Land Rover Repair: 93 Defender fan belt tension & water pump failure?, belt tension, fan belt

Question
I have a 1993 LR Defender 90 TDI 2.5 Diesel and am not very mechanical but am keej to learn.
Is there an easy way to adjust the fan belt tension? Also I have a rattle/pinging noise which I think is the water pump. If I increase the tension do you think the water pump noise may correct itself?
Thank you for any help.
Peter Sunderland

Answer
Hi Peter,

sounds like the water pump you mention may be the cause of your problems with the belt.  If the bearings are gone on the pulley to the water pump, you would hear those noises and even have a loose belt.

Remove the belt completely and then spin each of the pulley to determine which one is not moving without a grinding noise OR if the water pump is actually making the noise.  

Repair the component and then replace the belt.  

I don't have much on your '93 Defender but if you go to www.discoweb.org you may find more info from actual owners.

Best of luck,

JohnMc