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Complete Idiots Guide to Changing Smog Pump on a 95 5.0/302

28K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Spktyr 
#1 ·
doing a lot of search on how to change the smog pump, the directions has always been somewhat vague. yeah, it's a bit detailed with some pics but not exactly on a how-to for complete idiots like me.
well, took me an hour from start to finish and if I can do it in a hour, I'm sure you can do it faster.

1: get your tools together, both metric and standard. why? i have no idea why Ford decided to use 10mm for the pulley bolts and standard (is it really standard when the rest of the world doesn't use it?) for the rest.
a: 10mm
b: 9/16
c: 1/2
d: 12 inch 3/8 inch extension
e: 3 in ch 3/8 inch extension
f: universal joint
g: 3 inch 1/4 inch extension
h: 3/4 open ended wrench
i: pair of ***** (yeah, not those... i wished for it as well)
j: 1 old "tupperware" container (any container where you lost the lid to or even the good ol' chinese take out pint container would do)

first, loosen the pulley bolts; there's 3. rather easy to get to. don't take it off, just make sure they're cracked and ready for removal.

next, i think it's the 1/2 inch to take the belt off. it's reverse threading so to take the belt off, go "loosie". if not, you'll end up taking the bolt off and "dat's no gewd..."

with the belt off, take the pulley off. remove the 3 bolts and put it in the tupperware. keeping the parts together now saves you time later. i know it looks tempting to take the top bolt off but trust me, you ain't getting to it. take the pulley off first. OH, this is another step that was never mentioned: the pulley's center might get "wedged" in there so it's not as simple as just slipping it off. you know that 3/4 open ended wrench, use that to gently turn and wedge it between the tensioner. Just go in circles so it slowly pushes the pulley off the center "nipple". when you get a bit of it going, you can start wedging it out (up, down, left, right, etc...)

9/16th is the one for the front top bolt. go ahead and slap that 9/16th on the ratchet and try to pop it. unless it's been done yesterday, it's going to fight you. that 3/4 wrench you got laying around seems very handy right now to help leverage the ratchet. if you don't know how to get extra leverage with a open wrench, stop reading, call a friend that knows and have them help you.... PLEASE!

OK, got the top bolt off and it's time to work on the lower bolt. Please note this: the top bolt is about 5 inches long but the bolt on the bottom is only about 3. Yes, if you're like me (a complete idiot) and didn't look at the pump, you'll notice the top bolt goes though while the bottom bolt does not. Now here's the thing I didn't find doing my search: how to get the lower bolt off. grab the 1/2, slap on the universal joint. get under the truck and have the x-beam in your face. if you're dead smack middle of the truck, there's a hole you can peep into and see the rear bolt. with the left hand, put the 1/2 socket and universal on there. with the right hand, take the 2 extension and snake it though. combine with ratchet. Again, unless you just changed your smog pump yesterday or is wearing a big S on your chest, good luck getting it off w.o any help. Hey look, there's that 3/4 wrench hanging out by your side. give that sucker a try. while using the 3/4, try to angle it so you give it some push into the socket since there's a universal on there, it will like to slip off and round itself however w.o the universal, you can't get the extensions on there or get the socket on tight.

now that you got BOTH bolts off, climb aboard with a 1/4 inch wide flat head. pry open the pinch clamp for the side and... shit, i forgot what size the other clamp used but it's not a pinch, it's standard screw type. spray a bit of WD40 or something to get the hoses off. yank it and place it aside. i took the top tube and bent it up and sat it on the alternator's pulley. the other one sat with the airing harness so it's out of the way. this is a good time to make sure nobody is under your truck. say the pump left and right and push it down. wonder why it's a PITA to get it out? keep going and you'll find out. push down and swing at the same time. soon, it'll drop like morning anchor (if you have to ask what morning anchor is, you need to grow pubic hair first).

