I'm am replacing my waterpump on an '86 325e inline 6. Everything is going ok except for the waterpump tensioner. I can't seem to get it installed without twisting the pump around and tearing up the pump gasket. Is their a special tool or way to do it without much cursing and bloody knuckles? ANY information would help because money is quickly running short. Thanks.

by the way....it's the E30 engine

You should have used a pair of needle-nose visegrips to lock the tensioner rod into place before removing the water pump.

What you have to do now is loosen the tensioner roller, install the water pump, and then install the tensioner spring and rod. Then you can compress the spring by pushing on the roller plate. Only problem is, it's recommended that the cam belt be replaced whenever the tensioner is loosened. Reuse at your own risk.

If I decide to reuse the cam belt and it blows out or slips, will it ruin my engine or just mess up my timing? I know if it blows I'll need to replace it but I don't want to kill my engine.

Broken cam belt equals broken engine.

The recommended replacement interval is every 60,000 miles or four years. If it's anywhere near that age, just go ahead and replace it.

Job done. The needle nose locked the spring and pin, allowing me to slip the water pump in place. Removing the fan also greatly reduced complications. Duh. Thanks for the help.