Hello, I'm having an issue with grinding/metallic noise from engine bay. Alternator was replaced today and didn't fix. However, when I got the car back from the garage the oil level indicator is saying quot;inactivequot;. I seem to find some answers on the web that say the oil level indicator is in some way connected to the water pump. Car has 95k miles on and I doubt it had been changed. Could this be the cause of the noise? And could anyone possibly tell me which pulley it is on the belt? Many thanks for your time :)
Alternator replaced? Will you be getting credit back for that? Anyway, at 95k it's almost about time to do a full preventive maintenance thing. That includes the water pump, belts, radiator hoses, I would do the tensioner and idle pulley too since one is there already. Would replace the radiator expansion tank too. Change the spark plug and valve cover gasket too while you are at it. The spark plug can be done separately, but it's time to replace them.
E92 has should be an electric water pump if it's a 6 cylinder. The oil level will read inactive until the engine is up to operating temp. As for the grinding noise- they need to remove the belt and start the car. If the noise is gone- spin the idler pulley and listen for bearing noise. I've had a couple of alternators go bad on these cars so I can't fully fault the shop- but they SHOULD have verified the source of the noise as well as the repair. Other potential issues would be the P/S pump or the A/C compressor. (only items on the belt).
