed to the whole Water pump? Or is this another hermetically sealed piece of mechanical engineering by Dr. Otto?
If you're sometimes adding coolant, that would be an indication that you have a leak -- somewhere. The only way to really inspect the WP is to pull the belly pan. Then jack it up and you can look underneath. I think the bleed hold may actually be shielded from view by the pulley, but you'd see traces of liquid runs down from the WP area (sometimes along the hose, otherwise it may be just a track on the housing itself, etc.).
Autohausaz indicates there were two different pumps available that year, one with three hose connections, one with only two. So you'll need to do a proper inspection anyway. It's also tied to your engine number, if you run the VIN that may come back with the original engine number. An additional item of note, if you have the three-hose job they also recommend changing the pulley and the fan, and that's what I suspect is your car since the newer cars have the electric fans. Just a hunch, though.
I am almost certain that the Water Pump is the two hose variant. The three hose style is for vehicles with Oil Coolers. As I do not have that then I have a 2 hose kind. But I will check it to be sure. Yay! Another DIY!
If anyone has the WIS for the Water Pump I sure would appreciate it.
Fan Wobbles, bearing maybe? 
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