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 During disassembly I found that the lower stud (m6x1.0) from the housing to the water pump had been replaced by a phillips head machine screw.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.