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The only semi-hard part about the water pump is the removal of the old gasket material from the front of the block.
It's mounted low and visibility is somewhat limited. I've had the best success at this in removing all the stuff in the timing belt area that I could, i.e. the idler pulley; the tensioner pulley; tensioner, etc. Then remove one or two bolts fixing the inner plastic cover to the block.
You won't be able to remove the inner plastic cover, but you will be able to pull it away from the block enough to see the front face of the block behind it.
You can then use your skill in the art of using a single edged razor blade very carefully to skin that gasket material off the front of the block.
The hard part is in the region of the dowel pins that align with the pump. It is important to be as exacting as you can because you don't want to have any leaks down there. The gasket shouldn't be glued on, so hopefully you can get it to come off in larger pieces. That's where the skill with the razor blade comes in. You try to lever/shear it at the interface and try not to break into too many pieces if you can avoid it and do NOT gouge the face of the block. If you have some troublesome residue, I've had some success with taking a piece of hardwood like maple and getting a nice sharp corner on a piece and used that to push/chisel/burnish little bits of residue off. It's safe in that it won't gouge the aluminum.
I really like the Volvo gasket material. It's quite soft and somewhat supple for a gasket. It seems like it has good sealing power. Even if you got an aftermarket pump, you can get the Volvo gasket if you want. It's about $1.50. the bolts also need sealing compound on the threads. If you got the Volvo pump, it comes with new bolts and the gasket.
Everything else is reasonably straightforward. Just don't overtorque the screws.
One other trick I was shown on getting the belt on to avoid getting off by a tooth is to put the tensioner in, but don't pull the pin. Wrap the belt around all the pulleys except the top Intake & Exhaust pulleys. Get the belt wrap/routing like it's supposed to be, then ease it over the top Intake & Exhaust pulleys while making sure that the pulling side of the belt on the right is tight. The belt will be tight, but there is just enough slack to get the belt over the pulleys. Then put a piece of cardboard or something against the back of the radiator while you pull the tensioner pin (it helps to prevent knocking a hole in the radiator).
Do your two full revolutions at the crank by hand & re-check the timing marks just to make sure. Then you're ready to start the motor & pat yourself on the back for your accomplishments.
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