Need help with 1986 Pontiac Parisienne, belt removal. Getting frustrated.

a reply to: Iscool

Thanks for taking the time to find that, but oddly enough that is a serpentine belt set up and this particular car is running the old v belt type belts...all independent of each other. Might be the difference between the 305 and the 307 (one I'm working on is a 307)...

Thanks anyways though.
I've got 5 times the response here as at the pontiac forums..lol. Imagine that

a reply to: Ceeker63

That's essentially what I started doing. I took the one loose that goes from alternator over to water pump pulley. As I said before, I can do the same with the one from a/c pump. Again, the only one I've really got questions about is the one from water pump straight down. It only goes on one other pulley, which I believe to be something along the lines of oil pump/air pump....the pulley is directly in front of the oil hold. There is just nothing that can be shifted around and it all bolts in straight...no rocker arm type bolting on it (unlike the other aforementioned ones)

Idk, about to get into it again. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks again for all the replies.

I just checked a few sources and I do not see a 307 being available for that year. Are you sure it is not a 301?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'm positive...
VIN Y....there is VIN H and VIN Y....I think H is without a/c and Y is with. I just got the water pump for it yesterday and auto zone pulled up data for a 6 cylinder model and 2 8's....the 305 and the 307....I seen it on their screen.

It's apparently fairly "rare"....Here is a site that mentions it
My google fu isn't working either.

So, here's the update.

I have taken one bracket loose this morning, over on the a/c side. Had to remove the pulley to get it off because the bolts run clear through to the other side of the a/c unit...I actually didn't even get it all the way off, just slide out of the way. One of the long bolts won't come back through because it runs into the a/c pump...

I'm currently attempting to get the other bracket loose and am one bolt shy, but can't seem to get to the damned thing. It's a hell of a knuckle buster as well, as my bleeding hand is now proof of

I'm going to get a few pics and will post them momentarily...
I've never in my life had to take so much sh#t apart just to get a water pump out. Jeeez...and I thought my F150 (89) was tough because there was no room to bring the water pump out because it is very close to the radiator and the thermostat housing is in the way, so that eliminates bringing it up and out...

Anyways...back in a sec.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Here you can see where I slide the bracket on the left out of the way. You can also see, on the right, the bracket I'm having trouble with. The pulley there is not like the one on the left, which just had three small screws that hold it on. The one on the right...I don't know how to remove that one and there is a pesky bolt at bottom behind the pulley that I can't seem to get anything on besides a wrench and then when I do, I have absolutely zero room to move it....even IF I do get it out, I'm not sure that thing is going to slide far enough forwards to detach from the bolts over at water pump (center)...



Two other pics, just for angle and since I've already uploaded them...

a reply to: Jakal26


There should be two holes in the power steering pump pulley that align at 2/3 o'clock and 9/10 with bolts underneath to remove the entire assembly.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

You mean the power steering pump and all, correct? There are 3 holes in the pulley, btw. But I know what you're saying.

Is there any way to just remove that pulley? Looks like just a round hole in the middle of it, so I'm not sure, but if I could get that pulley off I could get to the other bolt holding that bracket....those holes in the pulley itself won't line up, it's angled and I can't get a socket on it at all...tried 100 times.

Thanks for the help, btw.

I will remove the power steering pump entirely if I have to...just making sure that's what you're saying.

Damn, putting this jazz back together is going to be the "fun" part...I already see that coming

So, I guess the only way is going to be to remove that power steering pump pulley.
I've got the tool on the way right now, got a rental tool which is great because I can take it back and get a full refund.

It's a "press in" type pulley and I pulled up a "how to" so I think it's going to work out.

Fingers crossed.

a reply to: Jakal26

You should be able to remove the pulley with a power steering pump pulley removal tool which allows you to hold the pulley while removing the bolt. They look like this:



ETA: I see you figured it out. You cannot remove or reattach the pulley without it.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

One question...can I use the removal tool to reinstall the pulley once I'm through? Or is there a separate tool for that....the videos I've seen aren't specific enough for me to catch on just yet....kinda learning as I go here. Which might or might not be a good thing...lol

a reply to: Jakal26

I have put them on with the same tool.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Good...

