Mostly a tip for owners
I was actually replacing my Positive Battery cable on my
99 VX the other day.
While disconnecting it from the starter from under the car I took
a good look at my lower radiator hose.
Off to the side there is a factory metal hoop thats suppose to keep
from moving too far back.
If your metal hoop is missing or compromised, it could let the hose
creep back just enough to rub against the lower alternator pulley.
This is what happened to mine apparently. Sometime over the years
mine must of worked itself loose etc and my lower hose had almost
completely rubbed thru on the alternator pulley.
So maybe check yours soon, take your hand and try pushing it back
a little to see how far it will go and make sure its not rubbing on yours.
I may alot of road trips and glad I found this now
The pic is of mine after I installed a new hose, showing the distance now
and with the clamp on it, it really has no room to move toward the motor.