Changed the water pump in Ole Red ('86SE V6) Saturday, 12 July 1998. Knuckle buster, but not too bad...figure it took about 5 hours to remove and replace, plus the car has to sit overnight.
For anyone who hasn't had this pleasure just yet, the drill goes something like:
| 1. | Jack up rear end of car (both sides, nice and high, make plenty of room!) My usual disclaimer: Please use jackstands. Never trust a jack with your life! |
| 2. | Drain coolant at radiator drain, pop rad cap and 'stat cap so it all drains out. See coolant change procedure for hints at this point. |
| 3. | Remove right rear tire, splash skirt, and fender liner to provide access to those #$**&% bottom bolts. Disconnect and remove the battery and the plastic battery tray (makes lots more knuckle room!) |
| 4. | Break the four bolts that hold the pulley on the water pump shaft loose before you take the belt off!! |
| 5. | Loosen bottom alternator bolt, slacken and drop belt off water pump pulley. |
| 6. | Remove water pump pulley. |
| 7. | Remove TWELVE bolts in 4 different sizes/configurations from water pump. I strongly suggest having a block of styrofoam or something handy and put the bolts in in a pattern like they go into the pump, or you'll be scratching your head wondering which one goes where in a couple of hours!! |
| 8. | Pry the old water pump off carefully. Because of the sealant, it'll be a bit of a pain, but there's a nice square tab on the upper front side of the pump that gives you a spot to pry. |
| 9. | (Here's most of the time) Carefully clean up the mating surface on the timing cover. Take your time, inspect closely to make sure you have al the old gasket and sealant off, clean it up with a Scotchbrite pad or some such just to make sure. |
| 10. | Apply a bead of sealant to the mating surface of the new pump, and put the gasket on it, using a couple of bolts to align the gasket holes with those in the pump. Then apply another bead of sealant to the gasket surface where it'll hit the timing cover. |
| 11. | Carefully jockey the new pump into position, and use a couple of the bolts to guide it into alignment without messing up alignment of the gasket. |
| 12. | Reinstall all twelve bolts and tighten in a criss-cross pattern working from the center out. |
| 13. | Reinstall pump pulley, belt, and tension it, (use a belt tension gauge to make sure it's right!) then tighten up the bottom alternator bolt. |
| 14. | Let the car sit OVERNIGHT so the RTV has a chance to cure. |
| 15. | Refill with coolant per recommended procedure and make sure you have all the air out of the system. |
| 16. | Watch like a hawk for leaks!! |
Anyway, aside from the usual tight quarters, and the amount of time to spend being paranoid about cleaning the mating surfaces when reinstalling things, it's not too bad a job. The only hook is that you do want to let things set up overnight because of the RTV, so the car will be "down" for a full day, at least.