Date:         Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:37:28 -0700
Reply-To:     Roland <syncronicity1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roland <syncronicity1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Yeah! It's a water pump weekend! (questions of course)
In-Reply-To:  <00d301ca0288$8307e160$6401a8c0@PROSPERITY>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi Scott and all,

Well, I got it done, yeah!  It was a major job for me, since I don't do that
level of repair so frequently, but one goal was to learn more, and learn
about our babies by doing, not just reading.  Thanks Scott for all the
support and thanks to the archive writers.  But refilled coolant, bleed,
test drive was nice, etc.  Did an oil change also while I was gettin'
dirty.  Alles Klar, no leaks, no detectable problems.

If there were things I could add or lessons learned for the next guy:
- I did remove the AC compressor, but not the mounting bracket.  Removing
the compressor is required, not enough access without that.
- I didn't remove the distributor, since during inspection it seemed like I
could get at everything without removing it, but figured I could pull it if
needed.
- The lower crossover pipe, that was tough.  I finally got it apart that the
hose section that joins the two metal pipes by pulling left.  Then jiggled
it somehow to the right until it was out of the way of the water pump so I
could pull the WP straight out.  No way to do this with the pipe in the way.
- started with the belts too loose.  The WP/Alt belt squealed, had to
tighten it and the squeal went away.

I had to do it myself.  Made a deal with my wife that I could bring her car
and my son's car into the shop to let them do the brakes (doing more brake
jobs left me cold), but in exchange I'd have to save the $ and do this water
pump myself.

last lesson learned.  It has been sitting for 3-4 weeks while I
contemplated, and tried to get up the energy and time to do the water pump.
So during that time the engine cover was off, I thought this was good, get
some flow through ventilation while it sits in the sun.  The mice thought
that was cool also!  Oh well, I never really liked that old sweater under
the bench seat.

Roland


On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 5:34 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

