79 124 Water Pump Replacement

[srwilson]

Hi All,

I'm a new 1979 Fiat 2000 owner and new to the forum.

I have a couple of questions on replacing the water pump (it was leaking). The workshop manual made it seem so simple but I quickly found out it was going to be time consuming and there were several things that need to be removed that was not shown in the book. I've gotten down to needing to remove the black metal lower timing cover.

Is there a hidden bolt behind the Crankshaft Pulley that has to be removed to remove that cover? The workshop manual I have from International Auto Parts shows 3 bolts and two nuts none of which are shown behind the Pulley.

I'm really hoping I don't need to remove the Crankshaft Pulley to change out the Water Pump.

If indeed the Pulley needs to be removed I'm thinking of ditching that metal cover. Any thoughts on that?

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
-Steve

[narfire]

Yes there is a freeking irritating 10 mm bolt behind the crank pulley.
Once all is off, I have always kept mine off. No issues to date.

What is the history of the timing belt ? New? If it is unknown, it is said to be a great idea to swap it out then you are starting with a known replacement date/ milage. The tensioner pulley, if it has never been replaced, would be a good thing to change as well.
Now that I've drained your wallet some the crank nut will have to come off to get at the bolt, I don't know of any other way to get at it.
Oil oozing from the front crank seal..... see where this is going..
Oh yea don't forget to change the water pump eh..
Chris

[srwilson]

Thanks, Chris.

I got to drive it twice before it went into the garage for repair...

Yeah, I thought that pulley was gonna have to come off. Oh well.

I was told the belt was new but I'm going to change it anyway. Good idea on the tensioner pulley; I'll add that to the list. So how bad is changing the front crank seal?

I've also ordered a new radiator with all the trimmings too. Yeah I can see the handwriting on the wall...

[narfire]

Hey, if the rad is coming out, you have all kinds of room to muck about down there and way easer to get the crank nut off.
I believe the front crank seal can be swapped out without too much difficulty. There are several 10 mm bolts on the face to remove and several 10 mm from the oil pan as well. Now if it slides out/off without screwing up the oil pan gasket, you have things easy.. If it tears, well all bets are off for leaks dripping at the pan.
Chris

[vandor]

I believe the front crank seal can be swapped out without too much difficulty. There are several 10 mm bolts on the face to remove and several 10 mm from the oil pan as well.

You are referring to removing the front oil seal holder. I've replaced the front seal before without removing this. It's a pain, but doable, and better than to risk messing up the oil pan gasket.

[narfire]

Thanks Csaba for the clarification. I thought it would be a pain as well ,but if the pan gasket tears then you have another issue to deal with that will involve dropping the pan I'd be guessing..

[JConnerly]

I know more knowledgable people than I have given their opinion but I just recently completed this repair due to a perished tensioner bearing. I got the timing belt kit from Vicks that includes the water pump and threw in the front seals. The parts came to just over $100. I took my time and cleaned and re painted as I went. Getting the crank nut off was the only really difficult part of the job but it came off with a heavy duty breaker bar with a pipe for extra leverage. I used a vise grip style chain wrench on the pulley to hold it in place. The crank seal housing was easy to remove, the seal was a cinch and I was lucky to not have damaged the front of the pan gasket. I triple checked all the timing marks installing the t belt but it went on easier than the one on my wife's Toyota. I used silicone sealant in the pan gasket after cleaning it up as well as I could. No leaks so far after several hundred miles. I changed the oil before starting it because of possible contamination while the crank seal housing was off. All in all a very satisfying repair to do.

[narfire]

YESSSS ( fist pump ) great job..
These cars are easy to work on eh.. (except for things under the drivers side dash )

[srwilson]

Well I got a little creative removing the Crank Pulley Nut.

With the radiator out I thought I might be able to use my impact wrench but there was just not enough space. I had a long extension that I thought might come in handy but this little piece of metal stood between me and the nut.


A few minutes later that plate looked like this.


That little plate became a perfect pilot hole to align the extension with the socket on the Crank Pulley Nut.


No problems after that; the nut came right off with the Impact Wench.

If you notice the hole is not centered in the plate but I think I did a fair job projecting the nut to the plate. I did have to removed the grill to drill the hole but I think it shouldn't have to be removed next time.

Should have all my ordered parts in by next week sometime. Found the water pump local here for $35 buck! Pretty good deal if you ask me and no shipping!!! It's already installed. The old one was most definitely bad; bearings shot.

Thanks for the help on this one!

-Steve

[RRoller123]

Very clever!