D5 water pump removal/replacement

[Olaf Els]

I've searched but failed to find any information concerning how to replace the water pump on the D5 engine. Mine is a D5244T10 205 PS. I've removed all the bolts holding the pump in place, but right now I can't see how the pump is going to come out as the gap is so narrow. I don't want to risk losing the timing by removing the rear timing cover and cam pulley.

If anyone has done this job and can give me some tips I'd be extremely grateful.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Olaf Els

I've searched but failed to find any information concerning how to replace the water pump on the D5 engine. Mine is a D5244T10 205 PS. I've removed all the bolts holding the pump in place, but right now I can't see how the pump is going to come out as the gap is so narrow. I don't want to risk losing the timing by removing the rear timing cover and cam pulley.

If anyone has done this job and can give me some tips I'd be extremely grateful.

I would be amazed if there is anything wrong with it even if it were 30 years old .. i would leave it as long as it spins smoothly and does not leak ... I have never come across a faulty one in 30 years since that type was introduced , working with them on a daily basis ... .. if you were to change it for a non volvo pump it would be hugely less reliable than leaving it ..

[Olaf Els]

Many thanks for your advice. That's very useful. I think I will follow your advice and put it back in place. My only concern is that I might have damaged the gasket when I removed it. If so, I will use the one that came with the new pump, even if it's not as good as the original.


Thanks again.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Olaf Els

Many thanks for your advice. That's very useful. I think I will follow your advice and put it back in place. My only concern is that I might have damaged the gasket when I removed it. If so, I will use the one that came with the new pump, even if it's not as good as the original.


Thanks again.

That is another thing , the gasket .. Renault used the volvo 4 and 5 cylinder engine in some of their cars as their own own engines would not pass the emission tests , anyway they bought the bare engines from Volvo and used their own black gaskets for water pump etc , these were forever leaking after wards , whilst the green volvo gaskets lasted indefinitely . best not spoil the job ...

[Olaf Els]

Originally Posted by Clan

That is another thing , the gasket .. Renault used the volvo 4 and 5 cylinder engine in some of their cars as their own own engines would not pass the emission tests , anyway they bought the bare engines from Volvo and used their own black gaskets for water pump etc , these were forever leaking after wards , whilst the green volvo gaskets lasted indefinitely . best not spoil the job ...

Thanks for the warning but too late! I've put an aftermarket gasket on just now. What an absolute pig of a job getting the pump back in position.

[Olaf Els]

I've worked for the best part of five hours on this, three of which were with a mate. The conclusion is that on this particular engine at least, it's impossible to remove the water pump (with the engine in situ) without taking off the rear timing cover. To remove this cover, the cam pulley must be removed. My concern was losing the timing, as a) the cam might turn when undoing the bolts and b) the holes in the pulley are slotted and the timing depends on it going back in place perfectly. I could possibly have dremelled accurate marks, but I didn't trust myself working on an unlocked cam. On this 205 PS engine, and maybe others, there are fuel supply and return lines that are right in the way of getting the pump out. One other option would have been to cut a piece out of the inner cover, but that would have left a permanent gap. I have to say that the thoughtless engineering that renders this job so difficult is very annoying. Other vehicles have two-piece inner covers, and this arrangement would have allowed the pump to come out. So I have ended up having to put the original pump back, but with an inferior gasket as the original broke up. So I am left worse off than when I started. There's one more problem - part of the inner case has to go behind the pump, so it had to be released to let the pump mate up properly. An example of shoddy engineering from Volvo, in my opinion. They probably couldn't care less - most of the cars will have left the dealer network well before this job might need doing.