Td5 w/ ACE: Disturbing intermittent sounds from the fanbelt areas

agree with outback1,
this sounds like a viscous fan bearing on its way out. remove fan belt and check if there is any side movement (wobble) in the fan itself. if there is, replacement of the bearing is fairly straight forward. a replacement bearing is not that costly if you get an equivalent to the LR part (make sure its a japanese, german, etc... not chinese part) ...should be around $50 mark.
a good guide can be found at www.discovery2.co.uk

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Originally Posted by discorevy

Is the noise when stationary or driving? , auto or manual ? If you want to remove belt , undo 4 Phillips head screws from upper radiator shroud and remove , put socket and bar ( 15 mm from memory) on tensioner and turn to loosen , remove belt (there should be a diagram)
if not draw the pulley and belt diagram on a piece of paper before removal. Spin pulleys and feel for harshness,

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I am a little confused about the process of how to tighten or loosen the tensioner as I have no experience adjusting one previously.

I get the impression from reading posts that adjustment (+tension/-tension) is determined by the direction the bolt is turned, which in my admittedly little mechanical experience didn't seem likely.

Can anyone elaborate on the process please?

it is spring tensioned and not adjustable the bolt is for you to release tension so you can remove the belt from memory if you put a socket and bar on it and push towards the drivers side the tension will release

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Originally Posted by Outback 1

it is spring tensioned and not adjustable the bolt is for you to release tension so you can remove the belt from memory if you put a socket and bar on it and push towards the drivers side the tension will release

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What Outback 1 said , spanner / socket size is 15mm , turn anti clockwise when viewed from front to release tension

As had been suggested the culprit is the viscous fan bearing. I have the replacement bearing however the problem now is the local mechanic where I work in Moree doesn't have the tools and is very reluctant to try to remove it citing his complete lack of knowledge of D2s.

I need to get it back home to Tamworth (3hr drive) and I am worried after reading posts here about the bearing seizing. Anyone have any tips or suggestions about what I would be hearing/smelling/feeling when prior to imminent failure?

Currently the bearing is very noisy and sounds gravelly until the car is warmed up where it tends to quiet down a bit, but it is still audible. There are no squeals or belt slips currently nor burning smells.

Given it has been 4 months since you first heard it failing, has it made any significant change in noise to make you think it may not last another day? If you have no stop/start traffic to deal with, you may get away with removing fan to lighten load on bearing. But don't follow my advice and cook the motor..... )-: