Hi all,

My water pump busted on my 96 passport. It is a 4x4 manual with 142k miles.

I am going to go ahead and change the timing belt while I replace the water pump. I have the Haynes manual. This will be my first TB job. Could you please point me to threads with pics and steps. Also could you explain any tricks or quirts specific to the 96 passport. Thanks

I did my '97 Rodeo a couple of years ago. It was my first attempt at a timing belt replacement. I did my Jetta shortly afterward. Both the VW Jetta and the Rodeo have run well since I did them. I only had the Haynes for both of them. The toughest part of the job is getting the crank bolt off. You need one of the following 3 setups:
1) impact wrench on the crank bolt
2) wrenches and breaker bars on the pulley and the crank bolt and brute force or
3) breaker bar on the crank bolt and the bar resting on the driver's side of the frame and bump the starter (make sure you don't start the engine!).
I used #2 with the help of my daughter. On my Jetta I used #3 and it was very quick and easy!
Be sure to keep track of which timing belt cover bolts goes where - they are different. Set the engine to TDC and use the mark and match method (mark the belt and each pulley. Then take the belt off and mark the new belt the same way. Then put the new belt on lining up the marks with the marks you made on the pulley.) This really isn't a bad job, just time consuming. Are you changing the seals, too?

Hi Thanks for the info.

I might as well change the seals while Im there. Is this allot more work? Which seals should I replace? Are there any other things that should be done while I am doing the TB and water pump replacement? Thanks

Are there any other things that should be done while I am doing the TB and water pump replacement? Thanks

YES - be sure to do the timing belt TENSIONER or you'll be finding yourself tearing it open again - this is the weakest part of the timing belt system.

Replace all your coolant hoses while you have the radiator drained, not just the upper and lower, but ALL of the ones that you can readily access; i.e 2 heater core hoses at the firewall passanger side, if these are original, they're probably for sure on their way out. There's also 2 smaller hoses at the front of the engine, and the two throttle body coolant hoses on top of the engine, drivers side.

And, take a good look at your radiator, if it's original, it too could be past it's prime time.

My '97 Rodeo has 167k miles, but last year, at 152k almost everything that I'm listing for you went south on me, with the exception the radiator was still fairly decent, BUT they typically only last 10yrs and many times you're not aware of it's inability to cool until the engine overheats - don't want to do that, preferably, due to being all aluminum.

Sounds like a lot, but if you're planning to keep to it's death, it's worth it; otherwise, if you're only looking to keep it for another year or two, I'd just do what you have to.

at the same time you should do
water pump
timing belt
**timing belt tensioner** it's the thing that goes the most and creates a loud rod-throwing-type-noise
also check the timing belt pulley. replace only if it show signs of problems, like roughness like the bearing is going
aux drive belts(alt,pwrsteering,a/c) or serpentine

i strongly suggest dealer oem parts. local dealer or stcharlesisuzu 15% discount, free shippping, no tax ask for and wait for Merlin
http://isuzu.stcharlesauto.com/Department-Parts.aspx

for a very good writeup especially since there are no diagram or pix, there's this from JLEMOND exisuzutechandisuzutechtrainer who is highly thought of (and if you PM him might also have the oem parts to sell
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=itog&msg=3502.1&;
it's post #10 iirc.

you might also want to consider the factory service manuals
www.helminc.com (http://www.helminc.com)
or www.alldata.com (http://www.alldata.com)

good luck

//bc

at the same time you should do
water pump

//bc

Ya think! Hate to point out the obvious, but this was the reason behind the thread. :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :lol2: .

Ya think! Hate to point out the obvious, but this was the reason behind the thread. :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :lol2: .

maybe you should have
obviously it was a list of all the things to do at the same time.

Ya think! Hate to point out the obvious, but this was the reason behind the thread. :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :lol2: .

:lol: