10mm Combo Wrench, Vice Grips, Strap Wrench, Lots of Penetrating Oil, Big C Clamp, Broken Washing Machine, Hacksaw and Two Files and a Big Hammer

The title is a reference to the items required to remove the pulley from the water pump for Baby. It did not go well, all in all.

In review, she's been losing coolant since the weather warmed up a bit in July. Not much, but enough to require a refill every few weeks. Had the decency to wait until we returned from the mountains to go out altogether. I left work on Monday to find a large puddle under her. Around a quart of water filled her up for the drive home, and during this whole time she's not gotten overly hot. Bought all the parts (a new pump, coolant, and flush) on Saturday, and got to work.



There's little room, and I was not able to use anything but the 10mm combination wrench with it in place. The pulley turns, and I was unable to get it wedged still. Eventually, I decided to attempt to pull the whole unit out to try it with a socket instead. The pulley has an extra hole in it, which I figured I could put a screwdriver through to hold it in place. Pulling the pump without the pulley would be a simple task, but with the pulley on, it made it much more difficult. Instead of being able to use a socket, I had to use the combination wrench on it, too. Once I got it removed... well, then it had nothing it was mounted to, so it wouldn't stay still any better. I attempted to hold it to a plank of wood with a big C clamp, but it rotated off fairly easily. Soaked both sides of the bolts with penetrating oil, and sat there staring at it for a while, trying to come up with a better way to hold it. I came up with drilling a couple of holes in the top of our old washing machine, which was in the yard for me to remove to drum from for a fire pit. Two holes and bolting it to the top, and jamming a screwdriver through the pulley and one of the mounting holes, and leaning on the one bolt that wasn't already getting rounded off, I pulled on it. My wife says, "I think you got it!!!", I reply, "I don't think I do", at which point that bolt breaks free. One down, two to go!!!

The next two had no luck with the socket. It immediately rounded them the rest of the way off. I switched to a pair of vice grips. Pulling hard on them, first the handle broke off the screwdriver I was using. Good thing it's Craftsman!!! I put the shaft in, and the next yank on it actually breaks the end off it, too!!! I put it back in, and the next thing I know, it's broken the housing mounting hole. Moved to the next one, and it pops off, too!!! And a third one after that!!! I'm running out of mounting holes, and am glad I don't have to turn in a core unit!!! I try drilling a fresh hole into the housing, but my cordless drill runs out of juice. I switch to the big C clamp holding the pulley itself, trying carefully to not deform the pulley, and after a few slips off, the second one comes loose, too. Two down!!!

The third one, it keeps slipping off. Taking pieces of metal off with it. Eventually, it's almost pointy, and the vice grips don't even begin to grip. I switch to a hacksaw, and take as much of the bolt head off as I can. I get it pretty thin, then, since I don't have any cold chisels, I use the end of a file and a big hammer to try and get the rest off. One side peels off pretty easily, and that took the tension off the bolt, and it fairly well spun right out!!! Three for the win!!!



Of course, at this point, I've got two less bolts than I need. The store has a couple that are twice as long as I need, but beggars can't be choosers. I took 'em and had to hack saw those in half. It took several hours to do what should have been just a couple. I probably would have been way ahead if I'd gone to the junkyard and bought a pulley from there instead. I have no idea why they were that tight, but I theorize that it could have been rotational tightening from the normal motion of the pump.

Still a lot easier than the one from the Geo!!! I suppose, in contrast to that, it went pretty well after all!!!