I have a 2002 Kia Sportage. I put off changing the timing belt, perhaps longer than I should have, but it never broke or anything. Followed the instructions for changing the timing belt out that I obtained both from this forum (thanks!) and also the information obtained from kiatechinfo.com. I changed out the timing belt, with new tensioner and idler pulleys and a new tensioner spring. I also installed a new water pump (not remanufactured) When I was putting it all back together, I also replaced all the other belts. When it ran at low, startup temperatures, it was silent and sounded great. However, when it got up to operating temperature, it began to whine loudly. Although it was noisier than it ever had been, the whine (at times it almost sounds like a dry bearing) gets most intense at about 1500 rpm, gradually gets bad at 1750, and then almost goes away completely above 2000 rpm. It appears to be coming from the right side of the engine, somewhere between the timing belt cover and the alternator. Well, I read some stories about the parts people sending the wrong water pump, and I didn't bother to count the teeth on the water pump gear when I replaced it, so I tore the whole thing down again. I checked the water pump, and it seems fine; the water pump was the correct one, and it spins freely with no play in the shaft, just like the new one that it is. The new idler pulley behaves identically to the old one. The tensioner pulley was not rough but very tight. When I spun the old one, it would freewheel for 10 seconds. When I spun the new one it came immediately to a halt. So I put the old tensioner pulley back into place and shelved the new one. I did this because I could not find any other reason for the noise. I quaduple checked everything -- pulleys, water pump, belt, belt tension, timing marks, everything appeared to be better than perfect. I put the thing back together, and took it for a drive -- it still does exactly the same thing. Exactly as I described above. I essentially made no improvement whatsoever. I checked all the belt tensions and everything. My only other thought, which is nothing but speculation, is maybe with a new belt and readjusted tension, maybe the alternator bearing is whining at me. Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I'm at a loss.
