5.0 GXI-G Raw Water Pump Replacement - Squeaking noise at higher RPMs

[dhardest]

Hello all,

I just replaced the raw sea water pump on my 2007 Volvo Penta 5.0 GXI-G with a brand new (but aftermarket) pump. I meant and actually thought I bought an OEM pump on ebay, but when it came it was an off-brand but still brand new. Double-checked the ebay ad and sure enough it said "for Volvo Penta" in bold print but "aftermarket" in the fine print - so I just missed it). Anyway, I replaced the pump this weekend and all went well. Re-tightened the belt tensioner and put everything back together. Started engine, and water temp slowly increased to about 175 and held mostly steady. So, first question - is this about the right steady temp for this engine? I know the temp may run different when actually on the water and also when at higher RPMs when at speed and not running the water in off a garden hose, but was curious if this seemed about right. When I revved the engine to see if the temp would increase, it did go past the 175 mark a little but not much. It never went past about 180 and when I went back to idle the temp returned to 175.

The second question and the topic of this post, is that when I did rev the engine, I heard a squeaking noise that sounded possibly like bearings of some sort. I tried to listen close to see where in the engine it may be coming from (the new pump?, or other component that's run off the serpentine belt), but I couldn't tell for sure.

Could this be a result of over-tightening the serpentine belt using the tensioner? I felt the belt after tightening and it seemed to have about the same amount of play in the belt as before I disassembled everything (just going by memory). Is there a way to measure to make sure I have the right amount of tension? (I must say that re-tightening the belt tensioner seemed like an inexact science. On this engine, the tensioner loosens by moving to the right (when facing the front of the engine and looking at the belt). To move it to the right, I loosened the bolt on the front (by turning the bolt counterclockwise obviously) and then using the socket wrench to move it to the right, which if not done just so, would tighten the bolt again. So I had to sort of play with it to get the bolt loose enough to be able to move the tensioner but not accidentally tighten it again. Not sure of this makes any sense. Anyway - just saying that this may be an area where I may not have done it perfectly.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated - on both the running temp question as well as the possible source of the squeak.

 

[Maclin]

How did it act before this work was done?

Operator's manual for 5.0 GXI G shows temp rang as 135-178 (f). Personally I do not think the temp should change as much as yours does on the muffs.

Why did you change it, what were the symptoms you were trying to alleviate?

 

[Thalasso]

i have 2007 Volvo Penta 5.0 GXI-G engines and they both run at 170 degrees
You can't over-tighten the serpentine belt using the tensioner it's impossible. The tensioner is pre-loaded. There is no adjustment on it

My one engine has a little squeak in it also. Been this way for years. Sometimes it's not there. I have changed the belt, but.
#11 is the tensioner. You don't need to remove it to get the belt off. Just put a wrench on it( nut on the plastic wheel #11). It should rotate enough to remove belt

 

[dhardest]

Hmmm, ok, with respect to the water temp, I'll not worry just yet and wait to see how the temp behaves when out on the water. I'm thinking (hoping) that the slightly higher water temp is because of being on the muffs. Hopefully it's not on account of an inferior aftermarket pump.

The reason I changed the pump was because I had water coming out the weep hole at the bottom and flinging around the engine compartment, so water was getting through the bearing.

Honestly I can't remember if this squeak was there before but I've hadn't noticed it previously. But paying closer attention for any issues after the change-out I noticed it now.

With regard to the tensioner, I'm not an expert mechanic by any stretch of the imagination on these engines, since this is the first time for me in replacing an engine component and having to loosen the belt. But when you say the tensioner has no adjustment to it, I'm confused ....because you can loosen the bolt on the front of the tensioner pulley and then with some pressure clockwise either with a ratchet or a breaker bar on a socket, the tensioner will move to the right, loosening the belt. It was the only way I could get the belt off. When I put the belt back on, I used a breaker bar to pull the tensioner back to the left (applying pressure counter-clockwise on a breaker bar), and then re-tightened the bolt on the pulley. I'm not sure if this was the proper way to loosen and retighten the belt, but it's how I did it. Can anyone tell me if this was the correct procedure?

 

[Maclin]

Tension is preset with a spring-loaded mechanism in the center part of the tensioner working against the belt-riding idler wheel at the end of the tensioner lever. You use a 1/2 inch ratchet or breaker bar (with no socket) inserted into the square hole at the end of the tensioner lever, then move up against the tension inherent in the center part of the tensioner, to unload the tension from that wheel and remove the belt. Should be no need to take that center bolt out unless you need to replace the tensioner. Same when installing new belt, use the wrench to unload the tension and get the belt over/onto the pulleys.

