RE: Water Pump questionable replacement proc

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

> I need to replace the water pump on my Ur-Q.  I have the pump, but have
> been
> postponing doing it because  it's such a big job pulling the crank pulley
> etc..
> I'm telling this to a friend of mine who does quite a bit of work on
> Audi's,
> and this is how he replaces the pump:
> He removes the front grill, inter-cooler/auxiliary rad.  Then removes the
> timing
> belt cover.  So far so good.  Here's where it gets funny.  He pinches the
> timing belt to the camshaft gear and crankshaft gear with nylon ties so
> that
> it doesn't  move.  He then snips the timing belt back plate at the water
> pump, the narrow part of the
> plate, and folds both sides of it outward until it clears the water pump
> for
> removal/install.  After installation, removes the nylon ties and bolts
> everything back on.  Simple.
> 
... well, since the water pump is the tensioner for the cam belt this
procedure should work just fine.  I can't say that I'd want to hack up the
backing plate though ... perhaps you can remove the hold-down bolts for the
plate to get enough clearance to extricate the pump ...

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)