Here's where I noticed something WAY the f*ck out from left field for me. the top bolt has this spring loaded "clip" for the bolt. grab the new pump, go under and wedge it upwards. wonder why you need that 1/4 3" extension? use that as a guild since the bolt is way too long and you have to make it "perfect" to get it going which is frustrating, at least for me. get the pump up there and use the 1/4 extension as a guild to align it. this part gets different for some. I actually put the lower bolt in (not tight) and removed the extension replacing it with the top bolt. wiggling a bit here and there and it's in.

I hand screwed in the top bolt a bit then i tightened the lower bolt. I did this after feeling there isn't any movement from the pump so there's no need to "fine tune" the location once it's in. get back upstairs and into the bay. get that top bolt in tight. no need to use the 3/4; you don't want to strip it.

put the hoses back in and use the **** to tighten the pinch clamp and ratchet tight the other clamp. put the pulley on and one at a time, get the 10 mm bolts in. don't tighten it down or even attempt to; you'll just go crazy. be lazy, let the car do the work for you but make sure you screw it down enough so it doesn't wobble.

put the belt on (remember, reverse threading or you'll be like me and keep loosening the pulley bolt... idiot i am..). I actually put the V part on first and used the flat pulley next to the alternator (above the tensioner) as the last pulley to strap on to; easier to put belt on flat surface than grooved ones. Once the belt is on, tighten the pulley bolts... BUT NOT TOO MUCH!!! Don't go superman on them, just tight, not "going to shank this bolt on" tight.

start truck... listen to no squeak... or less squeak. The Cardone pump I got said there is going to be a bit of squeaking for the first 500 miles or so but it's been really quiet already so....

So, from one idiot to another, that's the verbal breakdown on how to change smog pump as detailed as I can get.


thanks for reading... critique away.. :whiteflag
 
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#2 ·
Just what I was looking for...thanks Americandan for the head start... at least I hope it is a head start in my case as I own a 1990 FSB... my smog pump just seized on my yesterday... thank God I was only 1 mile from home... going to Advanced Auto parts this morning to get a cardone replacement... I wonder if the 90 is all that much different then the 95??? Guess I will have to post back my results...

Thanks :rockon
 
#3 ·
They're remarkably close I just replaced mine on the 89' about the same time the OP posted this. Weird huh? I did add one little mod to mine though.
 
#5 ·
New problem for me now.... While removing the PITA upper bolt, it broke :banghead

Now I have to figure out how I am going to get the pump off so that I can remove the broken bolt... then find a replace for it... :cry

Anyone have this happen to them and can advise:cry

I am thinking I will have to remove the radiator and fan to get me enough room to work... so much for an easy weekend project...:banghead:banghead
 
#6 ·
Mine was a lot easier the part where the bolt threads in broke off. You need to soak it down with some pb blaster on the back side did you get the bolt out how much broke off you may be able to get the smog pump out. The mount is only held on by 3 bolts if you have to remove it.
 
#7 ·
The first 1/2 in so the rest of it is still in place. I did not try the lower bolt yet as I got a little POed. Figured I needed to walk away for a bit. I am wondering if I need to tear down the radiator and and fan in order to get at it from the bottom as I dont know how I am going to get this thing off now.
 
#8 ·
SO am finally getting around to trying to fix this smog pump thing. As it turns out because of the way the smog pump fits into the braket, like the alternator, I can't just remove the bottom bolt and pull it off. So I started to try and get the whole alt braket off... yup you guessed it, one last bolt behind one of the water pump inlet tubs is blocking my access directly... :banghead

So now I have to contemplate my next move.. remove the whole front of the engine compartment, fan, radiator ect to get a better angle on that bolt or throw in the towel and call for reinforcements.. [ a real mechanic...] :cry Mind you I had the egine out already to fix a rusted oil pan, so I replaced the entire EGR system, water pump, radiator ect.. I would have thought the mechanice would have at least checked the smog pump while it was out of the truck..:smilie_slap

so, going to be my camera so that I can document eveyrthing and might as well tear into it.. have to get this done by end of august in prep for the winter. I really don't want to get caught short AGAIN when the first storm hits....
 
