Date:         Tue, 6 Aug 2013 18:30:57 -0400
Reply-To:     "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      My writeup on removing and replacing the 2.1l Vanagon water pump
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I wrote this up for a customer last week and thought I would share it with
the list.  If you see any problems please let me know:

 Removing and replacing the 2.1l Vanagon Water Pump

Unhook the battery negative terminal (under passenger front seat).
Remove the power steering, AC belts.
Loosen the water pump/alternator belt and remove it.
Remove the alternator completely and the alternator mounting bracket.
Remove the AC compressor without taking the lines off (if you want to keep
the system charged).
You will want to drain the system of antifreeze.  If you pull the hose that
goes from the coolant tank to the black metal pipe (large) that attaches to
the water pump that will be a good start.

Remove the three bolts that hold the black metal pulley to the water pump
and remove the pulley.
Remove the two allen head bolts that attach the large black coolant pipe
(left) to the water pump.
Loosen the small coolant hose that is attached to the top of the water pump
so that it can be removed when you
remove the large black pipe (left).
Remove the hoses that are attached to this pipe and fully remove it from
the van.

Go to the right side of the big main pulley and you will see a black metal
90 degree fitting going into the block with a short coolant hose on it.
Remove the two nuts on this.
Now go to the opposite end of this pipe/hose assembly at the water pump
(small black pipe on right side of pump) and remove the two allen head
bolts on this.
It is tight on the large engine pulley but it can be done with an allen
tool (6mm I believe).

Once both ends of this pipe are loose you can shift it to the right and
away from the water pump enough to allow the water pump to clear it.

Now remove the three nuts that are holding the water pump to the engine
case.

Pull the pump straight away from the engine to remove it.

Inspect the block where the pump mounts to be sure there is no dirt or
irregularites in the the mounting surface.
Clean the surface with some scotch brite and some brake cleaner.

On the new pump you want to put some blue RTV on the new o-ring that is on
the back of the pump to be sure that it is glued into the groove and won't
fall out when you are trying to install it.  Try to put the new pump
straight into the block and then tighten the nuts in by hand until the are
finger tight.
Do the final tighten with a ratchet.
Now you can pull the pipe/hose assembly back from under the large main
pulley and reinstall it on the water pump (new seal that came with water
pump and blue rtv) and on the right side where it attaches to the block
under the alternator bracket area (you should be able to reuse the old seal
with blue rtv here).
Now you are ready to reinstall the large black pipe that attaches to the
left of the water pump.  It is a little tricky because you have to put it
up against the pump and then
also line up the small pipe that turns into a small hose and attaches to
the top of the water pump at the same time.  A small metal tab on the pipe
is held in place by the top of the two bolts that are for the water pipe.
Thread it through this tab and then the pump hole.  Run it in by hand to be
sure you aren't cross threading anything.  You may need to use an alignment
tool or phillips head screw driver to get this to line up.

Once the upper bolt is threaded and finger tight, do the lower bolt finger
tight and then tighten them both down with a ratchet.

Now you can put everything else back together the opposite way it came
apart.
Install the belts and tension them.
Attach the ground terminal on the battery and fill the coolant reservoir
with coolant.

Check for leaks.  If you find none, start the van and let it run for a few
minutes.  If the level in the expansion tank (with the pressure cap) goes
down below half while the van is still cold, you can top it off.  I fill
this tank all the way to the top and any air in the system should self
bleed over the course of the next couple of days.  Just check the level
every morning and top off as needed.

Run the van and be sure that your temp is in the middle and your radiator
fan is cycling on and off and you should be good to go.

--
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com