GEN III water pump and the such

JAVYPRO

Observer
Hey guys,
I wanted to share will y'all what I am about to jump into.

First some details of what might be the cause, simple a dirt bag mechanic, there are plenty of stories that has this sort of beginning. This is my wife GEN III that we bought brand spanking new, 0 miles back in 2001. It has been extremely and meticulously well taken care since day one, to the point that I had the dealership check the alignment and even they were surprised on how well maintained it is.

Well, at 115K miles it was time came to replace the timing belt, water pump and the related parts associated with it. I had met this guy with a nice shop, very knowledgeable and with good referrals. I only had to get the balancer pulley bolt, new from the dealership, and he took care of the rest of the parts and $750 the truck was like new again. About 30k miles later one day my wife, who was about a mile from home, called me to tell me that she was feeling a strange vibration coming from the engine. As soon as I made it home I opened the hood, cranked the engine and sure enough the crankshaft pulley was wobbling loose, to my surprise I removed the bolt with my fingers and even more surprising it was the factory bolt!!! How can I tell? the old and the new are visibly and indistinctly different meaning that the SOB used the same bolt.:ar15:

Now to the present day with 205k miles in the odometer, there was a winning noise that will come and go coming from the engine, sort of like the sound of a supercharger. It sounded to me like one of the belt tensioners. My wife then started to notice the smell of antifreeze, I checked and sure enough it was leaking. I thought it could be a hose or the antifreeze pipe in the back of the engine or an O ring but after closing inspection they were fine. At this point and to get to the bottom of it, I removed the intake plenum and noticed that the engine valley had a pool of antifreeze towards the front where the water pump is. This makes me realize that the winning noise was the water pump and the leaking is the aftermath. It also makes me think that the SOB mechanic did not replace the water pump either.

Now to fix it, I have done the timing belt on my 1990 LWB 3.0 but never on the 3.5 so I called another mechanic that I have used but he wants $1,004.87 to do it.:Wow1: Ok I understand that it it time consuming and all that but I do not feel like paying that much. SO, I am going to tackle it myself using the factory manual.

Wish me luck,

Javy
 

coffeegoat

Adventurer
Here you go - CoffeeGoat's Engine Rebuild

It's not so bad providing you take your time, and you can skip a ton of stuff that I did. $1k to do the water pump only is pretty steep, if they're doing everything including timing belt, etc, then it might actually be a pretty good deal. I spent somewhere near that in parts alone, though I did a bunch more stuff.
 

normal_dave

waytoomuchwritinginposts.
Piece of cake for you, based on what I've read from you in the past. I have determined there are no professional mechanics left that speak the Mitsubishi language accurately. I'm not as enthusiastic these days about tearing into my engines, but I'm a lot less enthusiastic about paying someone, and then having to turn around and do it again myself anyway to get it done properly.

Since you're at 205K, consider doing it all, belt kit, with OEM tensioner, Koyo idler, etc. don't skimp on the pump, get the OEM, or Aisin via the correct Rock Auto kit. How about the front cam seals? If doing the timing belt, It's a great time to knock them out too. I included the front crank seal at my last belt service on my '02. Once you are that far in, it's just a little more time to take care of those items now.
Example:http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3472833&cc=1366725&jsn=404&jsn=404
Now I recall someone had an issue with the water pump and year model, but I've had no issues. The belt is Mitsuboshi with an "O". It is OEM for many manufacturers, and seems to be good stuff.

Here's a little tidbit on the tensioner, I gave myself a facepalm, might save you a little trouble too. On the Montero, I was so pleased not to have to remove the power steering pump or the A/C compressor to do the job, like on my wife's Montero Sport 3.5L.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/173297-All-6G74s-are-not-created-equal

Reach out to us if you hit a bump in the road.

Good Luck!
 

JAVYPRO

Observer
Thanks man, your post is invaluable. I am taking my time and taking it with ease to make sure nothing is overlooked.

I will keep y'all posted

Javy
 

socalnative

New member
Good advise above. And I second that you can do it yourself and be sure.
I still do just about everything for every vehicle i own. Partially because I'm sem-poor and semi-cheap. But mostly because when I really need something to work or not to breakdown I like to know everything has been done that could be done.

Anecdotal story about a buddy who's brakes went out while dirt bike riding.
He crashed but didn't get badly hurt. And when we took the bike back to his shop the owner, who he had bought it from new, was surprised and apoligized. And then told us he had been having problems with his mechanics and one of them was going through a hard breakup or divorce.

I don't want to be in that situation and then later find out someone was not all there the day they were doing a critical job that I needed done.

Get the parts and do it correctly yourself!
 

JAVYPRO

Observer
Guys,
I am about to remove the belt (some pics will come and my struggle to remove the balancer bolt) but I am reading all of the instructions first. And a question came to mind as I am reading, do you really need the tool to rotate the eccentric tensioner? if you don't, how did you rotate the eccentric tensioner?

