Well, my water pump just went out and Firestone wants $800 to fix it, so I'm doing it myself. I'm goona get a new pump from Autozone for $134 with a lifetime warrenty, that's all I need right?

How hard is it? (i have average mechancial ability)
How long does it usually take?
What do you torque the bolts to?
Any tips?

Thanks.

 

You will need water pump, new coolant, new gaskets, and a tube of red silicone...
It’s not hard! All you need is to take your time and have a friend so you won’t get bored...
The only risky thing about it is opti. You can spill too much coolant on the opti and ****ed it up...BE careful so that...!!! Drain your coolant first, and put a towel (or something similar) on the opti, and slowly remove water pump…

I have complete step-by-step guide (photos, with torque specs)..Email me at sebastianek23@hotmail.com and I will email it to you...

Sebastian
ps. Is your opti working??? If I were you I would just kill 2 birds at the same time, and replace opti (if it’s old) with the water pump…You will save a lot of time and $$ in the future…

 

You will have NO problem replacing the waterpump, Just take your time and remember where everything goes when its time to put parts back on ....You'll be so glad After you get it done and save yourself all that money

and BTW...I also have the Waterpump from Autozone with the lifetime warranty, No problems yet with it.

 

I got a CVR electric H2O pump from Jegs for $124.00 (they no longer carry them). You may be able to find a deal like I did if you look. I don't torque them, just get them pretty tight. Remember it's cast alluminum (I think) I know it's pretty soft so dont try to tighten it toooooo tight. There are 6 bolts, everyone always has a hard time finding the one behind the AIR pump (if you still have it). I can change mine in less than an hour EASY but I don't have the AIR pump anymore.

 

I always stick a walmart plastic bag over the opti so it will reach behind and around to make sure NO water gets in there. You can use another bag like from Lowes or Home Depot though

-Shannon

 

Drain all the coolant, not just the radiator. The block has 2 drains; one of the driver's side down by the motor mount (hex bolt) and the second is the knock sensor on the passanger side, opposite the other drain plug. Also don't forget to transfer the drive gear coupler, mounted between the water pump and the drive gear (comes out of the timing chain cover).

 

I wish you wrote that yesterday! My waterpump went out last friday and I ordered a CSR (used to be called CSI) electic pump for about 160 from Summit, and started doing the swap last night. I had a heel of a time trying to keep water off the opti!!! But I left the plug wires on it too help keep it sealed a little.

I removed the AIR system while I was in there because I felt like it, but other then that the hardest part was keeping the coolant off the opti...

My next step will be wireing it up! I will post my own thread asking about that!

Good luck with it, and you can do it yourself, just be careful and take you time draining the coolant!!

 

It's simple... Take the fans out 3 bolts on top and then lift it up and pull the fans down (that's what i did). Then get all the bolts... if you have AIR pump take the pump off and the bracket. Then there are 6 bolts and one is a stud that's also on the bracket. Here's tutorial for installing electric pump but it shows removal. Took me about 1 1/2 hours to take the pump off and i was taking my time and being patient. Drain all coolant carefully not to get opti wet and keep rags around it. Take your time. It's simple and you'll save a lot of money. I actually bought the waterpump from www.autozone.com which came out to $70 shipped with core charge... no warranty but oh well I'm broke right now lol. Good luck...

http://ken.lowrance.com/projects/CSI...mp/Default.htm

 

Ok, I got the water pump new from advance, it came with the two gaskets, but where do I get the little o-rings for the splines? Also what size is the hidden bolt behind the air pump, I see that I need a deep socket for it so I will have to buy one.

Thanks for all the help, I'm sure I'll have another question or two....

 

anybody on the question above?

 

The bolt you are refering to will need a deep 14mm socket, but you need to remove the AIR pump bracket..

I don't know anything about the O-ring, because I replaced mine with an electric water pump..

 

cool, i guessed 14mm for that bolt, still looking for info on the o-rings

 

Actually I was just thinking about this.. What O-ring? When I pulled the stocker off I didn't see a place for an O-ring or anything that looked like it needed one!!! If you are just replacing stock for stock replacment, when you pull it off there will be a shaft that is groved to accept splines from both directions WP and the other coming out of the timing cover... But there was no O-ring back there that I saw??? who said you needed one?

 

I believe he's talking about the o-rings on the WP driveshaft. Unless you're having problems I wouldnt swap the WP drive assy but its not a bad idea. I believe that assy costs about $35 from Jason and comes complete so no o-rings would be needed. If you really want to replace those the p/n can be found on shoebox's site. They can be found at your local GM dealer.

 

Pretty sure my new water pump came with gaskets and at least one o-ring. O-rings of most any size can be found at most any parts store.