OK, after only 221K, my water pump has taken a dump. Got the new pump and my tools laid out. I've read all the threads and realize I have to loosen the PS pump. Got 'er drained and I'm ready to open 'er up.

Anyone got additional advice? Thanks in advance. (note to me: clean keyboard tonight. )

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462 cubic inches of REAL Pontiac power.

replace the idler pulley behind the torque-axis mount while it is open.

Thanks. I bought a spare when RockAuto had a sale about 6 months ago and will do so. I have all but the lowermost bolt out and this is going suspiciously easy.

Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

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462 cubic inches of REAL Pontiac power.

Got 'er done. New pump is in place. Got dark, so I'm gonna button it up tomorrow morning. This was simpler than I thought it would be, providing getting the PS pump back into place causes no problems.

Curiously, the bolt directly underneath the water pump shaft was 3/8" head, not 10MM. Weird.

Time for a brew or two!

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462 cubic inches of REAL Pontiac power.

OK, got it done, fired it up and no leaks.

Question: The top bolt hole for the PS pump doesn't seem to have any threads. Was there a nut on the back of it? If so, I don't see how you could possibly get at it. I checked and both bolts are the same length, so that's not it.

Somebody with experience help me out here. I currently have a 5/16" self-tapper in the hole but that's just a tempo fix.

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462 cubic inches of REAL Pontiac power.

it is threaded. best i can tell size 8x1.25mm. i use starter bolt with head removed to hang the ps pump on until i start the bottom bolt. that is what i took the measurements off so i can't say the correct length. my headless starter bolt is 3 & 3/8 inches just to give some idea.

Got it done with your advice. It is indeed 8MMx1.25. Thanks for the help.

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462 cubic inches of REAL Pontiac power.