Newbie!

[seesoulmore]

Hello all! Im the owner of a white 88 2.0 FI . The same day i gave it an oil change, my girl took it to work. When she got off, while warming it up, a passerby pointed under the car alerting her to a major leak. Not knowing anything about cars she drove home anyway which luckily was only 5 min away. I initially thought I'd F'd the oil pan but upon inspection the level was fine. I then checked the radiator level. It had no visible coolant so i proceeded to add some. Immediately upon adding coolant, i heard it hitting the ground. I squeezed my head under the car with a flash light to get a better look. From what i could see, from that very awkward position through the jumble of rods and hoses, appeared to be a small hole on a piece of metal. The water was streaming right out. My first thought was that, somehow i got a hole in my waterpump. After googling, i found out that some waterpumps have small holes, and when they begin to leak badly, Its more than likely time to change them out. I was just wondering if anyone could confirm that.

If that is the case, Im aware that the timing belt must also be changed. So if someone could post a link to the complete process it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[spiffyguido]

Where exactly was this hole you speak of? If you were able to see it from under the car, I doubt that it was on the water pump, as the water pump is behind a shroud at the top of the engine.

Add a pic if you can.

[seesoulmore]

Thanks for the reply spiffy. I tried to upload pics but it keeps saying 'img format invalid' or something like that. Any suggestions? Maybe the file size is too large? I dunno, anyway. Before i got your reply i took the power steering and alternator off. The hole is right next to the shroud but i cant get the crank shaft pulley off to see what it actually is. It looks to me like the water pump but would love a second opinion.

[spiffyguido]

I've attached a picture indicating where the water pump is. Is this where you are seeing water leaking from?

[seesoulmore]

Yes, Im pretty sure that is where it is leaking from.

[spiffyguido]

In that case, you better take the black plastic cover off the end of the engine and have a good look around. There might be a leaking seal or crack somewhere.

[seesoulmore]

Is there a way to get the cover off without removing the crankshaft pulley? Also, if you wanna give me your e-mail address i could send the pics that way. Im having trouble getting them up here.

[spiffyguido]

The plastic cover is in two halves I believe. You should be able to see the water pump by removing just the top part.

If you want to upload pics, try saving them as .jpg files first. If it still doesn't work, just upload them to imgur or flickr and post the links.

[seesoulmore]

P1040919 by seesoulmore, on Flickr


P1040916 by seesoulmore, on Flickr

The hole is next to 90 degree bend on the cover. Picture taken from behind driver side wheel. Ive already taken of the top shroud. You are looking at the bottom half.

[spiffyguido]

Yes, it looks like you have a hole of sorts in the bottom of your water pump. You'll need to swap that out.

[seesoulmore]

Is there a way to remove the crankshaft pulley without bringing it to the shop for their impact wrench? The 'universal honda crankshaft pulley remover' does'nt work on my car. Further research keeps leading me to a high impact wrench, but i would hate to have to pay the shop to install my waterpump because of one simple bolt! Suggestions welcome.

[seesoulmore]

Do i have to remove the crankshaft pulley?

[spiffyguido]

It would be pretty hard to do the water pump without removing the crank pulley. The reason for this is that the timing belt drives the water pump and removing the timing belt is most easily done when the crank pulley is off.

I know how sticky the crankshaft pulley bolt can be. I've had trouble with that myself. An impact wrench is almost always the best solution. Simply torquing on the pulley bolt with a breaker bar is hard on the engine and often doesn't result in the bolt breaking free.

To do the water pump without removing the crank pulley would require you loosen the timing belt tensioner and then slip the belt off from the top end (cam gears). Of course, you'd have to be able to get the pump out from behind the black plastic cover, which would be tricky, but potentially possible. The hardest part about this approach would be ensuring that you have the timing set correctly when all is put back together. Without removing the crank pulley you won't be able to see how the timing belt is seating on its crank cog, and that would make aligning the belt correctly rather difficult. I'm not saying it can't be done, but if you go this route, be doubly sure you are putting everything back as it should be. I'd suggest aligning the engine at TDC before starting this approach. It will allow you to mark the belt as needed to realign later. Be careful though!

All things considered, I'd still suggest you break the bolt with an impact wrench and just get the crank pulley off. I know the shops will charge for this, so if possible, find somebody you know who has an impact wrench (preferably pneumatic...the electric ones aren't as good). Buy this person a pizza and have them help you loosen the bolt.

[seesoulmore]

I appreciate the post. It turns out that 'Allstar Rents' here in California rents air compressors and impact wrenches. Was wondering if there was a minimum CFM that i should get. The lowest is 4. Also on the timing belt illustration it shows a 'special washer' below the crankshaft pulley nut. Do i have to take that off first and if so, how? Do i have to remove the motor mounts on one side of the engine? And, do you have any suggestions of other things i should do or check for while i have everything taken apart. Thnx

[spiffyguido]

The washer is easy to take off. It will come right off once you remove the bolt. The only thing you need to do is make sure you remember the order (the washer, for example, is directional) that all the parts go on underneath the pulley bolt. There is a woodruff key on the crankshaft pulley as well...DO NOT LOSE THIS.

You can get away with just removing the motor mounts on the one side. If I recall correctly, this can be accomplished by removing the mount itself from the engine rather than trying to get the mount bolt out of the rubber bushing. If you're worried about the engine sagging, just put a jack under it for support.

Since you're going to have the whole lot apart, it's not a bad idea to change the timing belt at the same time. It's also not a bad idea to get a new timing belt tensioner (from Honda. OEM is best) as a worn tensioner bearing is a sure route to a snapped belt. Optionally, you can also replace the cam oil seals, as they are cheap and require the timing belt to be removed in order to replace them.

As a final thought, be sure to read over the manual and take note of all the torques that are listed. The tensioner MUST be assembled using the specified torque. Too loose, it will fall off. Too tight and the bearing will seize and the belt tensioner idler pulley will lock up and shred the belt. Be sure to tighten the waterpump bolts and crankshaft pulley bolts to spec torque as well.