[Tomarse]

Since having the valve problems my car has been making a ticking noise at certain engine speeds (about 1100rpm).

I thought it was my alternator (which needs new bearings) but had a proper listen today and it sounds much more like it is the waterpump. You can even feel the noise through the water pump cover.

It is not leaking and is working perfectly so i was wondering how it is causing this noise? is it likely the bearing has gone in the pump? (it is about 3 years and 30k miles old now) or could the impeller perhaps have moved slightly so that it is hitting the cover plate?

I am assuming that it started happening since the valve problems because as i drove the car with the dodgy valve it was putting resistance/tension back on different bits of the engine through the timing chain due to having no compression on one cylinder and thus having to 'pull' that piston down rather than it being pushed.

 

[1975SAAB99]

Hello Tom-

There were 3 different types of impeller to shaft arrangements on the B engine- even weirder was the 1709 and 1845 cc Triumph arrangement. Suffice to say that a "ticking" noise has to be rotation dependant- its frequency should change with engine speed if its got anything to do with a rotational clearance.

SAAB orignally made gaskets in different thicknesses to set the distance from the impeller to the housing- oddly these days there seems to be only one gasket to buy.

Pull to housing and check the impeller for clean impact spots and interference with the housing, move the shaft up and down amd side to side to see if the bearing has lost it. 30K doesnt seem like a very long service life- but if the idler shaft teeth are worn etc etc.