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Date:         Fri, 19 Feb 2016 14:06:00 -0500
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Friday water pump fun!
Comments: To: Neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CAB2RwfjwSeZsS6N4-rGGHdJ2YbaHPr8gp2-kfekNxkasM1EQYw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Some thoughts: Did that NAPA pump have a full impeller like the original or was it just a stamped steel piece? I've had problems with those pumps not having adequate flow at low speeds. Do you think the wear in the housing was from a bearing failure? You may have the wrong gasket. The correct gasket is a metal piece with a seal bonded to it. Why didn’t you do the pump with the timing belt and tensioners? These go together, 60-90K intervals.

This job can make one appreciate doing a pump on a Waterboxer.

Dennis

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Neil N Sent: Friday, February 19, 2016 1:36 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Friday water pump fun!

Hi all.

Am on a holiday road trip in the US. I'm about 2300 miles in so far. Before leaving Vancouver BC, I did some maintenance on my westy. Timing belt, tensioner, idler arm roller, coolant swap etc. After that work I noticed a very intermittiment light sound "choonk choonk choonk" sound. Initially figured it was the idler roller, then alternator, then finally narrowed it down to water pump. Since the noise hadn't gotten consistently worse, I chose to drive into Death Valley. For anyone thinking of doing this trip, do it! I got lucky in that the wild flowers were in full bloom. But then it was Presidents' Day long weekend so it was crowded.

After returning to Bishop, CA, the pump noise was getting worse. German Sierra was quite helpful but busy as were other shops possibly far less familiar with a vanagon let alone one with a Jetta engine so I chose to do the job on the BLM land I was staying at. The weather was starting to change thiugh and as my NOAA radio predicted, it became windy. I was more concerned about heat (I'd previously remove the crank etc to check the pump fasteners. None were siezed. The daytime heat was harsh) but oh the wind!

At times I had to shut my eyes and wait while under my bus. I was quick to stuff a rag into the pump housing to keep the sand out!

Since I knew the pump housing had relatively low miles, and I didn't want to be waiting days for "always replace" bolts I chose to just swap out the pump. Vw vortex forum said "no" I didn't have to remove the intermediate shaft sprocket to get the pump out. NOT true! This discovery, during the mild wind storm wrenching event, prompted a slew of expletives unmatched by any sailor or turrets stricken victim. Thankfully I had the foresight to buy some steel and fasteners to make a VW3036 tool to hold the spocket.

The upshot of al this is I got the job done and so far, no leaks, no noise. The only real gotcha is that a captive fastener at the pump got lost, I didn't have the tools to retrieve it, so I installed a cable strap at that point. The torque value is low for each pump fastener so I should be ok. Permatex was also deployed at pump gasket.

Here's some trip pics. One shows pump housing wear and tool I made. This tool worked, but in hindsight, I'd put a couple sockets over the bolt threads. I doubt I harmed the sprocket. I surely hope I torqued it down enough!

https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/Feb2016Trip#6253067318906070738

-- Neil n

Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general <http://tubaneil.blogspot.ca>

1988 Westy Images <https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/New1988Westy>

1981 Westfalia "Jaco" Images, technical <http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/>

Vanagon-Bus VAG Gas Engine Swap Group <http://tinyurl.com/khalbay>


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