 

[Thalasso]

Hmmm, ok, with respect to the water temp, I'll not worry just yet and wait to see how the temp behaves when out on the water. I'm thinking (hoping) that the slightly higher water temp is because of being on the muffs. Hopefully it's not on account of an inferior aftermarket pump.

The reason I changed the pump was because I had water coming out the weep hole at the bottom and flinging around the engine compartment, so water was getting through the bearing.

Honestly I can't remember if this squeak was there before but I've hadn't noticed it previously. But paying closer attention for any issues after the change-out I noticed it now.

With regard to the tensioner, I'm not an expert mechanic by any stretch of the imagination on these engines, since this is the first time for me in replacing an engine component and having to loosen the belt. But when you say the tensioner has no adjustment to it, I'm confused ....because you can loosen the bolt on the front of the tensioner pulley and then with some pressure clockwise either with a ratchet or a breaker bar on a socket, the tensioner will move to the right, loosening the belt. It was the only way I could get the belt off. When I put the belt back on, I used a breaker bar to pull the tensioner back to the left (applying pressure counter-clockwise on a breaker bar), and then re-tightened the bolt on the pulley. I'm not sure if this was the proper way to loosen and retighten the belt, but it's how I did it. Can anyone tell me if this was the correct procedure?

It's hard for that pump to get cooling water while on muffs. It relies more on static water pressure.
You might not be supplying enough water volume when using muffs.
As far as the tensioner goes. There is no need to loosen any bolts.

Volvo Penta 5.0Gxi -The 1 minute mark
https://youtu.be/qOSt6dEJyPQ

 

[Maclin]

I had 1/2 as the size of the square hole, sorry and thanks to Thalasso, the more common 3/8 is the size.

 

[BRICH1260]

I would not be revving the engine if just running on muffs on the dry. Should be ran no more than 1K rpm's.

 

[dhardest]

No Title

The belt on a 5.0 GXI-G is different in terms of where the tensioner is. Here is the view of mine. Similar to the earlier model, the tensioner is #11 in this diagram as well. The link to this diagram is also below. I can see the square hole in the tensioner mounting bracket on the earlier model but I don't see anything similar on this model.

http://www.volvopentastore.com/Serpentine-Belt-And-Alternator/dm/store_id.366--view_id.777075

 

[dhardest]

No Title

Another view of the front of the engine (this is an H model but the G looks the same). I got this image from another post where the owner was complaining about a squeal just like mine. The fix turned out to be a power steering pulley that was not perfectly in line with the belt. I'll check that out this coming weekend when I get the boat back out of storage. Only way that could have happened is if I leaned against it while working on the raw water pump.

 

[BRICH1260]

Your tensioner is part #11 in the first diagram. It is spring loaded and non adjustable. It is possible that you may have a bad bearing in it. Find your part on this website and order a new part if need to.

http://www.powerproductsystems.com/

 

[dhardest]

My tensioner may be bad. It did not seem spring loaded to me when I removed the belt. I was able to get it to move such that the tension in the belt was relaxed enough to slip the belt off, but the tensioner stayed in that position until I was reassembling everything and I had to force the tensioner back to it's original position .... it did not simply spring back. First thing I'll do this weekend will be to check the alignment of the belt on all the pulleys and the pulleys themselves, but then may turn my attention to the tensioner. I also read that rust on the pulleys may cause squeaking and also wears the belts faster, so I should take care of that because my power steering pulley definitely has some rust on the ribbed section.

 

[Thalasso]

My tensioner may be bad. It did not seem spring loaded to me when I removed the belt. I was able to get it to move such that the tension in the belt was relaxed enough to slip the belt off, but the tensioner stayed in that position until I was reassembling everything and I had to force the tensioner back to it's original position .... it did not simply spring back. First thing I'll do this weekend will be to check the alignment of the belt on all the pulleys and the pulleys themselves, but then may turn my attention to the tensioner. I also read that rust on the pulleys may cause squeaking and also wears the belts faster, so I should take care of that because my power steering pulley definitely has some rust on the ribbed section.

Look on the crank shaft pulley. Take the belt of and wire brush it in place and repaint with rust oleum spray paint
You said before that you removed the bolt to get the tensioner off. By doing this it would stay in it's extended position.
Highly doubt the tensioner is bad

 

[Fishhead-1]

Is there a chance loosening the tensioner bolt that the tensioner isn't indexed with the pin into the bracket behind it? I would think it would be cocked or obvious. Would not think a 2007 tensioner would be bad yet.

