882 Diesel: Finally replaced the water pump/alt belt

[TheSaturnV]

I put this off as long as I possibly could. The other day I noticed the temp gauge creeping up off its normal perch and when I glanced into the engine bay I saw that the water pump / alternator belt was not even moving. It was so stretched out, it wouldn't even turn the pulleys anymore.

It really wasn't that big of a job to replace the belt itself, but you do have to move the engine forward a few inches. I pulled out the 4 engine mounts (tops only) and used a floor jack/block of wood to raise the little Kubota from below and skooch it forward enough to get the driveshaft out.

The new fan and belt went on easily, and had I stopped there.... Nope, I just had to continue on and rebuild the steering gear box. Because things are so crowded in the dash area, it was a bit of a bear to get the steering mechanism out. In this case, the steering box and rod dropped out, leaving the hollow tube behind. Up inside the dash area, this tube shares a mounting plate with the Cessna hydraulic unit and is secured by a U-bolt. The nuts on this thing are basically impossible to reach. I would not suggest even trying to remove the tube until you are ready for a total tear-down and resto.

The box rebuild went 1-2-3, and I was able to save $12 by making my own steering gasket out of some sound deadening poly-foam. Inside, the box looked really good, and the only thing I did was clean it out and do a quick re-grind and file job on the cam.

I put a quick paint job on the radiator and shroud, and found that an old tri-spring off my 147's PTO made a perfect radiator tool. Got the fins all nice and straightened up. TLC for the radiator is everything in these diesels. Not only because they get plugged up, but the replacement cost is out of this world. Did a quick wash job and got everything back together. However, when I fired it up I noticed a tapping noise not previously there. I had overtightened the front rag joint bolts, pulling the ends too close to the steering tube. I noticed that a PO must have done the same, because the tube had old rusty damage in this area. Loosened the bolts and the problem went away (see blue circle).

Enough blabbing, here's the pics:

[ACecil]

Job well done and thanks for the pics!

[TheIHMan]

Looks good. Those diesels sure are a tight fit in there!

[Cubcrazy]

Nice job!

[red56turbo]

Thanks for sharing the pics! One of these days, I've gotta pull the engine on my 782D and do some cleaning and work. Gives me some incentive.

[TheSaturnV]

It was actually one of the easiest motor pulls I've ever done. I've had the motor mounts out before to tilt the motor up and do the starter conversion, but was able to leave the rag joints alone. Now that I've taken them apart and had the drive shaft out, it's not that big of a chore. I need to buy an engine hoist for when I finally get around to installing the engine on my Datsun Z, so now I have extra incentive because the Kubota has lift rings at each end of the block. Pulling it out would be a snap with the hoist.

[Tacosteelersman]

Thanks for the pics and info on your alt belt job, I will be doing the same maintence on my 1512 soon.
I do want to comment on your fram oil filter. They have paper elements and can blow out internally rendering them useless.

[Sam Mac]

Nice write up. Gotta remember the tool to straighten the fins. I'm planning on pulling the radiators out of my 2182 and 1782 this winter and have them boiled out, they run just a little warmer than I like. I'll probably also do the starter up grade for the smoker while I'm at it.

[chris hall]

great work tsv. will they be a youtube video ? if so i cant wait to see it.

[Oak]

Good job TSV. They do stuff a lot of stuff in those diesels. Are you running 1 rag joint on the rear coupler or does it just look like that in the pic?