Water pump's bad, should I replace timing chain too?

[ximy]

Good luck Combat Jump... I'm leaving work for home now... Please post your success story

[badboyzkustumz]

clean your gasket surfaces on the timing cover. and using a LITTLE amount of silicone get the timing gasket and water pump gasket adhered to the cover before trying to reinstall. will make it a lot easier when putting it back together.

[fordman]

the timing cover doesnt connect to the water pump on a fe. but good info for other motors though.

[Combat Jump]

Worked on it all day. Its back together, mostly. Got a replacement hose for the power steering pump. Had trouble sealing the joint connecting the line from the new fuel pump to the carb. Some thread sealer and a really big vise-grip stopped the leak.

There was about 2 inches of slack on the left side of the timing chain - no wonder it ran rough. The "dots" were both at the 12 O'clock position (I didn't align TDC before taking it apart) so I put the new timing gears in the same place. If it doesn't start up, I'll go back and align dot to dot.

The hold up is that I can't get the port unscrewed from the left side of the old water pump (for the heater hose, I think). Its rusted on.

Off to a Halloween party with the misses now. Fool with it more tomorrow.

Again, thanks to all who have chimed in with help.

Kurt

[badboyzkustumz]

the timing cover doesnt connect to the water pump on a fe. but good info for other motors though.

oops, missed that part.

[70_F100]

The hold up is that I can't get the port unscrewed from the left side of the old water pump (for the heater hose, I think). Its rusted on. Kurt

Don't mess with the old one. Just get a new replacement and save yourself a lot of time and trouble.

[Combat Jump]

Rather than figure out who sells coolant hose nipples (attaches to the water pump), I went down to my favorite tool store (Sears) and picked up an 11/16 deep six point ½ “ drive socket to scavenge the old one from the pump I had removed. Two seconds on my impact wrench and it broke free. Yes, it would have been nice if a new one was included with the pump, but the whole thing was only sixteen bucks and no core charge.

Replaced:
-Water pump (rattled and clanked badly)
-Timing chain and gears (two inches of chain slack)
-Fuel pump and filter (Just because)
-Power steering hose (after flexing it, the rubber cracked spilling fluid all over)
-Oil and filter change (someone had written "Jan 2008" on the old filter)
-Power steering fluid change (It had all run out onto the driveway)
-Coolant change (that too)

All back together, add fluids, reconnect battery, and before I turned the key I am thinking “should I have aligned the dots?” But then it started right up, smoother than ever. I didn’t even look at the timing – will check that tomorrow. No leaks. No rattles/clanks. Its all good.

Lessons learned:
1. Use thread sealer when reconnecting fuel pump union nut.
2. Find TDC of #1 piston before taking it all apart – easier to put timing chain on the right way.
3. Use a large pipe wrench to hold the crank “sleeve” while using a breaker bar to loosen the harmonic balancer nut.
4. Impact wrench is a good thing.
5. Take photos before, so you can see how to put stuff back later.

Thanks to all who chimed in with ideas when I got stuck.

Kurt.