My 1994 940 Volvo wagon had the timing belt replaced about a year ago. Last
night I noticed a patch of oily substance on the ground under the passenger
side. Upon closer look it seems the water pump is leaking.
My question is whether I can get to it without removing a lot of other
belts. It looks like just one pulley turns it. Can that pulley be removed
to get to the water pump and then replace it and the belt? I am tempted to
have my usual mechanic do the job.
Derek Pompano Beach, Florida

Fan is attached to Water Pump.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper,
Volvo Owners Club (UK).

"Derek Lawler" <dereksl2 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote

Derek Lawler wrote:

It's pretty easy to remove, can you tell what part of the pump it's
leaking from?

The coolant seems to be dripping from under the water pump. A friend told me
that water pumps have a small hole in the bottom of the housing that leaks
when the pump fails in order to indicate a failing pump.
I can buy a pump from the local Fairway parts dealer for $36.00. According
to the book, the fan housing and fan has to be removed, to allow clearance I
suppose. The difficult part looks like putting the pulley back together
with the same tension on the belt, which is quite tight. How does one do
this? Thanks in advance.

Derek Lawler wrote:

Tensioning the belt is easy, there's a bolt tensioner on one of the
accessories, as I recall the alternator and power steering pump both
have them. You loosen the locking nut, crank down the tensioner bolt
until the belt feels about right, then you tighten the lock nut and back
off the tensioner a few turns.

Water pumps can leak from the shaft seal, or commonly from the rubber
seal on top between the pump and the head. Try rocking the shaft, if it
feels loose the pump is definitely bad.

$36 sounds awfully cheap, is that an OEM pump? FCP Groton sells pumps
made by the OEM, they're a bit more than $36 but FAR cheaper than actual
Volvo stamped ones from the dealer. They last longer in my experience
than the cheap generic ones.

regarding the belt tension... it's been my experience that most people make
the belt TOO tight. I seem to recall that it should be possible to deflect
the belt about 1/2 to 1 inch. Much looser than that and the belt slips. Much
tighter, and you put a lot of unnecessary stress on the bearing and seal.
It's a fine line, but I like to err on the side of being almost too loose.
I've never had a belt break, and my pumps and alternators last as long or
longer than anyone elses....

James, You were right about the bolt tensioner. I should have used a
flashlight to look but finally did see the tension adjuster on the power
steering pump pulley. It still took a lot of work to get the belt over the
pulleys, even with the tensioner out most of the way. Putting it back would
be the reverse.
I should have loosened the four pulley bolts before removing the belt so had
to use a filter wrench to hold the pulley while I broke the four bolts
loose. I thought the water pump would slide right out when I had the nut
and three bolts out of it but there is a large rubber piece ("the rubber
seal on top between the pump and the head")on top of the right side of the
pump that looks like it is connected to the timing belt cover. Do I have to
take the top of the timing belt cover off to get the pump off? I tried
rocking the shaft but it was solid. The leak must be coming from another
spot. Can the pump just be muscled out or will that destroy the rubber seal?
I looked all over the box the new pump came in and a "made in China" tag was
on the box. I guess not an OEM pump but it looks like a well finished piece
of machinery.
Derek

Derek Lawler wrote:

Yes you have to remove the top section of the timing belt cover, it
blocks part of the pump. There's a screw at the top from the back side,
and then a few bolts through the front. Be careful not to crank them
down too tight when you put them back in, it's easy to shear the bolts.

The belts are not terribly difficult, they should pop right off once you
get things loosened up.

More like ¼ to ½ inch deflection. More than that is too loose.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper,
Volvo Owners Club (UK).

"Perry Noid" <nobody (AT) home (DOT) com> wrote

Now I understand why folks have the water pump replaced when doing a timing
belt change. The bottom part of the timing belt cover captures the lower
flange of the water pump, so now I have to take off all the belts, get the
pulley off the crankshaft to get the lower cover off. I assume I can leave
the timing belt in situ without changing the position of the pulley, if
possible. Here I thought I was going to have an easy time of it. Seems I
have dug a deeper hole for myself. In fact the "new" water pump doesn't
look quite like the original one but I will see better when I get the old
pump off. The Chilton book I was consulting makes it look too easy---no
mention of even removing the top timing belt cover. Arghh!
Derek