YES, I did it! - Timing belt, water pump, accessory belt.

[aguiler]

Originally Posted by antonym

Nope! My hands are pretty big (at 6 ft 180lbs).... but once you completely remove the engine mount.... BOTH pieces (the piece bolted to the block is a PITA).... there is plenty of space....

Hi antonym,
I have a 2001 Beetle that I purchased for my daughter and I beleive the water pump has to be replaced. I have no heater and loosing coolant. I already changed the thermostat so I know its not that. It seems that I am not getting adequate coolant circulation.The leak seems to be on the passenger side where the water pump is located. How can I see for sure if it is the water pump? I have replaced water pumps before on American cars but never on foreign vehicle. I don't have a problem doing this work but before I invest in a repair kit it would be nice to know for sure. The previous owners never changed the water pump and timing belt although they where not the original owners. Is their any advice you can give me. Any would be appreciated............ Thanks in advance

[antonym]

Originally Posted by aguiler

Hi antonym,
I have a 2001 Beetle that I purchased for my daughter and I beleive the water pump has to be replaced. I have no heater and loosing coolant. I already changed the thermostat so I know its not that. It seems that I am not getting adequate coolant circulation.The leak seems to be on the passenger side where the water pump is located. How can I see for sure if it is the water pump? I have replaced water pumps before on American cars but never on foreign vehicle. I don't have a problem doing this work but before I invest in a repair kit it would be nice to know for sure. The previous owners never changed the water pump and timing belt although they where not the original owners. Is their any advice you can give me. Any would be appreciated............ Thanks in advance

Unless you dismantle a whole lot of stuff you wont actually see much. My bet is that the plastic on the pump disintegrated. Just as safe you get the kit and replace the pump with the upgraded one that has metal. All the best!

[Dewey!]

For anyone considering doing this, I can testify that the kit is GREAT and the process is not that hard (I wish I had smaller arms). It took my daughter and I the better part of 7 hours to get it done, but that was pulling the car in the garage to hosing out the garage after cleaning up the spilled antifreeze.

Curt

P.S.
I had a leak at the hose connection to the heater core also, so I bought two new hoses from ECS. The cost of the hoses and the timing kit was less that the quotes hose kit from the local dealership!