'86 fiero

[Gen.Grant]

How do i get the pulley off of my old water pump?

[MaximumCobb]

Have you tried beating on it? I'm not sure if is any quite particular "way" to take it off other than beating the living crap out of it. I dont know, maybe theres a clip or something holding it in place, otherwise best guess would be it's just rusted on there somethin awful.

[Ragtop_Renegade]

Use sharp, glancing blows from a dead blow hammer, or hard rubber mallet. Hitting in several places while rotating the pulley about 1/4 turn is most effective. Do not use metal hammers as there is a good risk of dinging or bending pulleys that way. Thrown belts, squeals, or prematurely worn out belts usually result.

You can try gently prying by placing a pry bar behind the pulley and bracing it on a solid section of engine block or cylinder head. The timing cover is easily bent, so don't anchor on it! Gentle is the key here since too much will also bend the pulley. If it's not effective with a light touch, don't push it. You may find a light pry and a hammer blow at the same time is really effective.

If soft, gentle force isn't enough, don't immediately assume the cave-man logic of "ug ug hit harder! bigger club!!" is going to help. In fact, it'll only make things worse for you in the long run. The final option is getting a puller. Most auto parts stores have rentals, or even better, loaners; where you pay for the tool but get a full refund when you return it. (clean and not broken of course) Draw a picture of your pulley, and label it with the correct measurements, both diameter and width plus number of sheaves (or note serpentine style, on the 88 models). Make sure to note any threaded holes that may be on the face. Some pullers use those holes as a mounting point. Take your drawing to the parts store and show it to the sales people to help you select the correct style puller.

Heat can be helpful, but I'll assume you don't have an oxy/acetylene or oxy/mapp rig, or you would have tried this already. Besides, a drawback to using heat in this application is there are plenty of wires, belts and hoses in the area to set aflame!!

That's the gist of it. Best of luck!

Added information: This is pretty obvious, but I'll mention it just to be safe. There are several (3 or 4 generally) small bolts holding the pulley on. Those need to come off.