>  hi Roland,
> thanks for the note back.
> YES on some sealant on the rubber o-rings in the cooling system.
> I would not dream of putting one in dry. They can not seal eventually if
> installed dry.
>
> use a really good silicone.
> the best black stuff.
> I've slowly found out that silicones like 'ultra gray' are not the very
> best at sealing liquids.
> I never use the blue stuff.
> the highest quality black silicone you can find.
> I haven't ever tried 'the right stuff' ......but I'm sure that's good
> stuff.    Designed as a sealer where there is no oil pan at all, I believe.
> I'm sure it's quite good.
> but ......'some sealant' for sure.
>
> on belt tension.......yes, there is a rule of thumb.
> on the w.pump/ alternator ............'medium finger pressure' should allow
> say, a half inch of belt deflection.
> the idea is .........too tight, you shorten the water pump life.
> too loose, it can slip, glaz the belt, squeal etc.
> PS belt you make a bit tighter.
> AC belt ......same as alternator ........'pretty good tension' but not
> tighter than hell.
>
> yes........forget when I started doing that large screw driver trick on w.
> pump pulleys .....
> but it is obvious after you think of it, or learn of it.
>
> scott
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>  *From:* Roland <syncronicity1@gmail.com>
> *To:* Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
> *Sent:* Saturday, July 11, 2009 10:16 AM
> *Subject:* Re: Yeah! It's a water pump weekend! (questions of course)
>
> Hi Scott,
>
> Thanks a bunch for the answers.  A couple of follow ups:
>
> - I saw the 13mm socket/swivel integrated as one when I got to sears,
> looked like a good option. I got the general 3/8" drive universal, can use
> it for others, did a test fit last night, should work.
>
> - re:  pulley bolt removal:  your suggestion is excellent.  I wanted to say
> "so obvious", but I didn't see it at the time.  Sounds like the perfect
> method.
>
> - re:  hose/pipe to the right side:  I only loosened one of the clamps,
> guess you are right, I'll loosen them both, try some lube, etc.
>
> So, I have additional questions (although I am going outside to work on it
> now):
> - I read somewhere, perhaps just in some email about using some sealer on
> the o rings, maybe it was some silicone sealer in addition to the o-rings to
> provide extra protection.  Anybody remember that at all, or am I maybe
> thinking of something else.
>
> - belt tightness:  anybody have suggestion to measure the tightness of the
> 3 belts?  I don't have any type of gauge, is there some "rule of thumb
> method"?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Roland
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 6:27 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
> scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> re
>> a 3/8" drive universal / swivel
>>
>> that'll likely get the job done, but the real nice tool to have is a short
>> 13mm universal drive socket ....
>> the swivel and socket in one piece. I got one from Snap-On Tools years ago
>> ............very spending but worth it in the long one, plus it's guaranteed
>> forever.
>>
>> re
>> Removing the pulley from the water pump.  Didn't have really big
>>
>>> adjustable plier/grip, and tried with the belt on, and some other stuff -
>>> nada.  I ended up using some really narrow vice grip pliers and wedged
>>> them
>>> in between the pulley mount and the water pump body and that stopped it
>>> from
>>> turning so I could get the pulley bolts out.
>>>
>>
>> To hold the water pump pulley from turning .......all you do is put a
>> socket ( on a ratchet ) on one bolt...............
>> then put a large screw driver against the side of the socket , with the
>> tip on one of the other bolt heads. This holds it perfectly from turning
>> while you loosen the first nut ............I hope I don't need to say,
>> loosen all 3 first..........don't remove any until  all 3 are loosened.
>> A square shaft large screwdriver is perfect for this.  A round shaft one
>> will work, but a square shaft large screw driver is what you really want.
>> Cheap ones are like   $ 3.50 at China Freight and Salvage.
>>
>> re,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
>> the hose / pipe going to the right head, I got it loosened, I just can't
>>
>>> turn it out of the way.  Ben's place says to swivel it out of the way,
>>> can't
>>> accomplish that yet, since it is so cramped under the damper pully I just
>>> can't figure a way to twist (turn) it yet since it is stuck to the little
>>> coupler hose on the other end.
>>>
>>
>> Did you loosen the hose clamps in the short hose ? ? .........it's
>> neccessary to do this step.  On some there is a bump on the right side metal
>> pipe.....to keep the hose from sliding up the pipe.  Ddon't run afoul of
>> that pump. It's hard to see as well. Not a problem though, unless you are
>> trying to slide the hose up the pipe to the right. Lube the heck out of all
>> rubber and everything with WD-40.  On metal, I use penetrating oil, so no
>> penetrating oil on rubber..........wd-40 on rubber.
>> Makes it way easier to work on.
>>
>>
>> scott
>> www.turbovans.com
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roland" <syncronicity1@GMAIL.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 4:12 PM
>> Subject: Yeah! It's a water pump weekend! (questions of course)
>>
>>
>>
>> Hello folks,
>>>
>>> The subject line sounds too much like Chevy Chase's summer vacation, but
>>> I've been procrastinating too long.  It is going well, thanks to:
>>> http://www.benplace.com/water_pump.htm, and
>>> http://volksweb.relitech.com/19wpump.htm, some archive stuff and a
>>> couple of
>>> thesamba threads.
>>>
>>> Got it all undone, except the 2 bottom nuts on the water pump itself.
>>>  Got
>>> the top nut off with my usual 13mm socket, but it won't fit on the lower
>>> left nut because there isn't enough clearance next to the WP housing.
>>>  And I
>>> can't get it on the bottom right nut, using various extensions, because
>>> the
>>> damper pulley is in the way.  So I am heading to sears, and then harbor
>>> freight if needed, to buy:
>>> - a thin walled 13 mm socket
>>> - a 3/8" drive universal / swivel (to get the lower right nut).
>>> Does this sound to anyone like it might do the job to get those last 2
>>> off?
>>>
>>> Lessons learned along the way:
>>> - Removing the pulley from the water pump.  Didn't have really big
>>> adjustable plier/grip, and tried with the belt on, and some other stuff -
>>> nada.  I ended up using some really narrow vice grip pliers and wedged
>>> them
>>> in between the pulley mount and the water pump body and that stopped it
>>> from
>>> turning so I could get the pulley bolts out.
>>> - didn't see it in the various instructions, but the little hose that
>>> comes
>>> out the top of the water pump and goes to the oil cooler.  I had to
>>> remove
>>> it from the oil cooler else impossible to access the lower left water
>>> pump
>>> mounting bolt.
>>> - the wire to the oil pressure sensor (I think that's what it is) was
>>> laying
>>> directly on the bottom right WP mounting bolt, preventing any socket from
>>> getting on the nut, had to remove that wire.
>>> - the hose / pipe going to the right head, I got it loosened, I just
>>> can't
>>> turn it out of the way.  Ben's place says to swivel it out of the way,
>>> can't
>>> accomplish that yet, since it is so cramped under the damper pully I just
>>> can't figure a way to twist (turn) it yet since it is stuck to the little
>>> coupler hose on the other end.
>>>
>>> So far, so good, pleased so far, just gotta get those 2 nuts off of the
>>> water pump itself and it should come free.
>>>
>>> Please any and all comments / suggestions welcome!
>>>
>>> Roland
>>>
>>
>>
>