just noticed...

[r34 gtr]

my idler pulley for my power steering pump seems fairly stiff, the pump itself is smooth, but that pulley doesnt spin when you turn it, you have to grab it to turn it, unlike th others. should this be like that or could it be something that is causing me problems? (im severely stumped as to whats wrong with my engine..)

[themadscientist]

there might be a bad bearing in it, it should turn with a little resistance but not the kind you are describing.

[r34 gtr]

do you think this could have anything to do with my water pump problem? im still confused on that.. nothing in the cooling system (flushed it a good 5 times), pulleys werent misaligned to my knowlege..luckily nissan warrantied their pump and are paying for all the damage.

[themadscientist]

yeah wasn't your car the one that spit up an Autozone water pump? The CA18 waterpump shares a belt with the alternator so the Power steering pump has no effect on it.I just reread the question, I skimmed it before and thought you meant the pulley on the PS pump. The idler should spin freely if you have to apply force at all it's junk replace it.

[r34 gtr]

upon closer inspection i found that that idler pulley in no longer in use because it was from the ac, which i no longer have. so it could have nothing to do with my problems. and yes, my car is the one that spit up the autozone pump, and 2 dealer pumps since then. i have a new one in hand that im about to put on. i also have new pulleys, so ill see if that makes a difference. the only one i couldnt get was the crank pulley, which now has a chunk out of it. will the chunk out of the pulley mis balance it and ruin my crank bearings over time? it inst really big, but at the same time, it isnt exactly "little".. this car is gonna be the end of me.. im really confused as to what the problem is.

[themadscientist]

I wouldn't worry about the chip in the pulley, I always do that pulling it off so every car I have is jacked up. Just make sure file off any sharp edges so it doesn't damage your belts.Your car has destroyed three water pumps! Obviously something is wrong, is your fan screwed up? If it was out of balance real bad it would wear out a pump. Is it possible you cooling system is backed up with crud, that could destroy a pump too. This is bizarre, I hope you figure it out without killing another pump.

[r34 gtr]

yeah, me too, i flushed the water system about 5 times consecutively on a few different occasions, so its not that. the fan isnt out of balance, i checked that. i have no clue what it is. if it eats another pump im leaving it in the hands of the dealer so they can charge me a fortune and yell at me for having a ca18 in my 240. i have covered all the bases, and i have no clue what could be the problem. my dad took it apart, and he said the pulleys were aligned correctly, etc. also, there were no marks on the blades of the pump, so nothing got to it internally..