Hey yall, long time reader first time poster.

I have a 96 4.0 Cherokee (w/ac) that i am currently replacing the water pump on. The problem i am running into is the idler pulley bracket mounting bolts (2 connect to water pump and one to the engine) are supposed to be 35 ft. lbs. according to the FSM, yet the water pump mounting bolts are only supposed to be torqued to 22 ft. lbs. onto the engine. Is this correct? i am concerned with stripping or cracking the water pump housing while mounting the idler pulley back on.

Thanks!

 

Those numbers are the same as what I found in the FSM for a 2000 XJ.

 

have you had any experience with replacing the water pump? the first time i mounted the idler pulley to the pump it i torqued one bolt into the water pump to 35 ft lbs and it stripped the threads out of the pump...so i am hesitant to do that again! could i get away with only torquing it to 22 ft lbs to be safe?

 

To be perfectly honest I never torqued any of mine to specs. I just make sure that they are snug enough so it wont leak and I have never had a problem and it will avoid striping and of the threads.

 

I don't remember those specific bolts but I did replace the water pump when I had to replace the cracked cylinder head a couple of years ago and I know I torqued all the bolts using the spec in the manual. Make sure your torque wrench is working properly. Also, in my experience the ones from Harbor Freight, usually on sale for $9.99 are crap and are hit or miss and may not release at the set torque value.