I noticed a slow leak coming from under the water pump and read that this was a common sign of a bad water pump. Got a pump, started looking into the process. I read that you would have to move the steering pump out of the way. Did that, and got to the last bolt behind the supercharger smooth idler pulley. The bolt would only come out so far, there's about 3/4" thread still inside the bolt hole.



The Supercharger idler pulley is in the way. Removing the engine mount helps clear up some space, but the 2 bottom bolts of the knuckle that bolts to the frame is obstructed by the mount that bolts to the engine block. From what I can see in the picture, it looks like I can loosen up those two bolts and slide the knuckle upwards.



I need a new 15mm impact socket and 1/2" ratchet to successfully remove that frame bracket, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I need to know. I'm specifically looking for info about the SC smooth idler pulley and the bracket that it mounts to the block, #3, 4, 5, and 6 in this diagram:



I'm guessing that once I get the frame mount off, I can slide the engine mount out of the way and unbolt the idler pulley to remove the last water pump bolt.

If you guys know anything I'm forgetting please let me know. I'm mainly posting this because I couldn't find any specific information regarding this process, and figured it would be a good idea to post.

Any other suggestions, ideas appreciated.

I replaced both sc idler pulleys and that part of the motor mount. You're right, you can support the weight of the engine from underneath with a jack and remove that part of the mount in the picture entirely. Use a 2x4 on top of the jack to spread the contact point out and prevent damage to the oil pan. Just be careful with those bolts on the underside of the mount. You only have to loosen them a bit and the mount will pop out, but mine were near frozen with corrosion. One of them broke the nut portion loose inside the frame when I tried to tighten it back up. As you can probably see on yours, there's no way to access the inside of the frame without cutting into it. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to fix that.

The pulleys are easy though. The one bolt in the center will let you remove them. They are reverse threaded. Check the bearings in the idler pulleys while you have them off. Replacement pulleys are only $6-$7.

Also keep in mind that the stud shown left of center top in the first picture will come out with an E12 socket.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to get to work on it this morning.


As for the frame nut thing, I would cut a small rectangular box in the front of the frame near the front of the car, behind the headlights or whatever. Slide a long rod with a magnet on the end up to that point to remove the broken nut, and get a friend to hold the magnet with a new nut attached to it while you thread the bolt through.

Hope that helps.

Yeah, problem is the nut is still very securely attached to the bolt, but nothing else. It will take a cutting torch to even begin to remedy this mess.

So you're saying the bolt inside the frame rail has broken loose, meaning that you can't get any kind of torque applied to remove it?

I would cut the bolt then, and then extract that part like how I explained.

I'm understanding what you're saying correctly right?

I'm about to try and break those free and I really don't want to muck it up.

Yeah, the nuts on the inside of the frame are welded on. You only have to take the top ones out completely but those are the same way. If the nut breaks loose inside the frame, you can the cut head off the bolt, but then you have a hole in the frame with no threads to put a bolt in and there's no way to access the inside to put a new bolt on without cutting a hole in the frame. Mine was already missing one on top when I got it and the one on the underside broke loose so I can't tighten it.

Ok, once you have the holes cleared you could drill corresponding holes on the bottom and opposite side. Get some bolts long enough to go through the frame rail and out the other side, then put some nuts on the outside to secure them. That should work.

Btw, I was lucky enough not to break those loose and got it wrapped up after having to attach the power steering pump and both mount pieces multiple times. Was a real pain, but it's running real smooth and I'm not having any problems, aside from a broken oil pressure sensor.