I have never seen the 3 groove pulley wear, warp, or bend. They can break.
Bad water pumps don't screech. They rumble, growl, and sometimes the seal
will chirp. Seal failure is usually caused by heat or lack of lubrication
or bad luck. Bearing failures are caused by age, heat, lubricant failure,
and improper belt tension. Too loose a belt can be as bad as or worse than
being too tight. Too loose can set up nasty belt oscillations. The belt
should be tight enough that turning the alternator pulley with a wrench
will turn the engine over through the compression strokes without
slipping. Remember that belt has to transmit up to 2 HP. Another stupid VW
design that the belt does not wrap around the crank pulley.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Geza Polony
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 1:37 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Water pump premature failure

No, it's a three-groove pulley as the van is an '84 Wolfburg Westy with AC
and PS...and it's wobbling all over the place.

Someone told me the crank could be bent but I don't see how it could hold
oil in if it were bent that bad. No leaks at the rear seal.

?