DIY: water pump and belt tensioner on M3 VR6

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Jetta2
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Posts: 14929
Registered for: 17 years 3 months
Car Make: VW, VW, Aprilia
Car Model: Mk3 Golf VR6, Mk4 Caddy, RSV4
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Location: Menlo Park, Pretoria

DIY: water pump and belt tensioner on M3 VR6

Post by Jetta2 »

Mods/Admins, please move to FAQ section as I cannot make a new topic there.


So, DIY guide to replace the water pump on a Mk3 VR -

I did do some reading on Vortex as there are a few DIY guides there, but here is mine.


New belt tensioner and water pump from GW along with some fresh coolant:
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Motor as it was:
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Airbox and intake pipe removed:
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The belt tensioner:
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Bolt inserted and tightened up to relieve tension on the belt:
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3 bolts that must get removed to take the tensioner off:
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And off:
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Old and new:
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Now to get to the water pump:
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No way in hell you will get that pump out with it sitting so low, so a simple case of removing the rear engine mount bolt:
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And the front one:
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Then a block of wood under the sump and used a jack to jack the motor up. Carefully and slowly jack the motor up, keeping an eye on any pipes or wires that might get pulled or squashed.

Voila:
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Motor lifted by about 50mm:
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Screwdriver in one hole on the pulley to stop it from moving to loosen the 3 bolts that hold it onto the pump:
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And:
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3 more bolts to remove and the pump can be taken out of the block:
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New pump and the old vrot one:
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O-ring lightly greased (new O-ring is provided with new pump):
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And in it's new home:
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New tensioner with bolt to move the arm to make fitting the tensioner easier with the belt (you can see the difference):
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And all done:
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Now refill the cooling system with fresh coolant, have a beer and congratulate yourself on saving a good few bucks by doing it yourself.

Started at 12:58pm and finished at 2:30pm and that included a half an hour break for some sarmies for lunch.
1 hour job very easily.
Ryan Demoser

1996 Mk3 Golf VR6
2017 Caddy Maxi Crew Bus 2.0 TDI
2013 Aprilia RSV4 track toy
2021 Aprilia RS660 road bike
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