Belted Up

Over the last week or so the work I’ve done on the car has mostly taken the form of tinkering with the water pump and the timing belt cover to try and figure out why the one was rubbing on the other. I eventually landed on “maybe the water pump itself is somehow canted or otherwise no longer in spec”, and decided to remedy this by ordering a new, aftermarket pump.

Pump and Pulley

Thanks Japan

After unbolting the original pump, replacing it with the new one, and reinstalling the timing belt cover, pulley, and fan clutch I checked the clearance and found… no change! It obviously wasn’t a problem with the pump. Since the new one was already on the car I left it there. I’ll add the pump to the list of spare parts I have to keep, trade, or sell.

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Fan Pulley Issues

After previously getting the timing belt on and reinstalling the water pump the next logical step was to bolt the fan pulley and clutch. They simply attach in-line using the four stud posts on the pump. However when I put mine on I found that the pulley doesn’t quite clear the timing belt housing and rubs on it at a couple of spots. Looking at the old housing I saw significant marks from this rubbing so it’s not new, but I’m not sure why it’s happening. Perhaps the water pump shaft is bent over so slightly? Or the pulley itself is not even? I’m not quite sure yet. Before I continue putting things back together I should figure this out.