 

[dhardest]

Look on the crank shaft pulley. Take the belt of and wire brush it in place and repaint with rust oleum spray paint
You said before that you removed the bolt to get the tensioner off. By doing this it would stay in it's extended position.
Highly doubt the tensioner is bad

I'll definitely clean up and repaint the pulleys. Thanks.

By loosening the bolt on the tensioner, if this caused it to stay in its extended position ..... is this something that needs to be corrected such that the tensioner is spring loaded again? There is something about this style tensioner that I'm just not getting. The older style is more obvious how to work it -using the square hole and a breaker bar. But on this style - I'm not exactly sure how it's intended to be moved to take the belt off. Does anyone know of a description of how to do it, or a video? I'm very close to ordering the engine mechanical shop manual just so I have the right reference not only for this but other situations that may arise. But the cost of the various manuals really adds up ($59 for the mechanical, $59 for the cooling, etc.). There is a DIY manual that Volvo Penta puts out that may be useful as well. I'm curious what this has in it that's different than the shop manuals.

 

[bruceb58]

I would not be revving the engine if just running on muffs on the dry. Should be ran no more than 1K rpm's.

If your hose can deliver enough water and you have muffs that deliver water on both sides of the muffs, there is no reason you can't go higher than 1000RPM. I can run mine at 3000 RPM and I still have excess water leaking around the muffs.

 

[bruceb58]

I'm very close to ordering the engine mechanical shop manual just so I have the right reference not only for this but other situations that may arise. But the cost of the various manuals really adds up ($59 for the mechanical, $59 for the cooling, etc.).

Well worth the money in my opinion. I have a full set of paper OEM manuals for all my marine engines and autos.

Online manuals are a pain in the butt.

 

[Thalasso]

I'll definitely clean up and repaint the pulleys. Thanks.

By loosening the bolt on the tensioner, if this caused it to stay in its extended position ..... is this something that needs to be corrected such that the tensioner is spring loaded again? There is something about this style tensioner that I'm just not getting. The older style is more obvious how to work it -using the square hole and a breaker bar. But on this style - I'm not exactly sure how it's intended to be moved to take the belt off. Does anyone know of a description of how to do it, or a video? I'm very close to ordering the engine mechanical shop manual just so I have the right reference not only for this but other situations that may arise. But the cost of the various manuals really adds up ($59 for the mechanical, $59 for the cooling, etc.). There is a DIY manual that Volvo Penta puts out that may be useful as well. I'm curious what this has in it that's different than the shop manuals.

Did you not look at the you tube video i posted? #6 It addressed your question around the 1 min mark.
There all the same be weather it's a boat or car. You don't loosen any bolts.

Sticky: MUST HAVE Technical Information for DIYers.

The manual for your engine is in here along with your outdrive
http://boatinfo.no/lib/library.html

 

[BRICH1260]

You can retract the tensioned pulley by putting a ratchet and fitted socket on the nut that is in the middle of the pulley and rotate.

 

[dhardest]

So closely inspected the alignment of all the various pulleys and it did appear to me that the power steering pulley wasn't perfectly aligned with the others. It's very slight but perhaps just enough that with a little rust on the steering pulley that there's a little rubbing going on that's contributing to the noise.Squirted a small bit of water on the pulley while running and the squeal stopped for a minute or so. Saw a video on troubleshooting squeals that suggested if this happens then look for rust or alignment. Tried inserting a washer behind the top mounting bracket of the power steering pulling to tilt it down slightly but couldn't get the bolt to line up to re-insert the bolt so abandoned that idea. (Read on another post about the same issue where someone else did that.). So I wire brushed the power steering pulley very good, all around the inner and outer rim and made sure the inner surface of the rims were smooth. Even had to file a couple spots where the rust on the inner surface of the rim had created a larger raised area. Cleaned everything with acetone and rinsed and dried well then painted. Did the same to the alternator pulley that had a bit of rust starting and also the smooth surface of the other pulleys. Put it all back together and the squeal is almost non-existent. Much quieter than before.

Oh, and I've noticed that the tensioner is starting to spring back after using it a few more times to get the belt on and off. I'm thinking that the oxidation or corrosion between the moving parts was enough to hold it in place before when I had used it the first time to get the belt off initially. So I removed it, sanded it down and put a bit of oil between the moving parts and it seems to have been brought back to life. I may reprint it today just to improve appearance and give some protection.

So I'm pleased with the situation for now. May still get a spare belt to have with me just in case (and will need all the various tools to be able to put it on while out on the water). The main obstacle being the raw water pump. Thanks for all the input and advice.