1978 Ranchero 500. Pumps leaking like crazy. I have a belt to remove, which i assume is the serpentine belt? Its tight as can be on the pulleys. I have no clue how to remove this and any other advice on this do-it-yourself project would be much appreciated. Thanks
being a 78 it probably has a V belt instead of a serpentine belt. you loosen the adjustment bolt on the alternator and the long through bolt, push the alternator and the belt should come off. you will need to take the fan off, it should have 4 bolts to take out to remove the fan. then you take the hose off after you drain the radiator and take out the water pump bolts and pry off the pump. now before installing the new pump make sure the gasket surface is clean and dry. put some good sealer on both sides of the gasket. to keep the gasket from moving i use string like thread and tie the gasket on. put the pump in place, put the bolts back in and tighten them, put the hose back on, put the fan back on and tighten the bolts and refill the radiator. if you want good sealer use what i use. i use indian head shellac. once that stuff gets set up it won,t leak. auto zone sells it in a small brown bottle.
Replacing a water pump when you don't even know if you're talking about the serpentine belt or not, is not a DIY job.
You can loosen alternator, or power steering pump, or jump belt off of idler pulley if it has one. But I doubt that it is a serpentine belt, just a v-belt.
