Belts and water pump order of operations

'81 308 GTSi. So 3 weeks to Monterey and my car decides its time to develop a leaky water pump including some nasty water pump bearing noise. Doing belts while I'm in there. It is now all apart and I tackle the belts themselves hopefully Monday. Lots of good info about the basic procedure but I have a few questions on re-assembly. At the bottom I'm putting my story so far as its a bit of a comedy routine so far...

My question: Unlike Birdman, I was unable to get my AC compressor (York, but a replacement I put in a couple years ago) to move out of the way with the hoses in place. Once completely disconnected it was VERY difficult to remove past the water pump pulley and I don't really remember what it was like when I did it previously. The pulley is a tight fit on my replacement pump and the woodruff key is very loose. For those that have done this (or do it regularly) am I better to put the AC compressor in before putting the pulley on the water pump to save some room Or for simplicity of doing the pulley put it on with the water pump on the bench?

Any other reassembly tips or tricks to share?

Couple of odd things about my adventure so far... Both water pump related. During disassembly I found that the lower stud (m6x1.0) from the housing to the water pump had been replaced by a phillips head machine screw. Odd. Apparently a previous owner or mechanic thought they were doing the last water pump that car would ever need. When I went to remove it wouldn't budge. Fearing stripping the head I used a 3lb hammer on an impact screwdriver. Heat and penetrant as I went, probably 100 wacks of the hammer. That sucker was in there for good. Every few wacks I'd get a tiny bit of movement. Of course that movement was the screw breaking off flush with the housing. Once I got it in my hands I could see that the screw was larger, coarser and not even metric. Couple hours at my local machinist and the rest was removed and it was helicoiled back to original size for a replacement stud. Test fitting my waterpump (aftermarket but from a reputable Ferrari parts supplier) I find that the nut for the pulley (not supplied with the pump) is a different thread pitch than my original. M12x1.5 vs M12x1.25 I believe. I haven't seen this info anywhere so I'm wondering if its all aftermarket pumps or just this manufacturer. Really Wanted a Forza pump (and Nick was VERY helpful over the phone) but I couldn't get one in time. Glad I tried a test assembly before trying on the car...

Jay

 

Thanks Brian. I would have never thought to do the waterpump last.

 

Well, My second (or is it the 3rd?) WTF moment was when I realized the rear tensioner bracket also only had 2 studs and the third was an allen head bolt... Luckily it was at least the correct size this time and came out without breaking. Replaced with a stud and I can say that at least the rear belt is now on (but not tensioned properly yet)!

 

Knew it was going too well. I’m following the Birdman belts tutorial. Rear bank went on great. Front bank I can get on the drive and one of the cam sprockets just fine. The last one is 1/2 a tooth off. I cannot get the belt tight enough to line up by hand. Locked down so I’m sure it hasn’t moved. Is it belt stretch from the old belt that has it this far off? Can I put a socket on that cam bolt and turn it the couple degrees I need to have it pop into the proper belt teeth?
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Thanks Ian. At the suggestion of a friend that was thinking more clearly than I, I tried putting the original belt back on. Though it was 1/4 tooth off at this gear instead of 1/2, its off in exactly the same way! Everything else still lines up. So it looks like the Intake cam must have moved a tiny bit when removing the original belt. Gonna grab a 26mm socket and try and turn it back that half a tooth then see if I can put it all back enough to tension it and spin to see if I feel any binding etc... I tried that method for the tensioner on the rear bank and it did not work for me. Had to use a pry bar against the back to compress the spring and once the tensioner was hanging on, walked it in with the screw. That was pretty easy.

 

To close this loop... I was able to turn the cam intake gear by the nut far too easily.... Got it to line up fine to my marks and then get the tensioner on with the bracket installed as above. I blame not getting the second (front) wooden cam locks tight enough due to how hard it was to reach blah blah... excuses excuses. Tensioners are tensioned and I think tomorrow I'm ready to attack the water pump.

 

Second to last hurdle guys. I'm not sure why I'm having so many difficulties. Belts are on, I've run the engine for a few seconds everything seems to be fine with the belt change. Trying to put the AC compressor (York original style) I couldn't for the life of me get the angle to get it into the top bracket without removing the 3 studs below. So I did. Got the compressor on but the weight? Or me fighting with it so much? Something now the 2 long studs that go through the cam cover into the block will not go back in... Stuck a small iphone borescope camera in there and it looks like its shifted a fraction of an inch. I've tried a pry bar on underside of the the cover and on the bottom of the AC compressor and cant see the cover budging at all. Boy I'd hate to drop the AC again just to remove the cover, replace the studs and be right back to where I still can't line it up.

On the lineup I think that problem is that the AC compressor was previously held in with (3/8x16) bolts from the top. There was a single washer between the bracket and the AC compressor so the belt was super tight with the adjuster backed off all the way. I do not have the original studs that go from english at the bottom to metric at the top. Got some 3" (I think) 3/8x16 studs and nuts to fit. I'm guessing that installed these studs are maybe 1/4 inch longer than the originals which I assume is leading to my fouling on the studs trying to line it all up. Until I tried putting the lower studs back in I was pretty happy with the way everything was fitting.