The hydraulic tensioner is what is still keeping me on edge.

Javy
 

normal_dave

waytoomuchwritinginposts.
I cheated and used my snap ring pliers with the 90 degree bits, and a light touch until I got the tensioner pin at the easy removal point. I also rotated the assembly to be sure everything stayed set. As far as disassembly goes, just unbolt the eccentric tensioner, you would only need the tool for adjusting the eccentric on re-assembly.
 

plh

Explorer
yea, at 90K miles since last timing belt, water pump, tensioner service you are due again. Actually I think the second and beyond belt is service interval at 60K miles each. $1004.87 is in the realm of normal pricing. I paid about $1200 at the Mitsu dealership about 5 years ago on the '05, and was quoted $1200 by an independent guy recently (I'm due again).
 

coffeegoat

Adventurer
I did something similar to Normal_Dave with some thin pins, I seem to recall just using my fingers to adjust it until the catch pin slid out easily. As I recall the torque setting was ridiculously low (like <10 n*m) so I figured as long as the catch pin slid easily I was in good shape.
 

JAVYPRO

Observer
Well here is my problem now, well two of them.

1st- on the first timing job I mentioned before I forgot a very important detail. When the balancer came loose it also rotated shearing the alignment rolled pin between the balancer and the timing gear. Back then we were able to tighten the balancer back without this rolled pin. Back to my on going work, removing the balancer was quite a task because once the bolt was loose enough the balancer will no longer keep the engine from turning, I had to keep the engine from rotating using a rope to hold it from the cam gear.

OK, everything is apart but my problem with that rolling pin is that there is a piece of it still in the timing gear and I would like to get it out. It is flush with the gear's surface so it is not a grab and pull scenario. I tried drilling the piece out but Man, is that thing hard, what is it made of? :Wow1:I can remove the gear and put a new one in but it is $100 when maybe a new good quality drill bit might work. I will go with the second option. Also, how far in does the rolled pin goes into the gear, anyone knows?

2nd issue. This timing belt is fighting me all the way in, WHAAAATT? I removed the hydraulic tensioner and pressed the pin and held it in place with the lock pin giving me more room and still the belt will not slide in place. What can be wrong? it shouldn't be so hard to get it in place damn it!!!

I added pics of the cam gearing "rope hold" and the polled pin in the timing gear.

Thanks,
Javy
Rolled pin.jpg Some engineering.jpg
 

normal_dave

waytoomuchwritinginposts.
Here's a few tips on the belt and marks, this for a sport, (tensioner holes set different) 3.0L but you'll get the idea.
https://www.justanswer.com/mitsubishi/4ore2-1999-montero-sport-set-timing-marks-passenger-side.html?r=aw|85386|0&awc=7742_1497106813_393450f710487f5ff11beadaa1c1b0b7

another related discussion:
https://www.justanswer.com/mitsubishi/8sxbg-mitsubishi-pajero-nl-just-done-timing-belt-change.html?r=aw|85386|0&awc=7742_1497106745_05a1baab5c57729557acadf23a5c0736

and another decent thread from our board, you'll want to wade through all of these, pick out what you need.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/147425-3-8L-timing-belt-change-(gen-3)?highlight=timing+belt+writeup

I can't recall the roll pin depth. Did you make one of the crank/cam gear holding tools?
 

JAVYPRO

Observer
Guys,
It was very simple. I took a day off to do some other stuff, this morning with a brand new cobalt drill bit I removed what was left of the rolld pin and put the new one in.
I thenset the timing marks held the bottom at the timing gear with a little piece of wood, put the belt around driver side cam and held it with a clamp (not much force needed), took it around the water pump, around the passenger side cam gear and used another clamp. I then with the tip of my finger I rubbed some wd40 at the edge of the tensioner and brought the belt to the tensioner and carefully slid a flat screw driver with lubricant as well, just a bit, and BOOM!!!! It went in so nice AAAHHHLLLEEEELLLUUUYYYAAA.

I was so happy that went for some chicken strips and a Stella Artois :wings::beer: and came to post this. Wooohhhooo

Now, balancer, valve cover gaskets and hopefully be done early this afternoon. (Fingers crossed)

Javy
 

normal_dave

waytoomuchwritinginposts.
Great! remember to straighten the inner cover channel that holds the valve cover gaskets, and don't over tighten. :coffeedrink:
 

JAVYPRO

Observer
It is in but I got something wrong with the wire order at the coils, I got it from left to right: /5-2/ /3-4/ /1-6/ It can't be right like that, it is puffing and spitting.

I found online it was /5-2/ /1-4/ /3-6/ is that right?

Let me go in the garage and try

Javy
 
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JAVYPRO

Observer
It is /5-2/ /1-4 /3-6/ the numbers are at top of the intake plenum DOH!!! I purrs like a kitten!!!!

:wings:
WOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOO

I f it wasn't because it is still too cold I would have beer. ********

Damn it I am happy

Javy
 

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