mgarofan

I have a 1995 Ford Ranger XLT, 4.0 L w/ AC. About a week ago, I began heraing odd whirring and squealing sounds from under the hood. I took a look and found that the serpentine belt was well worn (many cracks in the V ribs) so replaced it. The sounds went away for a few days, then returned louder and harsher than ever. In fact, a small strip of the new belt about the width of one V rib actually peeled off. I thought that perhap a bearing was going out in one of the pulleys so I inspected them one-by-one with the belt off. This is what I observed:

--Tensioner pulley was in line with other pulleys and spinning freely
--A/C pulley spun freely
--Idler pulley spun freely
--Alternator pulley spun freely
--Water pump/Fan pulley spun OK, but Fan and pulley seemed very loose. If I grabbed the fan and wiggled it back and forth (from front to back of engine compartment) there was a lot of play.
--PS pump pulley was difficult to turn (a sharp turn of it did not result in a free spin)

Questions:
Should the PS pump pulley spin freely or is it normal to have some resistance?
How much play should be in the water pump/fan pulley assembly?

Thanks!

dvaut

I think the water pump bushing is going bad and messing up the belt. happened to me except it broke the whole damn belt, ceased up the pump a made one hell of a mess out o the belt. by the way the water pump pully is not expected to spin freely but it's usually the first to go.