Cavalier water pump

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Mon 6 Sep 2004 13:42
Cavalier water pump - Archie
Changed the cam belt on my son's 1.6 Cavalier over the weekend. Had planned to do the water pump as well but found I couldn't release it from its housing. I tried turning it with the correct claw spanner but wound up bending that instead. Any backroomer offer any clue on loosening it before I start with the 18" pipe wrench and work my way to the 36"?
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Mon 6 Sep 2004 13:49
Cavalier water pump - Number_Cruncher
Hi Archie,

If the water pump is properly stuck, my usual solution is to knock the old water pump out of the block using a sledge hammer and long drift from the top. Obviously, doing this will wreck the old pump.

Those flimsy spanners work very well on a new pump, with its seal nicely lubricated with rubber grease, but are next to useless when you have a seized in pump to shift.

While I would normally caution against putting the new belt on too tight, there can be problems with the 16SV engine if you put the belt on too loose. The resulting torsional oscillation of the camshaft can shear the (pathetic) plastic distributor drive pin.

number_cruncher
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Mon 6 Sep 2004 13:56
Cavalier water pump - Dynamic Dave
As Number Cruncher suggests, you'll need to impact it with something heavy. Beforehand though, spray plusgas liberally around where the pump attaches to the block and leave to soak in for a while.

Use a piece of wood as the drift. Something like a bit of 1"x1" , or 2"x2", that way you'll more likely damage the wooden drift than any engine components. While you've got the pump off, you should consider changing it anyway.
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Mon 6 Sep 2004 21:31
Cavalier water pump - Victorbox
I can confirm that my last Cavalier waterpump was fitted after removing the old one with a large lump hammer!
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Tue 7 Sep 2004 13:09
Cavalier water pump - Archie
Thanks for all your replies. I'm off to find my big hammer.
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