WTF is going on with my JH?

[ranahan@charter.net (John Erickson)]

It could still be the water pump.  They don't quit working 
when the bearings go, however they usually start to leak. 
 It could also be the timing belt tensioner.

John
Long Beach


"Jeff Toomasson" <jtoomasson@yahoo.com>
|I've been driving the cabby around for the last few days 
|because of the roc's bent rims and/or my wife's 4Runner 
|is in the shop - 
|
|when I start the cabby (cold or hot), I get this pretty 
|loud grinding noise - like something is spinning and 
|scraping and it's definitely coming from the belt side of 
|the motor.
|
|Running/revving it around causes it to go away (moreso 
|when it's warm), but once it idles for a minute or so, it 
|comes back. And it's been getting worse lately.
|
|I'm not quite sure what to make of it - it's a pretty 
|strong runner, don't think it's the water pump because 
|the cooling system works fine, it doesn't have power 
|steering, so that's out...any ideas?
|
|(incidentally, I plan on getting rid of the JH block and 
|going with an ABA - I just worry about doing some 
|irreparable damage if I keep driving it (I'm going to 
|have to drive it for the next few days while the roc's 
|rims are getting straightened...))
|
|TIA, JT


John
87 16v
Long Beach