We've been hearing "jingle bells" and having to top off the coolant every four months, so it was time. With 120K miles on it, even if it wasn't leaking, it would be time soon.
Replacing a water pump ain't bad -- replacing a belt is far worse. It was not something I would want to do on the street.
To replace the pump, you drain the coolant and then remove the Degas bottle (radiator tank) and move the power steering reservoir out of the way (Ha! It can't be moved far.)
This gets you access to the pump pulley and the belt tensioner. You loosen the pulley's four bolts and then remove tension from the belt. You cannot remove the pulley from the pump until you remove the alternator, due to the pulley hitting the passenger's inside fender beam. Once the alternator is out of the way, you can lean the pulley up and back into the alternator's space and every thing that was preventing you from removing the pulley is now free and clear.
The pump is like the Mark's O-ring seal. Easy to replace at this point. The idler pulley is also easy to replace. It is messy though, just like the Marks. The motor was holding at least a gallon of coolant that did not drain out.
I was able to get a new pump, Idler pulley and belt from O'Rielly's. The pump is guaranteed forever. It cost about 20 bucks more than a rebuilt one. There was no core charge (There would have been on the rebuilt one.)
The Belt and pulley were from Gates. The belt cost about 36 bucks and the pulley about 20. I didn't really need the belt, but since I was in there already, why not? Besides, the belt had been on the car since the wife bought it.
Removing the old belt intact and installing the new belt was a 7 out of 10 on the PITA meter. It was so tight in there that I could not do everything from the top. I had to go through the fender wheel to address the crank and compressor pulleys. To snake the belt around the tensioner, I left off the pump pulley and alternator to get access. There was no way one could get the belt around the tensioner pulley with the water pump pulley in place.
Once the belt was more or less in place, I installed the pump pulley, pulley bolts and the alternator. I had a some fun with the tensioner but finally got tension on the belt. I was then able to tighten the pump pulley bolts.
I put over 2 gallons of coolant into the system before the burp cycle. I burped it once and was able to add about a cup more of coolant. It seems to fill better than the Marks, also.
Tensioner replacement on this car is a PITA 10 -- you have to disconnect the motor from the motor mounts and hold the motor up four inches to get at the tensioner!
That's gonna be fun -- NOT!
Replacing a water pump ain't bad -- replacing a belt is far worse. It was not something I would want to do on the street.
To replace the pump, you drain the coolant and then remove the Degas bottle (radiator tank) and move the power steering reservoir out of the way (Ha! It can't be moved far.)
This gets you access to the pump pulley and the belt tensioner. You loosen the pulley's four bolts and then remove tension from the belt. You cannot remove the pulley from the pump until you remove the alternator, due to the pulley hitting the passenger's inside fender beam. Once the alternator is out of the way, you can lean the pulley up and back into the alternator's space and every thing that was preventing you from removing the pulley is now free and clear.
The pump is like the Mark's O-ring seal. Easy to replace at this point. The idler pulley is also easy to replace. It is messy though, just like the Marks. The motor was holding at least a gallon of coolant that did not drain out.
I was able to get a new pump, Idler pulley and belt from O'Rielly's. The pump is guaranteed forever. It cost about 20 bucks more than a rebuilt one. There was no core charge (There would have been on the rebuilt one.)
The Belt and pulley were from Gates. The belt cost about 36 bucks and the pulley about 20. I didn't really need the belt, but since I was in there already, why not? Besides, the belt had been on the car since the wife bought it.
Removing the old belt intact and installing the new belt was a 7 out of 10 on the PITA meter. It was so tight in there that I could not do everything from the top. I had to go through the fender wheel to address the crank and compressor pulleys. To snake the belt around the tensioner, I left off the pump pulley and alternator to get access. There was no way one could get the belt around the tensioner pulley with the water pump pulley in place.
Once the belt was more or less in place, I installed the pump pulley, pulley bolts and the alternator. I had a some fun with the tensioner but finally got tension on the belt. I was then able to tighten the pump pulley bolts.
I put over 2 gallons of coolant into the system before the burp cycle. I burped it once and was able to add about a cup more of coolant. It seems to fill better than the Marks, also.
Tensioner replacement on this car is a PITA 10 -- you have to disconnect the motor from the motor mounts and hold the motor up four inches to get at the tensioner!
That's gonna be fun -- NOT!