I have scowered the dark web for any information on the installation of this for a Van and not a truck, for so long that I’ve finally come here to hope to find some respite in the desert of information on this topic on YouTube and Reddit.

I just bought this sweet black beast and I need to replace it and the serpentine belt, ideally at the same time, but cannot find a lick of information on its replacement procedure.

Dear God, if you’re there, point me in the right damn direction before I decide to blow money on a mechanic.

 

Same procedure that it is for the truck. It's the same engine after all. Just a more fun spot to work on, being the engine is buried back there in the nether regions of the van.

 

thank you!! I just wanted to make sure. I figured it would be similiar but before I started taking everything out I wanted to confirm at least the truck videos were relative. Legend! Appreciate you!

 

Its a lot easier if you take the fan shroud out completely, and break the fan loose BEFORE you take off the belt. Give you a LOT of room to work in there.

 

How many miles on the van? If you're going to replace the water pump and belt, if you're over 120,000 to 150,000 miles, I'd go a little farther and replace the timing chain too. Once the pump is off, it's just a big bolt to remove the balancer and a few small ones to get the cover off. When I did my '96, the harmonic balancer was starting to come apart. Evidently it was coming apart for a while and my engine pirrs as smooth or smoother than engine with a lot less miles. Most of the labor will already be done.

 

THIS ^^ Is an EXCELLENT suggestion. Thanks Grouch.

 

When I had my shop, I had a car come in for a water pump. I asked the guy if it needed any other work. He said the timing chain might have some slop but he'd wait for a while because of money. A week later I used the hook to bring it in after it jumped time. He had the money, he just didn't want to spend it right away. He did anyway.

 

I have the serpentine belt that I’m going to replace. I don’t have a chain on mine unless I’m looking at something different.

the AC lines are in the way of removing the shroud. Is there any work around or do you know how I’d go about taking those out?

and it’s at 115k miles right now

 

What year is your van? I'm assuming late 90's so your chain will be good for a bit, but you're in there so go ahead and take care of it now. My chain was just about worn out at 150K. Metallurgy has improved over the years. My '54 Dodge jumped time at 60K. I had a '70 Chevy jump at about 120K. Ny the late 90's, timing chains are good for 150 to 175K.

Your timing chain is behind the sheet metal cover the water pump is bolted in front of. There will be four bolts holding the pulley to the harmonic balancer then one BIG bolt holding the balancer on. Use a puller to pull the balancer then there are some small bolts holding the cover. Once that is off, you'll see one large cog and one small one. Those are what keep the valves and pistons in time. If it's very far out of time, your fuel mileage will suck and power will be down.

The reason I asked what year your van is, is so I can figure out how things are routed in the engine area. On my '96, I just pulled the belt and then removed the bracket holding the a/c compressor and alternator and moved the whole assembly to the side. Unhook the wires but the a/c lines can be left alone, just move them out of the way. This will give you plenty of room to work. Besides the timing chain, I'd replace all the hoses and the thermostat while you're in there.. In a few months you'll appreciate the good heat and not worry about a hose failing. Thy are not allowed to blow until the temperature is below freezing and its freezing rain. Make sure you put a 195 degree thermostat in and NOT a fail safe unit. Every one of those I've worked on either were failed to begin with or failed shortly afterward.

 

oh so the chain is behind the water pump. I’ll have to do it another time because just getting the tools and parts for this put my already small bank account to 0. But I know how to get everything out of the way to get to the water pump now.

It’s a 1997 2500 with 114k on the engine and its running the v6 motor. The thermostat was replaced shortly before I bought it but I couldn’t tell you what kind they put into it.

thank you so much for all of this information that, eventually, I’ll understand. Now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I’ll definitely be going back to change out the timing chain. It’ll probably be in the winter when I’ve got my Ranger on the road or in the spring when it’s warmer but I’d love to get this whole front end repaired to new parts in time!