99 E300D Serpentine belt chirps

[208benz]

I have a chirping sound coming from the right side of the engine in front. The sound goes away if I put soap on the belt, but then comes back after a while.
I noticed the water pump pulley has a very slight wobble to it. You can see the belt barely touching the forward side of the pulley at the 11 o'clock position with the engine running.
I replaced the belt with a Continental about a year ago.
The sound does not change when I increase the tension on the belt.
Can the water pump pulley cause this very annoying sound?

Mike

[engatwork]

You need to make sure everything is aligned. Misalignment can cause noises. Also, remove the belt and spin everything except the crankshaft to see if anything binds up or is harder than normal to turn.

[208benz]

I removed the viscous fan and the belt and spun everything.

The water pump does have a weird noise when I spin in the direction of normal rotation. When I spin backwards it is quiet.

Spraying lube into the bearing does not change the noise.

I tried to straighten the flange on the pump where the pulley bolts on. Using a hammer, not much room, being careful. No luck.
I need to remove the pump to do it right. Better off replacing for 100 bucks.

[engatwork]

The water pump does have a weird noise when I spin in the direction of normal rotation.

Sounds like you have found your issue.

[208benz]

Why does the noise go away when I apply soap to the belt?

If I touch the side of the belt with a bar of soap the sound is gone.