advice on water pump belt?

[bc]

Does anyone have advice on how to remove the 3 little bolts on the water pump pulley for an '83 diesel vanagon? I can't find a way to bind up the pulley to loosen those bolts and replace the belt.
Thanks much
bc

[JIM S]

Put old belt around pullu and clamp with visgrips where the to halves meet to keep pully from turning..

[bc]

Thanks jim s,
I need to clarify though, do you mean clamp the old belt to the alternator belt or clamp it to the pulley itself? Thanks again,
bc

[Op-Ivy]

He means clamp the pulley, that way the vicegrips swing when turned and allow the bolts to come out. I've done it this way before.

An impact gun can sometimes work too depending on how stuck they are. I wouldn't combine the two ideas though.

[82vdub]

I also use vice grips on the pully itself and let the grips spin until they hit the belt, but the belt must be installed. It's the first item I do when I have to remove the water pump pully. Leave the alternator etc on as it is, then remove the water pump pully first while the belt is tensioned.

You don't want to vice grip the pully and bend it. Pay attention to how and where you clamp on the pully, then let the belt and friction hold it for you. You can also get a special wrench that holds the water pump shaft too.

[bc]

Wow. All kinds of good advice here. What a great website. I'll definately give that idea a try. Thanks again for the tips.
bc

[JIM S]

I dont clamp to the pully i rap belt around pully two ends of belt meet clamp both ends togather hold visgips and turn bolts .

[libbybapa]

I usually stick a screwdriver between two of the bolts and loosen the other one a bit. Then move the screwdriver and repeat for the other two in turn.

Andrew

[Golf/Jetta]

i find using an impact gun works well with the belt off and if the hex bolt aren't screwed up.

[Fatmobile]

I grab the other 2 with channel locks and loosen the third.
switch, repeat,... thrice.

[Green79]

I've found the easiest way is with two combination wrenches, preferrably both should be 13mm (or is it 14mm? I forget...), but a 13 and a 14 will do. Arrange the 14mm wrench with the boxed end on one of the bolt heads, with the body of the wrench all the way against the raised center section, then use the 13 mm wrench to turn the bolt you want to loosen. It's nice and solid and doesn't slip off easily.

[bc]

So I got the bolts off the water pump pulley. The vice grip technique definately worked well for me. Now,
any advice out there on removing my drive belt? I've got it ready to pull off except for this wierd little metal plate that's bolted into the block. I'd have to remove the crank pulley to get to it. The easy way it looks like is to remove that intermittent drive pulley right above the crank pulley. Anyone else have to do this to get the drive belt off? And how would I bind this pulley to loosen the bolt?
bc

[82vdub]

Now, any advice out there on removing my drive belt? I've got it ready to pull off except for this wierd little metal plate that's bolted into the block. I'd have to remove the crank pulley to get to it. The easy way it looks like is to remove that intermittent drive pulley right above the crank pulley. Anyone else have to do this to get the drive belt off? And how would I bind this pulley to loosen the bolt?

Sounds to me your ultimate goal was to get the timing belt off. Yes, you will need to remove the crank V belt pully and the above tensioner to do this and the cover just behind the crank pully. Do not remove the cogged pully behind the crankshaft pully. However, before you go any further, do you know what you're getting yourself into? It's not a complicated task to replace the timing belt, but there are some key items to do, and some tools that should be made up, purchased or borrowed to properly do the task. Plus, there are some mistakes that others have made that have cost lots of money to correct. If you don't have a Bentley repair manual, you should get one if you're going to service these diesels. Search the forum for timing belt replacement and start reading. Like I said, it's not technically difficult to do, but you do need to know what you're doing before you start, and especially finish.

[bc]

You guessed it, I need to replace the timing belt as well as the water pump belt. I do have a Bentley repair manual which has been very helpful. This is a new task for me and my first diesel I've worked on. Sounds like I need to take off the crank Vpulley? What mistakes have you heard of? And what tools might I need? I have the cam lock tool and the IP sprocket lock pin. Also the IP timing gauge. Anything else?

[82vdub]

Good, you have a Bentley and the tools. I'd start by setting the engine to TDC and locking the IP and camshaft in place. As a safety measure for your first one (or for every one you do), I'd mark the old belt and each sprocket so you can make sure it goes back together. Then, transfer the marks from the old belt to the new belt, counting tooth by tooth and make the mark. This could tell you if any item moved or if you got the new belt properly aligned right from the start. Once you have everything installed and it properly tensioned (definately replace the tensioner when you do a belt), you must turn the engine over by hand several revolutions before you use the key. This is a key factor to double check that it was done right Search these forums for problem areas where others have found, but this is the basics.

Don't leave the cam key in place when you loosen the cam sprocket bolt either. You may break the cam if you do.