Land Rover Repair: Rover 98, power steering pump, altenator

Question
I have a '98 Disco with 132,000 miles on it.  Last night after work I started my engine.  It started just fine, but started making weird noises like something might be loose under the hood.  I decided to drive it home and look at it when I got home.  On the way home, it was still making the bad noise, then all of a sudden it sounded like something came loose and the noise stopped.  At that moment, my tachometer quit working and the next turn I made it felt like the power steering went out as well.  After driving it a little this morning, the tachometer doesn't work, the power steering feels like it's not working, and the battery light is on when I drive.  Everything else seems normal when I drive.  What do you think my problem is?  I bought the disco 2 years ago used, so I don't know if any work has been done on the altenator before or not.  

Answer
Hi Justin,

sounds like a pulley somewhere along the length of your serpentine belt had bearing problems and finally seized. It could be that after the seized bearings finally burned completely out, the noise would disappear and that particular component would no longer be functioning correctly.  

It could be that the serpentine belt is now slipping along the 'path' and not enough tension is being applied to both the alternator and the power steering pump.  The first sign that your alternator is no longer charging the battery is the loss of your tachometer.  The tach is actually measuring the rotation of the alt, which is in sync with the engine.  The power steering pump would also be affected and you'll experience the default "Arm-strong" power steering.

Take a good look at your serpentine belt.  Is it intact and aligned properly on ALL your pulleys?  You could remove the belt and spin each pulley to determine which is at fault. It could also be the tension pulley.  Maybe the spring broke and the belt is no longer tight enough on the pulleys. Listen carefully for any sounds from the bearings on each of the pulleys.  They should glide smoothly and with almost no noise.  If you hear a grating sound, you'll have to remove the component and replace the pulley bearings (if possible).

Let me know the results and perhaps I can help you further.

Best of luck,

JohnMc