[Vwdiesel] '96 Passat TDI engine noise nightmare! - "Solved" if not fixed!!!

[Mike Maguire]

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Hi folks ... just posted this update at Fred's. Many thanks for all the adv=
ice and sympathy

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Well ... been under the car and had a go at the crankshaft bolt ... so why =
didn't anyone warn me about a bi-hex bolt head!!! First one I've ever come =
across & hard to believe it would stand up to the sort of leverage to both =
do & undo it!

Although all I did was wind the gears up a bit, it wasn't obviously loose .=
.=2E should I take out the starter motor and get someone to hold a bar agai=
nst the starter ring?

Oh well, let's poke around a bit while I'm down here.

Hmmnn ... v belt seems a bit loose ... might as well undo it and try these =
two other pulley wheels. Click - click just a little play in the keyway on =
the ... um ... lets see ... mmmm, must be the power steering pump ... seems=
 fine.

Ok, next ... ah, this one'll be the water pump ... give it a twist ... what=
 the!!! ... what the!!! ... I don't believe this ... how come the end seal =
hasn't leaked ... continue twisting and pulling laterally on the pulley ...=
 wow ... how can a shaft lean so far out and still keep going ... where's t=
he bearing gone!?!

Put everything back together, start her up ... there's that horrible noise.=
 Stop ... remove v belt, start her up ... no noise ... all gone!

Yup, it's the bloody WATER PUMP!!! Seems to have eaten itself inside and ta=
ken out the bearing (or vice-versa) while leaving the end seal (probably an=
 o-ring?) functioning.

Bit of a pain to replace, pretty cheap to buy ... phew, the sun is shining =
once more!

Ok folks, sorry for all the fuss, of course I should have checked every pul=
ley wheel as a matter of course. It never occurred that the w-p could devel=
op so much lateral play that it was literally bouncing and kicking around i=
nside & sounding like that.
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Mike
Exeter UK
'96 Passat TDI Estate (with a very sick water pump!)

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