Pesky water pump pulleys on transverse engines

[Jim Chandler]

For those that find the tight quarters when working with transverse-mounted engines nigh-impossible for water pump pulley removal and reinstallation, it may seem obvious to some but I’ll walk thru my typical procedure:

• Hold the pulley steady for removing the first bolt by holding a second bolt tight with a box-end wrench
• To get the rest, try threading a valve cover bolt thru one of the pulley bolt holes. Oftentimes this works, and the valve cover bolt usually extends thru the back far enough to hold it steady while remaining loose for easy removal by hand when done.
• The same technique is especially handy when installing the pulley, it reduces the nightmare of lining it up just perfectly to get that first short little guy threaded in; the longer bolt allows threading first with enough clearance to place the pulley as a second step.

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