[astroede]

Just finished the water pump replacement project. Took me about 15 hours total best guess, but of course that was my very first entry into the front of the engine. If I had to do it again, I think maybe I could shave off a couple hours.



The water pump bearing and seal were shot. I have a receipt that says the old remanufactured water pump was installed 2000 miles ago. It was remanufactured by "Auto-Pac" according to a label on the back. The new pump came from Vertex Auto.



I also installed a new thermostat and seal; new lower water hose; new secondary hose fitting seal (not sure what the black plastic part is called); new radiator plug (the little cheapo blue plastic one); new Gates timing belt; and new Gates balance shaft belt. Since the car was up on jack stands, I also replaced the steering rack mounting bushings. That was a little tricky to do without entirely removing the rack, but it can be done. The old bushings were toast and there was evidence that the rack was moving a bit side to side.



I went slow, labeled nearly all bolts and nuts, made drawings, took pictures along the way, and used various instructions from the manual and Clark's Garage. The only special tools I used were a home-made pin spanner for the balance shaft sprockets, and a bent nail for the timing belt tensioner. I did use a flywheel lock I bought from Pelican; a good choice I think.



This was also a great opportunity to clean the front of the engine, electric fans, rack etc. Take that, concours judges!



Thank you all for your encouragement to do this myself, and your help with the diagnosis. I just took the car out for a ride and all is well. The steering feels more precise, and there is no cooling leaking anywhere. Looks like I will be able to make it to the next PCA Autocross event after all!

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[mbardeen]

Congrats! Always nice to see people doing their own work. If you're like me, I'm sure you've got a nice feeling of satisfaction knowning that you've done the job correctly.

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[tamathumper]

Hmm, I noticed exactly this today (from the original post) - coolant drips in the middle of the sway bar and low coolant level... Now I get to dig back into that new water pump, the <acronym title='heater control valve'>HCV</acronym>, and all that.

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[flash]

definitely get that handled before installing the SC. things get a bit more complicated with that in the way.

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[tamathumper]

Good point.

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[Lim Yong]

Check the large loer hose from the radiator to the thermostat hosuing..from experience, may need to tighten the clamp. Luck

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[tamathumper]

I tightened the !@# out of that hose clamp a couple months ago, as I recall, but I'll check it again. Thanks!

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[Cloud9...68]

Another thing you might want to check before tearing into things too much is this hose fitting on the front of the water pump:



   



It has on o-ring behind it, and mine sprung a leak there several years ago, although I understand this is a pretty rare occurrence. You should also of course check the tightness of the host that goes on this fitting. Good luck!

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[tamathumper]

Is that behind the belt cover(s)?

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[Lear35A]

No, it bolts to the front of the water pump.

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