Noisey scratching rattley sound from left side of Engine 16v

[purple-rado 0]

Hi guys,

 

got a real irritating problem here. When the engine is running there is a very noticeable scratching rattley sound coming from the left hand side of the engine near the alternator area. In addition the coolant level is virtually empty after topping it up two dayas ago. SPoke to a mate who suggested it could be the water pump. If it is would that mean that the pump would leak out coolant?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanx

[h100vw 0]

The waterpump can leak water out but I reckon you would see it. Not sure if this applies to Cs without checking on ETKA but 16V Golfs used to have a thing on the water pump pulley which allowed it to slip until the car warmed up a bit. The lack of drive circulated the water slower to speed up the warming process. I had a Golf that rattled for 5 mins when cold. There might be one on yours and it could be Knacked?

 

 

Gavin

[purple-rado 0]

cheers for that. I suppose if it is what your talking about then i would bebetter of changing the water pump. I just had a look underneath the car and the is coolant dripping dripping from the power steering pump and around that are. I suppose the coolant could leak from the bearing of the water pump. But does a worn water pump make that rattley scratching noise?

[davidwort 0]

what you're referring to is the 'idler' pulley that doesn't actually drive the water pump at all it simply deflects the alternator belt away from the cam belt cover area, it's the second pulley that drives the PS pump that actually drives the water pump, 16v's had this arrangement up to about 1991 when they changed to a differrent arrangement of belts and pulleys to avoid having to have this extra pulley.

They do die, as the bearing surface breaks up (copper mesh with some other material coating it) and they're expensive, I think I got one for about 70 quid new from Volks-Apart but I don't think GSF and Euro Car Parts do them at all, something stupid like 130quid from VAG.

They make an intermittent rattle sometimes as they start to wear and noises from this part of the engine bay are difficult to trace, you could remove the belt concerned and run the car fow a few seconds to track it down.

 

David.

 

The waterpump can leak water out but I reckon you would see it. Not sure if this applies to Cs without checking on ETKA but 16V Golfs used to have a thing on the water pump pulley which allowed it to slip until the car warmed up a bit. The lack of drive circulated the water slower to speed up the warming process. I had a Golf that rattled for 5 mins when cold. There might be one on yours and it could be Knacked?

 

 

Gavin

[chuck 0]

A water pump is only £20-£30 from GSF/ECP. Well worth changing as when i did mine, the highest water temp dropped by at least 5 deg, just from better water flow!!

Bit of a b!tch to get at tho, as the alternator and p/s pump have to come off. If you do replace it, make sure a new O ring is included, as yours will no doubt be in bad shape and stuck to the block. Get a new thermostat too, again with O ring, and check that its plastic elbow casing isn't cracked.

 

As for the pulley, be careful when removing it, as mine fell apart, and the bearing surface fell out in bits. Its really really stupid that you have to buy a whole pulley at £130 from VW, when the only bit that needs replacing is a removable plasticky bearing at probably no more than a couple of quid :x :x :x

 

BTW, mine leaked from exactly the same place (noticeable from bottom of p/s pump), and replacing pump and thermostat fixed it right up. :D