Problem I'm having now is the one I rented was the "vice" type...so I put it on and it's got these little tiny ass screws that clamp it down in place. There are allen wrench type heads on these two screws...I get them good and tight and start turning the rig and it starts slipping around the pulley...so I tightened them some more...so much so that they were nearly bent a bit. Still slipping around the pulley when I try to turn it further into the hole...can't tighten them any more because they are nearly stripped anyways.

So....I am heading BACK to the frikkin' auto parts store to see if they have the one I seen online that is more like a couple rings that secure the pulley, and they tighten up on it differently than this "vice" type on, which is basically a pos. The little handle that came with it, yeah, I bent that just trying to turn the thing...so.

Apparently, others had trouble with it too...the threaded thing that goes into the pulley was already semi stripped (threads) and I'm not even sure if I got it far enough in that it wouldn't have came to those stripped threads and just started ringing off in circles without doing anything...

Frustration...oh, the frustration.
Is it beer thirty yet?

Right...thought so.

a reply to: Jakal26

Try to get the one I linked in the photo. They work better, just two wrenches.

Do it tomorrow, it's pretty much cocktail hour.

a reply to: Jakal26

just use a bolt and a bunch of washers.
get a long bolt and put a handful of washer on it. drive that into the center of the pump(where the pulley goes) and it will press the pulley back on.

Surely somebody has mentioned it ( started reading the first responses earlier and now skipped to the end) pick up a chiltons book at the auto parts store or local library.


As I said I haven't read every response and this is just my idea (unless somebody else said it first) If you need the bracket off behind the power steering pump. What if you double nut the studs the bracket is on (also holding water pump) and tried to back them out of the block?

So, I got the water pump off, finally.
Had to go to plan B because I couldn't get the power steering pulley off, even after renting two separate tools and attempting to use another version of the same tool, it just wouldn't "pop"...so, I sat under the car for about an hr doing 1/32 inch turns at a time (if that much) getting that pesky bracket bolt out. It wasn't fun, but it was effective.

Today I will be cleaning up everything and installing the new water pump and putting all this sh#t back together. Hopefully all goes well and it doesn't prove to be yet another pain in my rear end.

Thanks again for all the help and advice here. That's one of many reasons I still love this place, I don't care what they say about you guys

originally posted by: Jakal26
Thanks again for all the help and advice here. That's one of many reasons I still love this place, I don't care what they say about you guys

No worries. With the advice I provided your vehicle will be spewing Masonic chemtrails once reassembled. My work is done.

Going to necro this thread because I need a bit of advice from anyone familiar with the Olds 307 engines.
I'm currently having a heating problem unrelated (as far as I currently know) to the new(er) water pump that I installed when I initially made this thread.

I am about to change the thermostat (starting with the cheapest parts and working up, hoping it isn't a cracked head)....last time I changed it, I noted that the thermostat housing gasket (pictured below) is solid all the way around, but the housing itself, where the thermostat sits is "hollow", so that one little strip of gasket in the center where the hole is, seems to be obstructing coolant flow.



Anyone familiar with this? Is this an issue of aftermarket being different than the original?
I know that the housing is a bit different on some of the 307s that I have seen, vs the one I have.
What is the purpose of that section of gasket that I crudely circled there? There is nothing to seal there. It is in "open air" and seems to me that it restricts flow (or could) and could be cut out of it and wouldn't make a difference on the seal itself. Am I off base on that assumption?

Thanks in advance.
I've not had any luck (as there are various versions) finding a supposed "original" gasket and the one pictured is the only one available now. I didn't take the original one off, so I don't know if it had that section of gasket there or was "hollow" there and had just the edge.

Hope this makes sense. I know it's a bit here and there and I am writing well here. Forgive me. Whiskey hangovers have that effect sometimes....

Anyways...thanks again to any that come along knowledgeable about this...I know I can always count on you guys and that is why I post here when I need quick replies vs the pontiac or olds forums (takes a LONG time sometimes to get a reply there)...