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Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 07:59
by sarahandthebear
A pre warning this will be a long post so if you like me sometimes can not be bothered to read the whole thing We won't be offended :D so we have had our 1984 westfalia 1.9 dg petrol engine for about two months. As I have got older I have become more interested in mechanical things so I have been learning how it all works but I am still at a very low skill level the best I have done with the van yet is service it but I am very willing to learn and hopefully one day be able to fix our van without any guidance at all. So we have been out in our van 5 times locally everything has been perfect the temperature gauge has been fine the fan worked and the van was very smooth to drive. We then decided to go on a long drive about an hour away and yes this at the furthest point is when our van piglet decided she would get grumpy in her old age and brake down. We were driving along and the temperature gauge shot up at an alarming speed so fast I had no time to even pull over but luckily I found a country lane and stopped the battery light also came on. We jumped out the van and steam was pouring out of the vents to say I did not absolutely poo myself that the van may be on fire would have been a lie. I quickly opens the numberplate hatch to see and lucky no fire just a very very overheated engine. I let her cool down and had a look the fan had not come on and the battery light came on so I knew it had to be something to do with the alternater belt but it was fine however on the water pump the cog had come out and become very loose coolent was peeing all out from behind it. I figured the water pump being 34 years old has finally given up. Our next step it to fix this if that is in case the problem and we have diagnosed it properly we also need to change the water pipes under the van so I'm thinking it's best to do all this at the same time and renew the coolent. My question is with my willingness to learn and my beginner mechanic skill is this a job I could do at home. I have watched some YouTube videos and it looks like I could do it I just worry I may do more harm then good. We could take it to vaulxaust in kenilworth but I kind of want to do it myself. Thank you for the help and for reading this very long post :D if there are any links or posts you think may be helpful send them my way or even if someone wants to become my mentor and help me fix it I can send you my adress have a good week everyone

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 08:14
by CJH
1984 makes it an early cooling system I think, like mine, with the thermostat housing attached to the pump. It's a straightforward job to swap the water pump, but there are some "gotcha"s, and it's going to take you a while. Have a look at the wiki article from CovKid.

You need to get the main pulley out of the way to access one of the pipes that connects to the pump - that can be a bit of a tricky job. And depending how long ago the pump was last changed, you may find that your thermostat housing bolts are seized. Get yourself a new thermostat before you start, so that you can change this at the same time - one less thing to worry about in the future.

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 08:19
by sarahandthebear
Yeah I think the thermostats is on the water pump I'll have a look at the link thank you how about the water pipes under the van are they easy or dose the petrol tank need to come off aslwell to get the pipes off

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 08:27
by CJH
Haven't done those myself, so I can't say whether the tank has to come off I'm afraid - possibly in the wiki somewhere. Worth getting yourself a Haynes manual I'd say, and/or a copy of the Bentley manual. One thing I did find when renewing some hoses in my engine bay is that the connection between the main hoses in the engine bay and white plastic front-to-back hoses was incredibly tight - very hard to separate and also to reconnect, almost as if the plastic hoses were too big for the rubber hoses. Maybe mine has non-standard plastic pipes (maybe there was a size change in later years), but that was a difficult job - took lots of hot water and lubricant to get those hoses back on.

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 08:30
by sarahandthebear
We have the Haynes manual but not the Bentley one may have to get one though yeah I'm thinking a lot of our engine is the original and it was sat for two years before we bought it so I a man thinking a lot of things will be stuck on there. Thank you for your help and advice

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 08:37
by CJH
Tip: follow my link above for the Bentley manual :wink:

Bentley doesn't really explain how to do things, but it's a great reference for torque settings (take care to adhere to these, you're dealing with an aluminium engine) and exploded diagrams. Haynes is better at explaining how to do things.

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 11:58
by jrt
Just to add my two pennyworth. I've got the same early set up as well and it was one of the first jobs I did when I got the van.It would have been a straightforward job to do if it wasn't for a snapped bolt in the thermostat housing and one of the studs holding the pump on fused in the housing. Had to drill around it with a dremel to finally release it. The one snapped off in the thermostat housing was carefully drilled out. So give all studs/nuts/bolts a good dose of plusgas before attempting anything.
David

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 12:14
by sarahandthebear
jrt wrote:Just to add my two pennyworth. I've got the same early set up as well and it was one of the first jobs I did when I got the van.It would have been a straightforward job to do if it wasn't for a snapped bolt in the thermostat housing and one of the studs holding the pump on fused in the housing. Had to drill around it with a dremel to finally release it. The one snapped off in the thermostat housing was carefully drilled out. So give all studs/nuts/bolts a good dose of plusgas before attempting anything.
David

Thanks David to be honest I should have really done it straight away but I will admit I was a little nieve about the water pump and just overlooked it obviously the van decided to punish me and teach me a lesson. I have a feeling it's the original pump the pull has actually come out of the pump so no idea what's going on in there she is currently on the drive leeking the rest of the collent out I'll get it fixed I'm confident I can fix it myself and owning a van like this I always did know I wanted to learn myself how to fix the problems

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 12:26
by CJH
If you're genuinely keen to learn, these are great vehicles to learn on. :ok

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Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 14:15
by sarahandthebear
I have just been out to check the van and it's still slowly leeking coolent into a tray we have put down I am a little worried that is will corrode anything it's dripping onto engine wise should I leave it to drip or I shall there something els I can do I won't have the parts to fix it until next month so she will have to sit on the drive until then but at least I can carry on rust treating her

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 14:34
by jrt
I'd worry about any cats/dogs who might drink it!!!!
When I did mine I jacked up the rear a bit and undid the large hoses at the rear and collected the coolant.Tied them up out of the way as i did the pump.I wasn't replacing all my coolant as it hadn't long been changed.
David.

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 14:40
by CJH
sarahandthebear wrote: I am a little worried that is will corrode anything it's dripping onto engine wise
Don't be - it's there to prevent corrosion, not cause it.

jrt wrote:I'd worry about any cats/dogs who might drink it!!!!
Or any other wildlife. Apparently it tastes sweet, but can kill, even in small quantities.

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 14:54
by sarahandthebear
Oh god yeah thanks guys I'll need to get it sorted so the wildlife doesn't get effected

Re: Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 20:01
by CovKid
Well, you're in luck. I wrote this a couple of years ago - good luck!

http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/Co ... overhaul_3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Water pump replacement

Posted: 04 Sep 2017, 20:52
by Mocki
I have just taken the one off SwMbOs camper , I expected bad things to occurred, but every bolt came out .
I used plusgas and had Rostoff ice at the ready , but didn't need it

I didn't take the main pulley off ( couldn't get it off on my own ) so took the cross pipes off and either end and removed them .
It's a bit harder to do with the pulley in the way , but in less than two hours it was all off and the thermostat cover off as well ..... just waiting for the new pump,to arrive now so I can refit it all ....

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