What system do you have specifically?

Nos681 wrote:

Have you tried a slightly longer belt?
The requirement of removing the alternator pulley is why I mention it.

When I swapped the 3G alternator into the Foxbody serpentine drive, pulley was slightly larger than the 2G alternator pulley. The existing belt was difficult to install. If I remember correctly, the tensioner was at the tight end of the range for the belt…I think. Any who, I believe the belt under load applied excessive force on my p/s pump and it failed.

The Wrapalator appears to place constant downward pressure on the water pump. Under load applies more force than the small water pump bearing and housing can handle. Especially with the short span and the 2 fixed pulleys.

The ribbed side of serpentine belts do not slip like the backside in the factory drive.

I would tend to agree that the belt maybe too tight; that it places too much load on the pump bearing and that leads to seal and bearing failure.  Consider a longer belt that Nos681 suggested and I’ll add check the tension applied from the belt tensioner. 

 

I am wondering if it might be a belt alignment issue. Any way to get a straight edge across the pullies?

Failing that I have one of these Gates laser alignment tools if you want to borrow it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7oce8U81K4

On the third water pump, I used a straightedge and very carefully shimmed everything so all pulleys were in perfect alignment. There are only NINE pulleys.

One thing I have figured out is that the bosses on all four water pumps are different heights from different manufacturers. So, shimming to fit one pump won’t necessarily fit the next pump. All the shims that were on the Tough Stuff pump went in the trash when I changed back to a CVF pump. And the Ford Racing pump was different than both of those. I have a shim between the water pump and its pulley to get it to align with the crank pulley. There is very little clearance between the eater pump pulley and crank pulley.
After typing that, I need to check to be sure the unseen rear flange of those two pulleys are not touching each other. The front of those pulleys rubbed together with the Tough Stuff pump installed. I used a grinder with a flapper wheel to remove the front flange from the crank pulley because it was rubbing the water pump pulley.
I did check the front flange clearance when installing pump #4, and there was about 1/16”

Bottom line:  The CVF Wraptor system is a cluster of errors. I am very sorry that I bought it.

Rufus68 wrote:

Sounds like you need a cast iron body pump.  I'm guessing all 4 pumps were aluminum?

Get a real man's pump!  (trying to sound dramatic)

They do not make the short nose water pump in anything other than aluminum. This is not a pump that ever came in any car.

Rufus68 wrote:

Sounds like you need a cast iron body pump.  I'm guessing all 4 pumps were aluminum?

Get a real man's pump!  (trying to sound dramatic)

Yeah, trash the electric fans and serpentine and go back to stock style v-belt, pullies and fan. 
 

Steve, how'd Jose's e-fan workout? Did it do what he needed?

Another option over v-belts is to go to the Fox serpentine system.  The parts are easy to find on eBay used if you don't want to take a chance with the reproductions which are also available.  

Yep
Bad decision. But, trying to make it work. Hate to admit it, but the electric fan works well. I took two days to shrink tube all the wiring and route it like factory where it does not show. I have always said it is not the thought of an electric fan, but the quality of the installation that was typically the problem.  Most I see are haphazardly attached with wires cobbled together and lots of bright colored wires bundled together hanging everywhere.
The engine has a 195 degree thermostat. I set the controller to come on at 195.  I drove around yesterday for 15 miles with the AC on, squealing belt all the time, and the temp never went over 195.
I went to the car wash and cleaned the belt thoroughly with the engine running so I could wash and rinse both sides of the belt with the engine running.  The squealing stops as soon as  any water contacts tge belt, then returns  as soon as it dries out.  Now it is mostly silent at idle but the noise returns with more rpm.   Next I am going to replace the belt with a new one. Only problem is, with the electric fans in place, you cannot access the 1/2” drive hole in the tensioner to release the belt.  I welded up a long handled tool that fits around the entire movable part of the tensioner to be able to actuate it.

The comments about the belt pushing down on the water pump just don’t hold water. Any water pump that is belt driven has a tight belt pulling on it from one direction or another.  A v-belt is typically tightened with more tension on it than a serpentine spring-loaded belt.
I believe that removing the mechanical fan will help.  They did not provide a properly centered adapter to mount it, even though they did sell me the adapter. I think the fan could be off-center by 0.015” and the imbalance did the deed on the pump. Time will tell if my theory holds up on that.

I think I found the source of the noise. Two of the idler pulleys have issues. One feels like the bearing is dry. It most likely is what I am hearing.  Another idler is slipping where the bearings are pressed into it. It has slid 1/8” on the shaft, causing the belt to overlap the outer edge about 1/32”.
I sent pics and a description to CVF today. They have always responded and have sent two power steering pumps, a second water pump and a new alternator after each item failed.  That alone does not represent a good record for the parts they supplied, but they do try to make good on stuff. I requested they replace all three idlers. These two failed ones only went 4,500 miles, and I think the dry one was making the noise I was hearing after the first thousand miles. I just noticed one of the clips that holds the p/s tank to the pump had come loose so now I have to pull the alternator AGAIN to be able to get to the clip.

Can you say. POOR QUALITY???  I can’t believe I am stuck with this thing. Replacing it will require completely redoing the AC system plumbing.

MS wrote:

I think I found the source of the noise. Two of the idler pulleys have issues. One feels like the bearing is dry. It most likely is what I am hearing. Another idler is slipping where the bearings are pressed into it. It has slid 1/8” on the shaft, causing the belt to overlap the outer edge about 1/32”.
I sent pics and a description to CVF today. They have always responded and have sent two power steering pumps, a second water pump and a new alternator after each item failed. That alone does not represent a good record for the parts they supplied, but they do try to make good on stuff. I requested they replace all three idlers. These two failed ones only went 4,500 miles, and I think the dry one was making the noise I was hearing after the first thousand miles. I just noticed one of the clips that holds the p/s tank to the pump had come loose so now I have to pull the alternator AGAIN to be able to get to the clip.

Can you say. POOR QUALITY??? I can’t believe I am stuck with this thing. Replacing it will require completely redoing the AC system plumbing.

Just a thought, with that many CVF system component failures, you might want to try Facebook to see if there is a CVF page that others may have identified similar issues you're experiencing. 
Again, just a thought.

 

How much shorter is a short water pump vs. a standard one?  I'm wondering if you could just run a standard pump and make a pulley that had the belt surface located in the appropriate location.  You could also change the pulley diameter if that was viewed as advantageous, though it would change the speed at which the pump turned.