1996 850 20V Timing Belt Kit and Water Pump

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 15 Mar 2016, 16:11

Thanks bugs11, yes one time that I had the light just right I thought I saw a tiny
V notch on the low part of the pully - that was it and I agree that white out would
probably help.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 15 Mar 2016, 16:15

Tapped the water pump with a rubber mallet today, then used a pry bar
under the pulley and pushing against the bolt that holds on the lower
plastic shroud and it gave way. It came out about 1/16" then would not
come the rest of the way - I think the gasket had to rip. Had to pull, shift
it back and forth, pull more and it finally gave. It actually seemed like it
was hanging up on something.

Seems half the gasket stayed on the block and half on the water pump.

Now I have to clean off the remaining gasket - almost there. Soaked the
gasket remains with WD40 and carb cleaner, hope that softens it up.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 16 Mar 2016, 09:01

This car is probably under 150K miles and if I had known what it involved
to do the water pump, I would not have done it. I spins freely and there's
no sign of any leaks. It is impossible to see about the top 1/4 of the gasket
mating area because of the lower plastic shroud being in the way. Luckily
most of the gasket came off with the old pump, and the 3 small areas where
it did not I can see it and scrape it. The green color from the gasket was
left behind everywhere but it seems to be coming off with carb cleaner and
some scrubbing. I'm going to go buy a mirror to try to see the top 1/4 of the
gasket area.
I believe, not sure, that if the cam gears are removed then the black shroud
can also be removed and if I was to do this again I would remove them and
the shroud - then the water pump might be a fairly easy job. If gasket material
had been left behind along the top of the gasket area I would never be
confident that it was clean without removing the shroud. If the shroud does
not come off completely when the cam gears are removed it looks like it could
be pulled forward and possibly see the water pump area behind it - again not
sure.

Am I missing a step or something that makes this easier?

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Mar 2016, 09:40

I don't remember if there are any other obstructions to the rear cover but if you want to take off the cam gears just do it, it is 3 easy bolts each one. Just mark well the bolt positions so the gears go back on in exactly the same position. Outline them with a sharpie, and mark them as intake and exhaust. The cams may move but you can just move them back, as long as the crank is on the mark cam movement is of no concern.

Did you try going at the water pump mounting surface through the wheel well? I know I have done that. I use a razor blade but be careful that you don't gouge any surfaces. Also, if you remove the serp belt tensioner (two bolts), it gives a little more elbow room in there to maneuver. I always take it off when I do timing path work. Gives you a chance to inspect it, too.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 16 Mar 2016, 14:27

Didn't think to try through the wheel well, got a mirror and was able to see
that it was clean enough. I put the lower tensioner bolt in through the
wheel well but didn't think to try the water pump area.
It went back together fairly easily cam was one tooth off and I just slipped
the belt off to adjust and back on. Turned it two full revolutions by hand
without pulling the pin, and filled it with distilled water just to see if it
leaks before I pull the pin.

Ran out of time today, but will pull the pin tomorrow and give it a few more
turns by hand. It all looks fine.

Post by **JimBee** » 16 Mar 2016, 16:45

It's a little late to comment but if you turned the engine by hand with the tensioner loose are you sure the camshaft sprockets are properly lined up? When you pull the pin the belt on the water side of things will tighten, pulling all the slack on the intake side from the crankshaft sprocket across the intake cam sprocket and ex. cam sprocket. Everything can move. I haven't read the whole thread so apology if this is already resolved.
What I do is use a simple tool (bar with a couple of bolts sticking out) to tighten the belt from the crank sprocket through the intake sprocket by "wrenching" the intake cam sprocket and holding the belt on with a tiny vice grip. Then pull the ex. cam sprocket the same way so the belt is tight all the way from the crank across the intake and ex. cam sprockets—of course, making sure of proper alignment. Then when you pull the tensioner pin the only movement of the belt will be from the downside of the ex. cam to the water pump, so no alignment issues.
Then, of course, turn your engine by hand a couple of times to ensure everything turns freely.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 16 Mar 2016, 18:26

What I'm finding is that when you turn the crank clockwise by hand, the pull
of the belt tensions it the way it will go with the tensioner. Another way to
look at it is that turning it pulls the slack to the tensioner side so it naturally
aligns. Someone please correct me if I'm missing something here.
Everything is aligned when I do it this way.
I appreciate all the help so don't worry about not reading the rest of the thread.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 17 Mar 2016, 06:35

Forgot to mention that the original water pump gear had something like
every third gear tooth missing, the replacement has them all but otherwise
looks identical. Is this any indication that I got the wrong pump or did they
just change the design?

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 17 Mar 2016, 14:46

Set back, my gut feeling was never trust a torque wrench from Harbor Freight,
but I went ahead and used one to do the Torx 45. I tested it and heard it
click at 20 ft lbs, went to 30 no click, kept going and snapped the bolt. I
didn't stop to think of how long the handle was and just thought that It would
not be possible. I'm returning the POS HR torque wrench. There was plenty
of stub sticking out and it came out with my fingers, used the old bolt
tightened it by hand and it is done. Only lost about 15 minutes.

Put the serpentine belt on started it running fine, but I have an SRS light. Don't
see how this is related to anything I worked on.

PeteB · Post by **PeteB** » 19 Mar 2016, 14:54

I torqued the rest of the bolts with my old Craftsman 1/2" drive without any issues,
but it was the wrong size for the Torx bit that I had and would not fit in the tight
spot anyway.

Here is an excellent short Torx bit, impact quality and less than 5 bucks. I did look
for one previously at NAPA but missed this one somehow. Was at the store getting
an oil filter and saw it on the rack:
http://www.napaonline.com/napa/en/p/NPT613245

I might grind 1/8" off to have a little more room in there.

1996 850 20V Timing Belt Kit and Water Pump

Re: 1996 850 20V Timing Belt Kit and Water Pump