I purchased a 2002 Focus yesterday and it has a noise coming from the belt to the left of the engine (as far as I know main drive belt).

I have found the source to be a very slightly wobbly pulley.

When the car is idle you can hear it making a noise.

There is a very slight bit of movement if I try it with my hand.

I think from the diagrams I have seen it might be the water pump pulley.

It looks like a plastic pulley (though just covered I'm guessing) with bolts attaching it to the engine.

It might be a case of just tightening the bolts but I doubt it.

Please does anyone have any ideas on what I should do next?

I have attached an image with the pulley circled in yellow (please ignore the red writing).

Thanks

Replace the belt and pulley if there is play in the bearings which seams to be the case.

yes I agree with alex on this one if its the bearings a new pulley and belt would be the safest option.

whats the mileage of the car? you may be due a timing belt + water pump change

Thanks for the advise it is on 130,000 and had the cam last done at 78,000 (which I was told was early) so I think it still has some time before it should need doing again.

Do I need to just replace the pulley and not the water pump or are they together?

Can I just get a new pulley from somewhere?

If I change the pump and not the belt does it mean that I will have to get the timings sorted or is it a simple change?

I don't think the water pump is driven by the timing belt on the MK 1

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Is the pulley part of the water pump itself or a separate component I need to buy?

Maybe it's a good idea to change pulley,drive belt and water pump then you know what's what.

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doing a quick ebay search, the pulley looks to be a separate part. if the pulley is loose then you will most likely need to change the pump

Thanks,

Will try replacing the water pump first as the belt seems ok.

Going to be a silly question I'm sure but how urgent is it if it is just the pulley without any visible coolant leak?

The previous owner said they have been driving it for a year like it currently is.

I am thinking of getting it done in about a month.

The question i would ask is why is he selling it if the pulley is making noises, i would suspect he knows something he isn't telling you

Unfortunately as it is a private sale I am a bit stuck with it now :(

Any ideas on urgency as I can tell the noise is definitely coming from there as I can see the movement?

If it was me,it's piece of mind ,change all said parts,easy.

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To make things easier I have created a YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w2l0Ui0yjk

Can someone confirm that it is the water pump pulley and if the issue is what I have described?

Thanks

Is it just me or does the bigger pulley look like its wobbling something fierce?

Sent from my iPhone 5s.

To make things easier I have created a YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w2l0Ui0yjk

Can someone confirm that it is the water pump pulley and if the issue is what I have described?

Thanks

Is it just me or does the bigger pulley look like its wobbling something fierce?

Sent from my iPhone 5s.

yes it looks like the water pump pulley does have some play in it in one form or other.

I think the best bet is to change the pulley/water pump if you think it is that. also as mentioned above add a new drive belt as well so all is new in that area.