[ImperialCrown]

This bracket is probably important over the long term to 'steady' the water pump housing from engine vibration and to prevent leaks or housing breakage. Mitsubishi deemed it important enough to install it.
You may just have to loosen and not remove the bolts so that it can be moved to access the other w/pump bolts and to slip the old pump out.
The bracket-to-w/pump top bolt that you removed already is shorter than the others so that it can clear the intake manifold above it.
I wouldn't cut it.
I would also do valve cover gaskets and front cam seals for the oil leaks while you're in there.

 

[KOG]

And try a real solvent instead of WD 40. PB Blaster or Kroil might do some good. Heating just the head of the bolt with a very small flame such as oxy acetylene through a #000 tip could help. Another approach would be to cut the bracket away so that you can get an impact wrench on the bolts and then replace the bracket with another one to reassemble.

 

[SBMN39]

Valve cover gaskets were replaced recently, actually (within the last 8 months). The oil you're seeing might have been from the mechanic failing to pull the timing cover and cleaning up the grime. I have the receipts from shortly before I bought the car, it wasn't my body of work. I don't think the cam seals are leaking.

 

[SBMN39]

Okay, got a new snag this morning.

Sorry the picture quality isn't as good as the previous two pictures, cell phone camera vs. a nicer camera.

Thanks for the suggestion on the PB Blaster, that with some vise grips and a breaker bar got them loose. As you can see, the bolts won't thread out far enough to clear the intake manifold. And I've done visual verification with online photos, the lower half of the thermostat housing is a cast part of the intake.

I tried to go to Carquest to procure a Haynes manual this morning (lost mine when I moved out of state), they did not have one. Can anyone out there tell me if the textbook or factory manual instructions on removing the water pump include removing the intake manifold? I'm starting to see no way out of this. It's extremely frustrating because it's just one bolt, but if this is what I'm facing I need to prepare for a longer job. I've seen people online claim they've done it, but I don't know how in the heck they could have if these bolts won't thread out.

Best regards.

 

[John Wood]

That bolt is talked about in this link:
http://www.emprepcourse.com/mitsubishi/id17.html

There are great pictures and instructions in that link, but the resolution on removing that bolt is a little cloudy. It really sounds like you just have to loosen it enough to pull the pump off, but the actual bolt doesn't come out.

All of this went away with later versions of the 3.0. I had no problem with my 96 when it came to R&Ring the water pump.

 

[SBMN39]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.

Oh man, I feel stupid. That bracket doesn't need to be removed at all, just the one bolt. So glad I'm going to be past that. Well, now that I know, back to sweating and toiling, will be back soon with more pictures!

 

[SBMN39]

Did a test run of getting the new belt on. Timing on the right sprocket jumped on me while I was practicing it, but I've got a good feel for it now, just calling it a day due to exhaustion (work nights). Will reset the belt again tomorrow.

Since the distributor is turned by the cam sprocket and is thus not a reliable way to tell, what's the best way to determine TDC on this motor? Or do the marks just need to be lined up because it's an overhead cam engine? Sorry for all the dumb questions, this is the first OHC engine I've ever worked on this extensively.

 

[John Wood]

If the distributor was never pulled out, all you need to do is line up the marks per the 3.0 timing mark diagram.

 

[SBMN39]

The distributor was not pulled. So as long as the timing mark on the crank is lined up with the mark on the oil pump, it's where it needs to be? No need to worry about TDC?

 

[John Wood]

The distributor was not pulled. So as long as the timing mark on the crank is lined up with the mark on the oil pump, it's where it needs to be? No need to worry about TDC?

No need to worry. When the mark on the crank sprocket is lined up with the mark on the oil pump, your #1 piston is at TDC.

As long as your engine is supported well at the oil pan and nothing is near the timing belt or sprockets, you can run the engine for 20 seconds or so and then re-check all your timing marks. In my opinion, that is a good way to confirm that you are not off a tooth. The last thing you want, is to be off a notch and then have to tear down the front again to re-set it.

 

[SBMN39]

Sounds good to me. I can add an extra jackstand under the motor for safety, but as you can see, the jack is centered under a block of wood. It should work.

 

[SBMN39]

Do I need to put the harmonic balancer/pulley assembly back on before engaging the engine, even for 20 seconds?

 

[John Wood]

Do I need to put the harmonic balancer/pulley assembly back on before engaging the engine, even for 20 seconds?

I'm pretty sure I didn't. You just need to run it at idle speed for a few seconds. Perhaps you should leave the crank bolt in and snug it a little.

 

[KOG]

No need for pulley or bolt.

 

[Kevin1990]

I bend it.....then fixed it

I couldn´t remove the bolts cause of worn out screws.....but it worked.....now the water pipe behind the pump broke. nice.

 

[SBMN39]

All fixed. I torqued down the timing tension pulley to about 50-60 ft-lbs., wasn't sure how tight it should go.

Just took it around the block, seems to be fine so far. Thanks for all the help.