p_tothe_g

Hey All,
Got a question for anyone who will answer. Recently did water pump, belts, rollers, and seals on my S2. Think I have a clearance issue between the balance shaft belt and the pulley of the water pump. Everything has been checked and checked again.

Is there a dimension of clearance between the balance shaft belt and the flat lip of the water pump pulley? or is there a dimension from the flat lip of the water pump pulley and the face/body of the water pump?

The balance shaft belt is very close to (even touching at times) the flat lip on the water pump pulley. The only items I have not replaced on the nose of the engine are the crank pulleys (cam and balance are orig), balance shaft pulleys, the cam pulley, and the oil pump. All else is new.

Water pump is not new, a reman unit from Paragon. New conti Timing belt and new spring tensioner (orig had striiped lock stud and lock bolt) and Gates b-belt. Have done belts on this car a few times and not noticed this "close-ness". All belts are riding dead center on the rollers and pulleys. Curious if it is "normal", or if the water pump pulley was not installed correctly when remanufactured.

Can somebody take a dimension for me so I can compare? Looking for a number (metric or standard) from the flat lip of the water pump pulley to the front face of the water pump. Suspecting water pump from all the trash talk about reman'd units. Dont suspect belt pulleys, but who knows??? anybody?? Has this been seen before??

Any info about this would be appreciated. Don't want to cause a stink with warranty on the pump, and really don't care for doing another water pump job on this rattewagen.

thx!

JohnKoaWood

Check the adjusting cam roller on the balance shaft belt... it is supposed to tighten the belt when rotated clockwise..if it is upside down it will loosen when turned clockwise AND will elevate the belt MUCH closer to the WP than the belt is supposed to be... just a thought... try turning the adjustment roller 180 degrees...

p_tothe_g

Double checked the clearance from the idle roller and tried setting balance shaft belt in both directions (ccw and cw). Tensioning the belt clockwise moves the belt further away from the waterpump pulley vertically, but that is not my concern. My question is about the clearance of the belt to the water pump pulley in line with the vehicle (horizontal, fore to aft). The side of the belt is touching the water pump pulley at times. The b-belt is at correct tension, got my hands on that overpriced factory tension gauge.

JohnKoaWood

Maybe got a roller on backwards? my BS belt easily clears my WP pulley on both cars... only time it even gets close is if I turn the BS tensioner 180 degrees so it pushes the belt too high...

OR maybe different cars just have different tolerances... but both mine clear.. easily.. 88 N/A and 87 951 fwiw

p_tothe_g

Pretty sure that is on right, and that does not affect where the belt is running laterally, if clearances are set right, the balance shaft belt does not even touch it most of the time. like I said, it is not an up or down issue with clearance, it is forward and aft. All belts are running dead center of pulleys and rollers. I just need to compare dimensions of the water pump pulley and the body of the water pump. I do not believe the water pump pulley was put on correctly when it was remanufactured.

F18Rep

I think this is normal. I know it will easily touch the tapered nose part of the pump pulley and the balance belt is so loose, I don't doubt that it could routinely touch a little further back too. No big deal. I have a pic at home, I'l try to dig it up...Bruce

944Ross

Ditto my experience.

p_tothe_g

Thx Guys! Sounds like you know what Im talking about. There are a few posts I could find when searching, but everyone goes right to the idler-roller issue and that is NOT what I have a concern about. Would love to see a pic and I'll try to get one posted of what I'm talking about to make sure we are on the same page (sounds like we are now).

944Ross

Here's a pic of mine. It seemed like the updated water pump was closer than the original.

p_tothe_g

This is the closeness I was talking about.

almost looks clean with new bits.

944Ross

I think something's not right, but S2's could be different. Mine gets close to the conical section, but never the flange on the water pump pulley.

dillon410021

+1 something is off about that.

944Ross

What is the story on the water pump -- rebuilt, aftermarket, etc.? It looks like your pulley may not be pressed on all the way. The shaft comes out clear of the pulley on all the ones I've got laying around.

p_tothe_g

reman'd water pump. the angle of the photo doesn't show it, but the shaft of the pump is just clear of the end of the pulley. I think the 16-valve cars use a wider balance belt. I'm going to drivie it I think and check the belts every day to see what is up.

The question you had about the pulley being pressed on enough is why I need someone to take a dimension from the face of the water pump to the flat lip on the pulley. This will help me confirm wether or not my pump is F'd up. So if anyone can get a tape measure out and let me know what you've got (preferaby with a 16V car s or s2 or 968), it would be greatly appreciated.

944Ross

Here you go:

From gasket surface of non-turbo style NA pumps to outside face of flange on pulley: exactly 2.500" on both measured.

I just installed my turbo-style pump last night, so I can't get to the gasket surface. From the face of the casting behind the pulley to the flange:
-- two NA factory pumps: 1.105"
-- turbo style pump w/guard: 1.255"