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[portomega]

I had the cam belt done about 3 weeks ago but stupidly forgot to have the water pump changed at the same time  when the engine is idling i've notcied a rattling noise coming from the driver side of the engine low down ( behind the wheel area) and i remember having a simliar rattle on my cavalier and it turned out the be the water pump.
The question is ... if i replace the water pump will the cam belt have to be replaced again or can they just remove and then refit the new one its already got?

[mathewst]

just remove the old pump and put a new one.
It shouldn't be a problem if the belt and tensioners are new

[mathewst]

But do it quickly,
I had the same problem and 3 days after the sound appeared teh waterpump broke and the belt went of and made qute a mess of the engine

[portomega]

So if the pump fails it actually snaps the cam belt too? i didnt know that 
How much would a new pump cost?

[jimmas]

If you go by the book you will have to replace the belt again, the argument being that the belt has been tensioned and run, your call really, a belt on it's own is not that expensive if you have already replaced all the tensioners and rollers.

[portomega]

The rollers and tensioners were done with the belt 

[jimmas]

yes if the pump fails it will almost definately take the belt with it, causing large amunt of damage.

[mathewst]

It doesnt snap the belt excatly.
When it broke on my car (in may) the waterpump blocked vompletely and wasnt rotating so the belt skipped of the pump and the tensioner broke. It made the mess off the valves, headgasket etc...
I payed for a new pump around 40 quid here in my country

[portomega]

So a pump shouldnt be that expensive then? thats good news at least lol
Could i been getting the reason for this rattling noise wrong though? the area im hearing it from, is that actually where the water pump is found? :-/

[mathewst]

It is probably the waterpump.
What happened with mine is like this...
A small flap on the pump corroded and broke off then went between the second flap and the engine block and all hell broke loose.

[mathewst]

The pump over in UK should cost even less than here I presume especially if you have a trade card

[jimmas]

it's a difficult one to diagnose with out stripping down, firstly the garage that replaced the belt set should have checked the pump for any play or roughness in the pulley, equally so it could be a faulty roller / tensioner so I would advise a re-strip and inspection if everything appears okay replace the pump and fit new belt re- antifreeze and go from there. 

[jimmas]

pump is approx 30-40 pounds I think

[portomega]

im pretty certain the rattle was there before the new belt got fitted but the last sort of week its gotten louder. Looks like its time for another booking in at the local garage, bet those guys are loving me at the moment, im probably putting their kids through college! 

[jimmas]

if it turns out to be the pump ask the question as to why it was not replaced as a precaution when the belt was replaced, from the garage perspective it would be damage limitation and best practice. In there interest as well as yours really.