I was wrong the whole time....it was the water pump. 86 MGM

[Lothae]

Well if you have read my story by now you will realize that I changed out the thermostat on my car, and it was a pain in the neck because I didn't want to remove the waterpump (ie the job should have taken 15 mins but one bolt made it take and hour.)


Well I bought a rebuilt water pump from Napa and I was going to install it. Well I checked out everything and realized I had a ton of crap to do. The problem is I am stuck right now.


I have removed the cowl, the fan blade, and a ton of bolts. In the end I am not sure what to do about the serp belt attached to the A/C unit. It is not directly attached to the water pump, but it blocks a bolt coming out. The question I have is how I get this belt off without cutting it. I cannot find anything that would loosen it (like the alternator bolt.) So, even if I cut it how do I put a new one on?


Plz help, thx in advance.

[fredjacksonsan]

On the idler arm (the wheel with nothing attached to it) there is a slot on the back side that you can get either a 1/4" or 1/2" (forget the size) socket DRIVER into. It's pretty hard to find. Once you have it in the square hole, you can turn it (look first to get direction) to release the tension on the belt. Helps to have someone take the belt off while you're holding it.

Before taking it off check to see if there's a routing diagram for the belt under the hood, if not draw yourself one to be sure.

After new H2O pump is on, installation of the belt is reverse, put the belt almost all the way on using diagram, use the driver again, and put tension on the idler arm. Pull the belt into place, making sure that the belt is on all the pulleys correctly (all grooves matching)

This is likely a good time to replace the belt also, so if it show signs of wear (cracks in grooves or missing portions of grooves) get a new one.

Hope this helps out.

[Lothae]

Alright, will try. Not sure if I have those size socket drivers, but I should. Auto places should have them where I could buy though.

I think I know which one you are talking about. It looks like a pulley that does nothing but be a belt tensioner right? Hopefully this will work.

I'll write back once I get time to check it out.

[fredjacksonsan]

Exactly -- it's the freewheel, the one not attached to any accessories. And I'm thinking it's a 1/2" driver. Some auto parts chains will let you borrow a tool for a day or two.

[6502dude]

I use a 24" breaker bar from 1/2" socket set to lossen the tensioner.

The end fits quite nicely and gives enough leverage.

[Lothae]

Awesome, I think I have a 1/2 in. Does anyone have any tips on how to get it in there and crank away?

A breaker bar is like a normal ratchet handle but with a rotatable head right? So I could angle it out easier?



Also, when I get the belt off there is one bolt on the plate of the belt tensioner that is very hard to get off. It is stuck behind another pulley and is too long to pull out. Do I have to take off the other pulley head (I am assuming taking off the four bolts on it will remove it.) Or will taking off the belt relieve enough tension for me to pull it enough to remove it from the water pump?

[fredjacksonsan]

You shouldn't have to take the pulley off at all. There is a square hole on the backside into which you can put the 1/2" driver. Apply torque(caveat: there may be a nut to loosen first). which should give you enough slack to slide the belt off of the tensioner pulley. GRADUALLY release torque. Don't unscrew the pulley wheel, when it falls off it'll release suddenly and break something.

[Lothae]

Yeah, I wont take off that one, but I am talking about a diff pulley. The whole plate that the belt tensioner is mounted on is mounted to the water pump and also to a location further down.

The problem is that the location further down has a bolt that is partially blocked by a different pulley head than the tensioner one. It can only be unscrewed half way out. The problem is I don't think I can remove the plate that holds the tensioner to the water pump because of that bolt. I will try to take a picture soon, but its raining and dark out so im not sure.

[Lothae]

YES!


A friend came by with a wrench that angled a bit and we were able to take off the belt and then the one bolt I couldn't get out stayed in but I was able to pull it out enough to get the plate off the water pump.


We did this in the freezing rain so when I get a day when its not raining, I will hopefully finish this project.

[fredjacksonsan]

Right on.

[Lothae]

Awesome, in the hail/rain/snow today me and a friend finally pieced everything back together, tonight I am going to buy some coolant seeing as how I flushed mine, so I will report back in on the status.


Thx everyone for the help especially FredJacksonsan

[fredjacksonsan]

Glad it worked out for you. You in upstate NY then?

Sounds like the weather I did my first engine swap in.

[Lothae]

Yeah I attend college in upstate NY.



It is 3 hours later and I am still freezing....


Too cold to go buy coolant now so I will have to see about that tmrw.

[fredjacksonsan]

Brr. Yeah, it's a little late now, but you could always put straight water in it (if above freezing) then drain out the radiator to put in the coolant....checking the cooling system capacity first to make sure you've got the freeze protection you need.....

[fredjacksonsan]

Actually, in upstate NY in the winter, it's probably a bad idea to put in straight water.