Hi

I attempted to change a bad fan belt today on my '82 diesel Vanagon.

The bad belt was the one that goes from the waterpump pulley to the
alternator. My engine does not have air conditioning.

I hope I don't sound too stupid but here are the details of what I did.

I went to the local NAPA and got 2 new belts. I noticed that one was just a
little longer than the other and proceeded to try to install them.

I thought I had them in the correct order but maybe not. When I went to
install the lower belt, it was very tight and I tried to turn the engine
over with a wrench to get it to go over the pulley. I finally got it over
the pulley but then when I went to tighten the bolts on the pulley on the
waterpump, I saw radiator fluid dripping slightly from the waterpump.

I am guessing that maybe I got the belts switched and forcing the engine to
turn over put too much stress on the aluminum in the waterpump casing it to
crack slightly.

I should have checked with this list first before a went ahead with this
project. It has been a wealth of information and saved me time and money.
Now I am afraid I ruined the waterpump also. I did a similar job on my
diesel Rabbit with air last year and didn't have near the problems.

Which belt goes where? Does the longer one go to the alternator or is it the
other way around?

How difficult is it to changed the waterpump? How much do they usually run?

And last, is there a trick for installing the belts when they are hard to
get on. I don't want to ruin another waterpump.

Many thanks in advance!!

Jim