mx5cartalk.com

I'm working through a coolant reroute. I'm at the stage where I want to remove the outlet on the front of my B6. I just wanted to confirm something before I proceed any further:

Do I need to remove the cam belt to remove the outlet?

If so I might wait until I've got a new water pump and cam belt handy and do the lot in one go.

yes according to the manual as, at least on the na8, the black plate blocks access to the housing bolts, & cam wheels need to come off to remove the plate.

Hmm... Sounds like more hassle than I was expecting.

Now I have to toss up whether to do the timing belt/water pump now or just refit the existing items.

Repco want $300+ for the timing belt kit and $140 for the water pump which seems quite excessive for a $800 motor.

US$140 shipped to Aust BP kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2089wt_941

here's some comment: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=43112

a few forumites have got stuff from CNS, but I've not heard feedback one way or the other, but as you say on an $800 motor, it would cost you that again if you weren't doing it yourself!

couldn't you just leave the existing outlet in place, and put a cap on it? it wouldn't look as neat but it'd solve the problem and save you some money.

Yes a cap would work but I want to do it properly, encourage 100% flow in the correct direction and regain the space around the front of the engine.

Thanks for the tip on CNS, seems to be an OEM grade pump - hopefully the timing belt is of good quality. The whole B6 kit shipped (pump, belt and pulleys) was less than a pump alone purchased locally.

I'll take photos and update the forum on removing the water neck/ putting in the freeze plug etc etc.