I think my water pump took a crap on me tonight. The car is overheating, and it is hissing and blowing steam. IT looks to be coming from behind the water pump. Is this a common thing when our water pumps blow? The car is running fine, so i guess the opti is ok. How hard are they to replace and how long should it take?

 

Its possible that you are losing coolant from the weep hole that is on the underside of the waterpump which would mean it is in need of replacement. I would also make sure you didn't blow a radiator hose though instead.

 

As stated above, be sure it is the water pump that is leaking before you decide to replace it.

Replacing the water pump isn't all that hard, but it is time consuming... If I remember, you'll have to take off the intake elbow and air box, then the air pump, remove the belt, drain the radiator and block, remove the radiator hoses and heater hoses, disconnect the water temp sensor, then you should be able to pull the water pump...

Installation is pretty much the reverse. Be sure to put thread sealer onto the bolts going into the water jacket when installing the new pump...

Good luck.