Running engine for short time w/o serpentine belt - okay?

[ThisIsMatt]

I wouldn't be hurting anything by running a dodge v8 w/o the serpentine belt on for a few minutes, would I? Obviously heat is a concern, since the water pump will be disconnected, but I'm only talking a few minutes. Any other concerns?

 

[notfred]

for 2 or 3 minutes it will be fine. the water pump is the only thing to worry about, keep an eye on the temp guage.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: notfred
for 2 or 3 minutes it will be fine. the water pump is the only thing to worry about, keep an eye on the temp guage.

The water pump is actually the thing I want to check out...something is making an abnormal amount of noise, and a mechanic figured it was the water pump because it has some play in it, but he wasn't certain...

 

[desertdweller]

You'll be fine until it heats up.

Alot of the newer trucks have problems with the tensioners making noise
in the 5.2L and 5.9L.


DD

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: desertdweller
You'll be fine until it heats up.

Alot of the newer trucks have problems with the tensioners making noise
in the 5.2L and 5.9L.


DD

It's a 92 (93?) B250 V8

 

[desertdweller]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: desertdweller
You'll be fine until it heats up.

Alot of the newer trucks have problems with the tensioners making noise
in the 5.2L and 5.9L.


DD

It's a 92 (93?) B250 V8

Those I rarely did any work on, sorry. One thing you can do to find the noise is
to take a long, long prybar or screwdriver and run the motor. Put it against
various parts of where you think the noise is coming from and put the handle
to your ear. You can hear whats going on in the bearings that way.

I'd probably do that before I took the serp belt off.

DD

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: notfred
for 2 or 3 minutes it will be fine. the water pump is the only thing to worry about, keep an eye on the temp guage.

The water pump is actually the thing I want to check out...something is making an abnormal amount of noise, and a mechanic figured it was the water pump because it has some play in it, but he wasn't certain...

If your mechanic cannot figure out what accessory is making noise, then it's time to find a new mechanic.

Follow desertdweller's advice about the long screwdriver/prybar... But be VERY CAREFUL working around the rotating pullys and fan. Especially on a B van where you don't have a lot of room.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt

Originally posted by: notfred
for 2 or 3 minutes it will be fine. the water pump is the only thing to worry about, keep an eye on the temp guage.

The water pump is actually the thing I want to check out...something is making an abnormal amount of noise, and a mechanic figured it was the water pump because it has some play in it, but he wasn't certain...

If your mechanic cannot figure out what accessory is making noise, then it's time to find a new mechanic.

Follow desertdweller's advice about the long screwdriver/prybar... But be VERY CAREFUL working around the rotating pullys and fan. Especially on a B van where you don't have a lot of room.

Yeah, I said "a mechanic" not "my/our mechanic" It was when I took the van in to get smogged, the guy had some concern about it. The fan & pully wiggle around a bit, so I think he's probably right. Our normal mechanic (a really good shade tree mechanic, very honest and trustworthy) just moved out of the county a few months ago

 

[Wingznut]

Ah, I see.

Most likely, he is correct that the water pump is to blame. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it.

<-- (Ex) Dodge Mechanic of 10+ years.

 

[speed01]

If your water pump pulley has play in it I would go with it being the problem. There should not be any play in it. You should have it replaced as soon as you can because you don't want it coming apart on you. I've had that happen once and it wasn't pretty, took out the radiator, transmission cooler lines, one side of the exhaust and beat the hell out of the underside of the hood bad enough to dent it from the inside.

Speed

 

[desertdweller]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Ah, I see.

Most likely, he is correct that the water pump is to blame. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it.

<-- (Ex) Dodge Mechanic of 10+ years.

I did 4 years at a Dodge dealer. Honda before that and now I'm in the wonderful world
of IT.



DD

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: desertdweller

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Ah, I see.

Most likely, he is correct that the water pump is to blame. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it.

<-- (Ex) Dodge Mechanic of 10+ years.

I did 4 years at a Dodge dealer. Honda before that and now I'm in the wonderful world
of IT.

Beats the hell out of being a flat-rate mechanic, huh?


Regarding the "play" in the pulley... Look at it carefully... The movement you see could be the fan clutch being wobbly. It still would warrent replacement, but it is very unlikely that it could be making the noise. Also, a worn fan clutch can cause a water pump bearing to go out.