How-To: Change Water Pump on 99+

[Kodeblue]

I searched high and low for a how-to on changing a water pump and came up short. I am making this how-to for those that might need a new pump in the future. It is a very simple task and took me about 1 hour to do and that included going to the parts store after removing the old pumo to go get a new one. Anyways, hope this will help someone and save you a few dollars.

I take no responsibility for any screw ups anybody may do with this repair. It is meant to be used only as a guide. If you are unsure about doing this, take it to someone that is more comfortable doing repairs.
Tools Needed
Ratchet
10mm socket
8mm socket
Pry Bar

Step 1
Remove clamp to rad hose and drain whatever comes out. You will not lose very much doing it this way.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig2.jpg

Step 2
Remove the serpintine belt from the alternator pulley using the tensioner. In my case, the ratchet was too tight to fit in so I made a special tool that woks great. You only need to remove it from one pulley because you only need a little slack taken off of the water pump.

Step 3
Remove bolt that holds down the coolant bottle and there is a tab on the back side you must play with to pop it out of the fender.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig1.jpg

Step 4
Once you have the bottle out of place, you can just bend it and stick it out of the way like this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig3.jpg

Step 5
Here, you will need your pry bar and you will have to position as in the pic. Once you have it in place, you will need to remove the 4 bolts that are circled. They are not very tight so it won't be a struggle. You may have to tap the cover to get it off but tap gently.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig4.jpg

Step 6
Remove the 5 bolts as illustrated and then pull or pry gently to get the pump out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig5.jpg

Step 7
Now, take a flat object and scrape gently to get the remaining gasket off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig6.jpg

Note in the next 2 pics where the top of the gasket and the top of the pump is. The gasket has a larger pieve at the top and the pump has a mark for the top.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/silverbullet00/Water%20Pump%20Pics/Fig8.jpg

Now you are ready to install the new pump and gasket. place the gasket on the pump and position and install bolts. When tightening the bolts, tighten every other bolt small turns at a time to make sure it is equal all the way around. tighten to torque specs. I did not have a torque wrench so I did not crank on them overly much to not crack the pump, lol. Once you have the pump on, replace cover in the same fasion as you did when you removed it. Replace the belt and coolant bottle. Fill the bottle with coolant and start engine. Immediately look for any leaks. Let engine get hot and fill bottle to appropriate level with coolant. I used the bleeder to release any air that may have been in the system. I did not take a pic of that but I will get one tomorrow and edit this. Final step, clean the coolant that may have been spit out onto your engine bay.

[Gimli]

First things first... THANK YOU! I just changed my water pump and your how-to was excellent.

A few precisions though, just to make it better.

By draining the coolant the way you said (which I couldn't do (pipe was stuck on) but managed to catch it while removing the water pump) you lose less than a pint of coolant. Might help people choose a container when they figure out how to catch it :)

Second don't be afraid to crack the pump when you bolt it back on but be very afraid to break a nut. I do have a torque wrench but I found out the hard way it's too big for these bolts and broke one. Fortunately the bolt that holds the little plastic piece over the pully that shows the belt route is the same size ;)

Last but not least, don't forget to wear your long-johns when you're doing the job outside and it's -15 degrees!