Hello
Ive got an 83 Volvo 244 Diesel. Been in the family since new.

It seems to be leaking coolant from around the water pump area. I took off the PS pump to get a better look.

Since the water pump is driven off of the timing belt, is it a big job to change the pump?

I have never delt with timing belts before, but I have done other things to this car. (New steering rack, new brake booster, etc) Do you think that this is a hard to do job?

Would the whole pump need to be replaced, or can I just get away with replacing the seal? Or even better, can I use some mechanic in a can type stuff?

I am trying to keep the car alive so that I can run it on SVO/Biodiesel...........

Other than this, the thing runs nicely. 141k miles.

Thanks

The toughest part of replacing that belt will be getting the crank bolt out. If you are doing JUST a belt and pump you can get away without having to check pump timing. I started as a Volvo trainnie mechanic back in the early 80's so I got every stinkin', smokin' diesle that came into the dealership (and we sold a boat load of them). To add insult to injury my middle child bought a diesle wagon 20 years later and I get to do all of the maintenance on it too. Optimumly it would be nice if you could recheck your pump timing but I can tell you from experience that if all you do is change out the water pump and belt and you are careful not to move ANYTHING you should be alright. However, if you have no experience with timing belts I sure as hell would not start with a D24 just on the simple fact that you could blow the motor up if things are not right. If you do elect to have it done I would put in a new belt, pump, and idler pulley (the water pump is your tensioner in this set up). While you are there you might as well have the rear belt changed and the pump timing checked and adjusted. If you elect not to have the rear belt changed understand that it will not cause the motor to blow up if it breaks but it will leave you on the side of the road. It is best to do them together.

Anytime that you fool with the timing belt ona diesel, count on retiming the whole engine ( special tools required ) you *might* get lucky and have the new pump be the exact dimensions as the last one and have the timing belt unter tension wind up in the same place...but I wouldn't count on it. Alot oftimes mechanics will try to swap water pumps on these things and they won't start after they finish.

141k miles, you aren't too far off from a t-belt change anyway ( and tensioner ). Might be time to invest in the tools and do it, or find a liberal minded VW diesel mechanic do do it for you.

If you've never delt with timing belts before, the d24 is not for the weak hearted.timing one of these things is not overly difficult, but it requires having the proper tools an above avarage level of mechanical skill, and following directions in the factory green manual exactly.
Not trying to scare you, but I hate to see someone mess one of these things up
I bought one diesel from a pretty competent independant foreign specialty shop who tried to change a water pump and couldn't get the thing to run after that.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '82 Mercedes 300SD

Thanks for the info....Sounds like I better not touch it.

Ive always hated timing belts.

I will give her some radiator stop leak, and if that dosent work, Ill probably take it down and have someone fix it......Or just sell it and get another Jetta TDI...!!!

Well, don't sell it, at least if you wouldn't be getting another Volvo (240).

But, get rid of it in a heartbeat if it meant you were getting a petrol/gasoline one. That's great that you're putting/will put biodiesel in it (I assume that's better for the environment), but it's my impression that these diesel Volvo engines are both unreliable and a pain to keep in working condition. I bleieve you'd be better off with a B2*.
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'89 244 GL--25/22 ipd sways, Volvo truck amber turn signal lenses

It wouldn't cost too horribly much to have it done, and that thing should still have alot of miles left in it.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel

Well, I really cannot complain about the engine at all. I have never had to do one thing to it. I have replaced the steering rack, and the brake booster, other brake parts and radiator. Thats it.

I love the diesel part of it. It is what sold me on a TDI and a Duramax. Im a diesel freak now. The I6 has a real nice hummmmmm to it. I find it addictive.

The problem is this. I do not want to/have the knowledge to change the timing belt. This would probably be at least a $500+ job, right? I know a mechanic, but he is not a Volvo mechanic. I dont know if he would do it...And I do not know when the TB was last changed. I would guess it was a LONG time ago. Much more than 50k miles. Probably closer to 80k. I looked at the belt when I was poking around the other day, and there was a good bit of slack in it. When I pushed on it, I could get it to move about an inch. I dunno. If it aint broke, dont fix it. But if I could find one SUPER detailed summary, I might be willing to take a stab at it.

I talked to a Volvo mechanic a while back, and he said that it would be something like 1200 bucks. I got outta there in a hurry.

I really like the car, but it is a bad thing when the cost to maintain it exceeds its value...

One thing came to mind, if the belt has that much slack in it, the water pump bolts may have vibrated loose. it would be a good idea to check those, because if the pump moves too far, it's all over.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '82 Mercedes 300SD

Tbelt job usually runs $350+ with a new water pump and tensioner it will run around $500. This may seem high, but price around what it cost to have alot of the newer double overhead cam engine tbelts replaced and it really isn't out of line ( dealer gets close to $700 to do a 960 gas burner around here , and those have to be changed about twice as often as a d24).
Email me offline and I'll send you detailed info on the replacement procedure so you can see what's involved.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '82 Mercedes 300SD