Help with belt wheel

Greetings,

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to find the source of a rattling noise and found it last night. It's pretty loud, but only happens sometimes. There is a wheel on the belt that attaches to the water pump. The wheel itself is secure, but there is a plate on the outside of it that seems a bit loose. If I touch it when the car engine is off I can move it perhaps a milimetre. Can anyone let me know if this is something that needs to be looked at immediately or explain a bit about what the plate is for? I'm hoping it's just a loose screw or something. Money is tight right now, so I would like to put it off for a bit if it's not serious. I don't want to cause any damage though, which is why I am posting this here. Any info would be appreciated.

Fire

EDIT: Forgot to mention, 2001 GA SE1

You mean the plastic piece with the belt diagram?

if thats what you are refering to thiers a bolt holding it on, 8 or 10mm.

No wasn't plastic. It was a metal plate attached to a metal wheel on the serpentine belt area, attached to the water pump. The metal plate is loose sometimes causing a clanking noise as it spins.

Maybe I should take it in and have someone look at it, was hoping to get a better understanding of what I was looking at before I did. I have no idea what I'm doing under the hood, but I could take it to a friend if it might just be a loose bolt.

I have a pretty good understanding of how cars work for someone who isn't a mechanic, so usually I know at least if a problem is serious or not and roughly how much it would cost to fix. In this case though, I have no idea at all what that plate is for, or what would happen if it came off. My best guess is that there might be a clutch of some kind in the wheel that can engage/disengage the pump and this plate could be protecting it. That's really the kind of info I am looking for if anyone would be able to explain a bit.

Fire

this SE, is it a V6 or 4cylinder?

that helps to be specific on what it could be.

Heres two pics of a V6's belt area.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/SeCond%20Hand/WPPS.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/SeCond%20Hand/altbtensionr.jpg

Any thing just rattling around couldnt be good :nono:

It's an SE1

You wouldn't believe how much searching I did for pictures like that last night, haha.

The wheel in question is in the top picture on the bottom right

Fire

the top pully on hte right is the waterpump.

Under thats the AC compressor clutch pully.

Oh I was sure that was the waterpump. The waterpump died recently and it was pointed out to me. (It was dumping coolant) I must have been looking at the wrong spot. So if that's that AC clutch pulley, then if it broke I would have no AC, right?

My AC doesn't blow cold air anyway, so I never use it. So it sounds like I'm not looking at anything too serious, I can get someone to bandaid it and be back on track.

I added some text diagrams on those pics for clarification.

this should help identify everthing :)

BTW- SE's can hav the 2.4 4cyl , or the 3.4 v6.

Thanks for the info, that helps out a lot.

Mine is the V6 engine.