I am getting ready to replace the water pump on my 420sel. I gave it a quick look this morning. I saw two belts around the pully, is there a tension adjustment bolt somewhere? Any tips, advice, or help would be greatly appreciated.
A job like this is a good way to get your feet wet. Its not a very hard job but it will require some work and time if its the first one you have done.
All of the belts are on adjusters. I usually start by un-doing the fan clutch from the pully. There are 4 bolts on the front of the water pump pully. Use a long strong flat screw driver to wedge between the bolts while you break each one free. Once they are out you should then be able to pull the fan forward (mind the radiator). You will also have to remove the two fan schroud clips. They remove by simpily pulling up. Once this is all out of the way you should be able to pull the front water pump pully off without having to even touch the adjusters. Best to deal with them while everything is out of the way.
From there its straight forward. You should remove the lower crank pully as well as the balancer. You do not need to take off the big center bolt to remove them. That center bolt on the bottom crank pully is a MOFO and is WAY TIGHT. Best not to remove it. The lower crank pully and balancer will come off by removing the smaller bolts. If you finwant to cut corners there is a notch on the balancer to allow you to remove the lower pump bolts without having to pull the balancer but I usually pull it so I can do a good job cleaning the lower area.
At this point you have some hoses and a buch of bolts you must remove. Take care to remember what ones go where as some of them are longer than others.
Once off you will want to clean the surfaces to a nice shiny state. Be carefull not to grind too long in one spot. You want the surfaces to be level. Use gasket adheasive to hold the water pump gasket to the water pump while installing. Put thread sealant (silicone) on all bolts that hold water pump to the block.
Mind the torque specs when re-installing. They should be included with your new pump. After its on work on taking the tension off the accessorie brackets. They should all be easy to get at. Once the adjusters are loose and moving free put all the pullies and belts back on. Here are a few photos of the job and what things will look like. Feel free to let me know if you need more help.
Good luck and take your time.
-- Edited by SELLC at 18:42, 2007-04-03
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