#10 · (Edited)
You are correct unless you break one of them like I did...:banghead

So, I am happy to report I finally got the last bolt off and removed the smog pump with the braket together... it is assame though that I did not have someone along to document the contortionist I can be when needed... see I could not get a good angle on the last bolt behind the water pump inlets. SO i removed the mechanical fan but it was still a bit off. the belt tensioner was still in my way. So, I got me my breaker bar, pull the belt tensioner completely counter clockwise which moved the pulley out of the way giveing me a staight shot at the bolt. Problem was I did not have anyone to hold the breaker bar so while leaning into the engine compartment over the radiator, I braised the bar with my left cheek kind of like when you are holding your cell phone against your ear with your sholder. Then I was able to work the 1/2 rachet with swivel joint, standard 1/2 insocket and 3 in extension onto the last bold and break it loose... :popc1:

So now i just have to get the damm broken bolt out and replace it with a new one... then I thought, well since it is already broken down this far might as well replace the pos leaking power steering pump with a sag and bracket I got in January for a 1990 E350 as well as do the 3G alternator upgrade since I already have that bracket out and throw in an electric fan to replace the rusing old mechanical one too...;) but that is for another thread...

Here is the bracket with pump, front and back. The red box shows the broken bolt..

Front


..
Back

 
#11 ·
You are correct unless you break one of them like I did...:banghead

I could not get a good angle on the last bolt behind the water pump inlets. SO i removed the mechanical fan but it was still a bit off. the belt tensioner was still in my way. So, I got me my breaker bar, pull the belt tensioner completely counter clockwise which moved the pulley out of the way giveing me a staight shot at the bolt. Problem was I did not have anyone to hold the breaker bar so while leaning into the engine compartment over the radiator

why not just remove the tensioner?
 
#12 ·
I suppose that would have worked also...:doh0715: When I go to put it back in that will most likely be the way I go...:rockon
 
#13 ·
OK, got the top bolt off and it's time to work on the lower bolt. Please note this: the top bolt is about 5 inches long but the bolt on the bottom is only about 3. Yes, if you're like me (a complete idiot) and didn't look at the pump, you'll notice the top bolt goes though while the bottom bolt does not. Now here's the thing I didn't find doing my search: how to get the lower bolt off. grab the 1/2, slap on the universal joint. get under the truck and have the x-beam in your face. if you're dead smack middle of the truck, there's a hole you can peep into and see the rear bolt. with the left hand, put the 1/2 socket and universal on there. with the right hand, take the 2 extension and snake it though. combine with ratchet. Again, unless you just changed your smog pump yesterday or is wearing a big S on your chest, good luck getting it off w.o any help. Hey look, there's that 3/4 wrench hanging out by your side. give that sucker a try. while using the 3/4, try to angle it so you give it some push into the socket since there's a universal on there, it will like to slip off and round itself however w.o the universal, you can't get the extensions on there or get the socket on tight.
There's an easier way to get to that bottom bolt, or at least get the smog pump out. The lower rear facing bolt clamps the smog pump to a sort of S-shaped bracket (visible below at the end of the long red arrow, sorry about the picture quality). The bracket is very short and attaches to the engine by going over a stud and being clamped down by a nut (the short red arrow below). Pictures are clickable for larger/higher resolution versions.



Or, from another point of view - both red arrows are pointing to the stud and nut.



Note that this is quite easily accessible. So, what you do is:

Remove the belt.
Remove the pulley.
Remove the nut holding the bracket onto the stud.
Remove the upper bolt and other connections.
Pivot the smog pump away from the engine and pull it forward off the stud. No need for herculean exertions under the crossmember to get it off.

You still have to remove the bracket and bolt from the pump but that will be much easier when you can get it on the bench and soak it in penetrant, use a 'blue wrench,' etc.

When putting the new pump in, put the bolt and bracket on the new pump and finger tighten the bolt so you can still pivot the bracket around and get the the bracket to the correct orientation on the stud. Now when you get everything connected up as a last step before putting the belt on, you can go under the truck's crossmember and tighten up the bolt the last bit of the way. Tightening it to the correct spec through the crossmember window is a lot easier than trying to break it free.
 
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