How long can a turkey gobble before you damage the water

[Ben Swann]

Overtightened belt usually makes a whining sound.  The "Turkey Gobble" sound
is usually the idler pulley or whatever its official name is - often called
a tensioner, but actually the pump provides the tension adjustment.

If it was replaced with the belt as it should have been, then maybe it could
use a drop of oil - just don't overdo it.  However, this turkey should not
gobble if it is new, so it likely was not replaced with the belt and pump.
So you best bet is to remove the belt cover and address these issues - You
should be able to install a new pully without removing the crank pully.  You
may need to reseal the water pump however.

Allocate around 4 hours to remove the P.S. pump belt, remove cover, change
pully, reseal pump.  Permatex gasket seal will do good for resealing the
pump - meesy black goo, but does good for these sort of jobs

Ben

[Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 22:27:31 -0400
From: "Jonathan Monetti" <jmone3036 at earthlink.net>
Subject: How long can a turkey gobble before you damage the water
pump?

Since doing my timing belt job, I've only put about 250 miles on my coupe
(NG).  As the weather got warmer (and thus I drove it more), I noticed the
tell-tale 'gobble gobble' of a too-tight timing belt (as well as what
sounded like bearing noise from the water pump).  I got in there and
adjusted the tension pump per some crafty list archive suggestions, and the
gobble has largely gone away.  However, there is a still metallic sound
coming from the general area of the water pump (german-made unit I got from
blau).

I guess "YMMV" the big caveat, but do you guys think I could have seriously
damaged my water pump in just a couple hundred miles of driving this way?
If not, what else might be the culprit.  I've been able to rule out the
power steering pump.

TIA
Jonathan Monetti
'02 A4q 1.8t
'87.5 Coupe GT]