One of my door rub strips had slowly come loose in the middle. The other one wasn't like new, either.
Both strips are now back on tight and straight. 3M Super Strength Molding Tape is my friend today.
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif.
Posts: 2,078
My VIN: 0934
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
One of my door rub strips had slowly come loose in the middle. The other one wasn't like new, either.
Both strips are now back on tight and straight. 3M Super Strength Molding Tape is my friend today.
March '81, 5-speed, black interior
So, I conducted the hose test and still could not locate the originating point of the sound..... I decided to start eliminating components. I removed the compressor belt and it still had the sound. Then I took the alternator belt off, and sound is gone! So....I guess I either have an issue with the alternator or the water pump. I can spin both the water pump pully and the alternator individually and they seem fine with no sound. Though it does look like the finned pully on the alternator doesn't spin quite true. It seems a bit warped. I wonder if that could be the issue.
I put the alternator belt back on and tightened it up and boy does it squeal now! Is it possible to tighten it up too much???? How tight should the tension be on these? I thought it was a little loose before I took it off, but tightening it seems to really make either the alternator or water pump very unhappy..... I wonder if the PO loosened the belt just enough to get rid of most of sound in order to sell it??
I'm not really sure of my next step here.....
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy a DeLorean and that's sort of the same thing....
Location: NYS
Posts: 2,511
My VIN: 4519
If you want to find if the noise is in the water pump vs. alternator, you can use a lot of different things as a "listening rod."
I've used a long 3/8" extension, piece of rebar...etc. Rest one end on either component and hold the other end "cupped" to your ear....you should easily hear what you're looking for.
My explanation might not be so good, here's a video link (the first minute is pretty goofy, worthwhile to skip over it.)
The good news is that you're well on your way to it not being a huge deal!
Last edited by Rich_NYS; 10-19-2014 at 06:09 PM.
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif.
Posts: 2,078
My VIN: 0934
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
It's a little late for the advice but you might have wanted to push against the free span of the belt to get a feel for the tightness before you made your adjustments.
True belt squeal is due to low tension - belt is slipping over at least one of the pulleys.
Water pump or alternator noise are possible but usually sound more like a bad bearing, sort of a grinding noise, lower pitch.
As for setting the tension try pushing on the top span of the belt midway with your thumb. Push hard. Shoot for ~1/2in. deflection as measured from a straightedge across the top of the pulleys. Anybody can chime in with a better deflection value or method.
PS, while you are there think about replacing the belt unless you know it's younger than that.
March '81, 5-speed, black interior
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 280
My fuel pump is keeping me on my toes. the loud constant humming has gone away even when the car has been running for a while.
When I went to start it yesterday and put the key into the accessory position the fuel pump came on as it normally does but stayed on for a good 20 seconds. And I'm the cold start issue is still present.
Started the car on Saturday again after 2.5 weeks having it sit. Man, what a rough start again. I still have to troubleshoot my cold start issue. Got a few good ideas from reading through the forum and will check my Thermo Switch as soon as possible. I have the feeling that it might be on its way out and work intermittent.
Took the car for a spin around the block to get the fluids moving at least a bit. COntemplating to take the car to a car wash as the weather sucks and I cannot wash it in front of my garage (or in the garage), but still want to have it in nice shape for winter.
- Volker Seidel -
The way I see it, if you're gonna drive around in a car, why not do it with some style?
I took her to dinner and on the way home I lost my headlights. Looks like my headlight switch finally gave out. It's a part that I kept thinking I should replace but never did. Oh well, it made it 32 years this month at least.
Red
VIN 4534
Born - October 1981
Brought back to life - July 2011
Today I took the spare tire to a tire shop as it was at least 15 years old. So I had it checked. The man working at the shop told me it was perfectly ok for a spare. So I actually didn't spend any more or changed a thing to my car... .
Location: 38.09080 N 23.8005 E
Posts: 2,038
My VIN: MMMMMCMXCII
VIN 5992/Body 5697/Frame 6000/Grey/Manual/ALL LED/Square HALOs/SPAX/DMOCO SS shifter/Genuine MOMO steering/iPhone base/Porsche turbo 997 exhaust/K&N/ SS: f.fascia mounts, brake lines, clutch line+fuel line+tank cover+heat shields/Posi-quiet brake pads/Poly: steering rack inserts+f.sway bar bushing+radius bushing/wings-a-loft/Radius enforced tabs n bolts/turbo fans... Oh! + a BTTF on/off replica set etc (still adding)
Location: NYS
Posts: 2,511
My VIN: 4519