Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2011 21:37:53 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Water Pump Replacement
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Hi Paul,
I just did that job last night..
- replace water pump on a 2.1 waterboxer with AC.
I've done the job 20 times at least,
I have various trick tools, and lots of tricks. So not like I haven't done
it a lot before.
And I have done hundreds of water pump replacement jobs in my career, on
all kinds of cars.
With a doubt,
to do it 'in place' ...it is the hardest water pump job you're ever going
to do.
They did not plan much at all for it being done with engine in the van , or
crankshaft pulley on the engine.
it's doable. ...'just' doable.
Each bolt holding the metal pipe on, on the left.. - each one had been
installed gorilla tight, with bare metal-to-metal threads ..so almost rusted
in place.
and each one took about 5 seperate attempts to get it out without stripping
out the 6 pt. allen part.
And the allens on the pipe on the right ...same deal .....each one was a
separate struggle in itself..not just in access, but in danger of stripping
out the allen part of the screw. Plus thee were in hyper tight on dry
metal-to-metal threads ....just trying to rust.
Then....
the 3 nuts that secure the w. pump onto the block..
the lower left one was hidden behind oil cooler hoses, so that meant
removing oil filter and lowering the oil cooler down a bit...that was the
only part of the job that was 'just remove a fastner and a part'.
So getting that far ..took a good couple of hours..
and here's the crowning 'gotcha' of the whole job..
even after the pipe on the lower right is unbolted from the w. pump ..
and the water pump securing 3 nuts are removed
and the hose on the right end of the right side pipe is loose to the pipe
can move out of the way to get the w. pump off the 3 studs it sits on ..
The pipe is badly captured by the crankshaft pulley ..
and the water pump is captured by that pipe.
The big pulley isn't easily get removed or big bolt loosened with engine
fully installed in the van ..
you'd have to start messin' with muffler tin, lower the rear of the engine
, etc.
or a tricky tool to reach the big bolt.
Maybe even muffler off to get at that big bolt..
so ..
to do it wiithout removing the big pully ..
you can barely jam.....after about 15 tries ..the water pump past the pipe
there.
It was a solid 2 1/2 hours to get the old pump finally off the damn
engine !
had to loosen AC compressor to get that belt out of the way ..
and same for power steering ..helped to have that belt out of the way ..
but those are not hard..
and it would be 5 times easier if the w. pump was secured to the block
with bolts rather than nuts on studs.
putting the new one in, had to physcially force it past that lower right
side pipe ..
like pry with a bar.
I told the people it would take 5 hours ..
it doesn't 'look' that hard just glancing in there ..
but .....it did, it took 5 hard hours to do that job completely and
properly. More than that even.
It's so bad it's a joke.
it was never really intended to be replaced with engine completly in the van
.
it's possible, but a real struggle.
if one of those allen screws had stripped out ..
we woulda been lowering the back of the engine, removing stuff from the
engine for access..
that would have pushed it to 6 or 7 or even more, hours of not very fun
work.
and for anyone reading..
please, very few fasteners should be installed bare metal-to-metal at the
threads.
Either anti-seize compound..
or ..this works super well, I put red Permatex High tach on the bolt
threads..
it' sticks 'em there , like anti-vibation ..
and it prevents rusting of the theads...and screws and bolts used in nasty
place like cooling sysetem parts.............come out as sweetly as could be
year later.
Teflon paste from the hardware store also works very well..
same benefits, and the bolts come out years later just fine.
same for spark plugs ..
they want copper or aluminum anti-seize compound on their threads. In my
world, bone dry spark plug threads is just plain very bad workmanship.
Rare is the day that I find any sparkplugs installed with anything on the
threads, unless I did it myself.
to me, on very few threaded fasteners is the spec 'bare metal' .
With few exceptions, all threads like something on them.
varies by what it is ..
but ...for example..
engine oil,
lock- tite,
red permatex hight tach gasket sealer,
teflon paste,
copper or aluminum anti-seize etc...
that water pump job took LOTS longer than it need to, since all the
fasteners were badly overtighted, and bone dry threads.
( and I won't mention the extensive use of cheap american small # 4 hose
clamps, everywhere, like on the fuel hoses ...or the spark plug boot that
was trying to rub through an uncovereed fuel hose ..
or old fuel hose being used in part of the cooling system, which made that
hose brittle and crumbly ..causing a leak.
This is all too typical on vanagons that I see ..really careless and sloppy
work, sorry to say. )
Do the best work you can, I suggest.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Smith" <paulwithwesty@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:40 PM
Subject: Water Pump Replacement
> Hello,
>
> Over the past few months I've noticed that my coolant level has started
> dropping, when previously it barely ever did. Finally tracked the leak
> down
> because it got worse. Its dripping out of the little drain/weep hole on
> the
> water pump, so a water pump replacement is in order. I determined that the
> leak was from the weep hole by placing a little cloth wrapped to the end
> of
> a dowel and running the engine while I pressed the cloth/dowel up against
> the pump hole. The dripping stopped and the cloth got soaked with coolant.
> The PO replaced the engine with a rebuilt (from Boston Engine) about
> 52,000
> miles ago, so I imagine the water pump was new then. The hoses, pipes, and
> clamps look to be in good condition also, so likely all were replaced then
> as well.
> I'm looking for any advice, things to watch for, ways to manage the tight
> confines, etc. I've done some work on my Westy (89 2wd, with AC) and I
> have
> a "normal" set of tools. I replaced the water pump belt about 3,000 miles
> ago (and once before that), try to carefully set tension to spec so as not
> to over-stress the water or power steering pump bearings. Things do look
> tight in there, hopefully I can swing the AC compressor up a little bit
> once
> the belts are off. Any tips or advice would be welcome. On the other hand,
> if you think its better handled by a qualified and equipped mechanic, then
> let me know that also.
>
> Cheers - Paul
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