removing idler pulley (5cyl)

[kavanagh@kodak.com (David Kavanagh staff)]

Having done the timing belt, idler pulley, crankshaft oil seal this weekend,
I thought I'd share a tidbit that nobody had mentioned before. (I did
the water pump a couple of months ago, so that is why I didn't do it now).

Someone mentioned using a puller to get the idler pulley out of the
hole it is pressed into. I found a much easier way (since I don't have
said puller). The bolt that holds the pulley on is very much smaller
than the hole and there are threads in the hold (in the center of the
pulley) that go unused. I found a bolt (among my VW scraps) that threaded
right into it. I also realized that I could stick something into the
hole before threading a bolt in, and the pulley would be pushed out.
So, I cut a piece of CV joint bolt (from VW scraps) that is about 3/4" long.
I stuck that in the hole, and proceeded to screw the bolt into the threads.
The idler pulley came out very easily! The suggestion to freeze the new
pulley seemed to be a good one. My new pulley went in with a few taps
from the rubber mallet. Don't use the idler pulley bolt to seat the
pulley since that bolt is off-center! BTDT.

Long winded, but I hope that helps someone.

BTW, Some idiot had messed with my cam gear and put it on backwards! The
detent was on the front side, so I could not match timing using that! I
said to myself "it was running fine before, if I just leave the crank
and cam alone when replacing the belt, things should be fine", and sure
enough, the car fired right up after the job was done!

	David