Strange symptoms

connorwhite.online

connorwhite.online

Active Member
Hey all,
Out of the blue my Delica has some strange things going on. I have a few lights on, power steering seems powerless, I've entirely lost my heater/climate control, and I have really weird squeaking sounds coming from the engine bay that don't sound like a belt. I'll include video at the bottom.

Here's a video of the sound:

IMG_5115.jpeg

  • The glow plug light is on, which I didn't pay mind to since I know the computer is in bad shape and I've since bypassed it.
  • The battery light is on, which is strange because I seem to have a ton of power, and she's cranking just fine.
  • The A/T Temp light is on immediately which is strange. I have full fluid, but I do think I'm getting some strange shifting.

The loss of heat is interesting to me. I thought this was a fairly simple system, and since I don't have a coolant leak and I'm pretty sure the vent control cable is working, I'm a bit baffled. Perhaps it's an unassociated block in the heater-core path?

The squeaking sound is pretty foreign to me. I've never experienced a power steering pump failure, but that's what it feels like to me. Just not sure why all these other symptoms would be happening. Additionally, the speedometer needle is pretty unresponsive. It does react to speed, but slowly.

I'm digging through manuals trying to find what I can but let me know if any of this sounds familiar. Thanks!
 
Sounds like a power steering pump to me as well. Refresh my memory if the alternator shares a belt with the power steering as that could cause some of the dash lights. All these problems come at once?
 
Hi Connor,

seems to me like the belts fail to drive the steering/coolant/air condition pumps and the generator. Be careful because in the diesel versions another pump flanged to the generator makes the vacuum for your brake booster!
Don't drive your deli before you have verified your pulley is firmly attached to the crankshaft. Sometimes it becomes loose on the crankshaft because its central screw comes undone and as a consequence the belts for the camshaft and harmonic balancers fall off, thus damaging the engine.
In a less severe case, only the front part of the pulley loses contact to the core part of it, allowing the inner part of the pulley basically spinning freely inside. The culprit in this case is their rubber connection, which makes the two parts a crankshaft vibration damper. After 30 years in use, this rubber layer can just crumble away, however …

Greetings from Munich,
flo
 
Check to make sure your alternator is still charging your battery. Could have blown the big 100amp fuse at the battery. If you’re running dual batteries it can take a week or two to notice your battery going dead. The squeal sounds like the power steering or alternator. Check your belts to make sure they are in good condition and properly tightened, check power steering to make sure fluid is tipped up and not burnt. Lose of heat is probably due to a blocked heater core or a stuck thermostat. Trans fluid light, check to makes sure trans fluid is not burnt, that can account for poor shifting.
 
Battery, water separator, and transmission warning lights on together are the indication that the alternator is not charging... I don't see a glowplug light. To me that sounds a lot like a torn harmonic balancer wobbling around (crankshaft pulley).
 
Oh damn, thought I’d seen that was the glow plug light, foolish. Looks much more like a fuel water separator hah.
Oof I have been warned about the harmonic balancer. I’ll pop under and give it a look tonight.
Could this explain the heat as well? I.E. the water pump isn’t running so the coolant isn’t moving?
 
sk66 said:
It could, but the other symptom of coolant not moving would be an overheating engine.
Click to expand...
Oh yikes, I would've assumed coolant would move as it gets hotter regardless of the pumps operation. That's not the case huh? Perhaps something to do with the thermostat not opening?
 
connorwhite.online said:
Oh yikes, I would've assumed coolant would move as it gets hotter regardless of the pumps operation. That's not the case huh? Perhaps something to do with the thermostat not opening?
Click to expand...
It would move due to thermal dynamics, but not fast enough to cool the engine effectively... same with a closed thermostat.
I think the heater/climate control issue is unrelated... and I'm not sure what "entirely lost" means.
 
DustAngel said:
So most likely the water pump is not circulating as well as your other issues. How is the balancer?
Click to expand...
Okay, just popped the seat off and inspection cover. Found out that the securing bolt for the alternator belt tensioner fell off. Guess I didn't lock it down in previous service. Yikes! I think this should explain everything... alternator wasn't charging, power steering was weak, and water pump wasn't turning.
Now I need a bit more specifics on this bolt. It's the M8 yeah? What do we think the length and thread pitch is?

IMG_5123.jpegIMG_5124.jpeg
IMG_5125.jpeg
 
Actually had the head snap off mine there, luckily there was enough thread on the backside I could vice grip it out without pulling everything apart. Wish I could remember the actual pitch, but a normal 13mm head metric bolt you can get at any hardware place works (the original head is 12mm), likely fine pitch. Anyway, I have that exact chirpy squeak still going on, seemingly only at idle. All other belts seem fine. Please post when you get the tensioner securing bolt straight, curious if you’ll still have the squeak.
 
M8 1.25 if I recall the length is 40mm
It is best to measure the underhead length so that when tight a few threads are showing out the back of the adjuster block. Use at least a grade 8.8 or 10.9
 
Upon closer inspection, the bolt head had broken off. I grabbed a 10.9 shouldered flange bolt. Absolutely cannot fathom how you got vice grip pliers on it @fiater . I blew Plan A, pulling out the bolt with a nut and Loctite red. Now I have to try extraction. Might be able to rotate it out the back with a cobalt drill bit.
 
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