I have 85K on a 2008 IS 250, and the engine's top is making a grounding noise. such as a chain/valve or perhaps a poolie. Car has been flawless up until this point after a recent oil change. Does the IS engine typically make this noise?

 

It seems that it could be the the so called "Valley Pulley" issue and I have either bad water pump pulley or the water pump itself or both. It is not a squeaky belt issue and the grounding noise seems to be around the water pump. What's the best place to get those parts from?

 

Use either a stethoscope, long screwdriver, or a piece of wood dowel and place it safely on the suspect area, then place your ear on the end and listening.

Warning - engines make a lot of noise. There are a lot of moving parts. Isolate your new noise and tell us where it is.

Rockauto.com is a good source

 

In the vein of "the simplest explanation is often right", a grinding noise in the area of the water pump is pretty likely to be a bad water pump, especially if yours has never been changed. That's what mine did when it failed.

 

Thanks for the feedback 2013FSport & Bichon. I uploaded a video of the noise but can't really confirm the source. Will check Rockauto (thx) but wonder if my diagnosis is correct. Hopefully someone with experience might be able to confirm the likeliness of the water pump being the culprit from the video.https://streamable.com/fsbmas

 

I'm considering replacing the water pump, gasket, and belt if the problem is in fact with the valley pulley / water pump. Few brands that I'm not familiar with are offered in the Rockauto catalog, and prices range from $40 to $99. The OEM sells for $150 on fleabay with gasket and oring. I'm not sure which water pump, gasket, or belt on rockauto is the best option for the value (or which brand to avoid). The list of products offered by Rockauto is shown in the screenshots that are attached. What would the ideal parts combinations from Rockauto versus OEM be?