gnealon
New Member
- Apr 8, 2009
- 570
- Boat Info
- 2005 280 DA, Garmin 4208
"Ship Faced"
- Engines
- Twin 5.0L Merc BIII
Guys, was curious if anyone out there modified the water pump or the bolt that holds the water pump on to make it easier to remove. I have BIII 5.0's in my 280DA and the access to the water pumps is very right. This is my second time doing the impeller change and i can't remember what I did last time to wiggle the pump out :smt001 The problem is I can't slide the water pump off the upper bolt that goes through the water pump bracket. There is a small piece of steel on the water pump that is hitting the crank shaft pulley. The stringer is stopping me from rotating the water pump enough to get past the crank shaft pulley. (Also guys, I might be confusing the crank shaft pulley w/ the harmonic balancer. After looking at the schematic, I believe its the harmonic balancer that I'm hitting, I apologize)
Anyways, here was my idea...
1. The bolt (that sticks out from the engine and goes through the upper bracket on the water pump) is too long. My idea was to thread the nut on, cut the bolt shorter, and then back the nut off to re-ream the bolt. Here is a pic of the bolt I'm talking about:
http://www.solveadvisors.com/images/pic1.jpg
2. The other option is to try and cut that piece of steel on the pump while its on the engine. I don't see any reason why its there. This would allow me to slide the pump out past the crank shaft pulley (or harmonic balancer). Here is a pic of that small piece of steel I'm talking about:
http://www.solveadvisors.com/images/pic2.jpg
I obviously did this before w/o either of those mods but I remember last time it took be the better part of the day per engine. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did last time. Also, its next to impossible to get those hoses off the water pump w/o dropping the pump down and getting some room.
Thanks in advance for any advice!! :smt001
Anyways, here was my idea...
1. The bolt (that sticks out from the engine and goes through the upper bracket on the water pump) is too long. My idea was to thread the nut on, cut the bolt shorter, and then back the nut off to re-ream the bolt. Here is a pic of the bolt I'm talking about:
http://www.solveadvisors.com/images/pic1.jpg
2. The other option is to try and cut that piece of steel on the pump while its on the engine. I don't see any reason why its there. This would allow me to slide the pump out past the crank shaft pulley (or harmonic balancer). Here is a pic of that small piece of steel I'm talking about:
http://www.solveadvisors.com/images/pic2.jpg
I obviously did this before w/o either of those mods but I remember last time it took be the better part of the day per engine. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did last time. Also, its next to impossible to get those hoses off the water pump w/o dropping the pump down and getting some room.
Thanks in advance for any advice!! :smt001