How long can a turkey gobble before you damage the water

[Dave C]

Jonathan,
A few years ago I had a go-around with this.  My '89 100 chirped for a
long time... never did anything about it and eventually it quieted
down.  The best info I got from the Q-list query I posted was from Jim
Dupree.  IMO he truly is an ace when it comes to these cars.

Bottom line ... you do >not< need to re-do all that work, >if< you
have the skill to do what he describes.
  
FYI, I'll copy below his e-mail on the subject, along with his WARNING
to be careful.
- -
Dave C.

To: "'Dave C'" <conner at cfm.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: RE: Chirping under the hood 
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 

Please be careful, working on a running engine around the belts can be
hazardous to fingers, tools, hands etc...
Also a slipped timing belt is no fun either.
If you adjust the timing belt tension on a water pump that has been on the
car a while the o-ring between the pump body and the engine block may leak.
Take Care
Jim

 -----Original Message-----

During the 10 years that I played dealership technician I did a lot of these
using O.E. water pumps and almost all of them would have the 'wild turkey
gobble'. As a matter of routine I started setting the timing belt tension a
little bit tighter than normal. Then after the engine was warmed up and I
had driven the car some I would loosen the to outer water pump bolts a
little bit. I then would start the engine and let it sit and idle so I could
hear the 'turkey' and using a long brass punch and hammer I would slightly
tap on the water pump to loosen the timing belt. I would do this just a
little at a time until the 'turkey' was gone. The key to success here and to
preventing disaster is making sure the water pump bolts are tight enough
that the pump takes quite a bit of force to move it so you don't loose all
your belt tension suddenly with the engine running [Not a good thing:(]. A
little practice and it only adds about 10 minutes to the water pump job.
Never had a car come back with the 'turkey' and never had a pump or belt
failure from this method, at least that I am aware of. And at that
dealership, if it came back or had a problem management let us know about
it, that about all they ever let us know.

Thanks
Jim