After posting (not bragging) a couple weeks ago in another thread that Redrover's original water pump was still going strong, yesterday a new, pretty healthy coolant leak appeared and the loaner cooling system pressure testing kit from AutoZone quickly confirmed it's the water pump.

As the now long-gone-from-this-forum Savannah Buzz said repeatedly, if you replace either the water pump or the fan clutch, replace the other with it. He said they've danced millions of revolutions together and learned each other's moves, and replacing one without replacing the other often causes the other to soon fail.

The Airtex pump with the brass impeller is no longer available, so I'm planning to buy the Airtex AW9369 that has a stamped steel impeller. AB sells it for $149.95. Amazon has it for $53.65. Hmm ...

It's disappointing that some vendors either don't specify or are misleading about the maker and model of the water pumps they sell. Others report successfully using even less expensive water pumps bought online in recent years, but their reports are by definition short-term. I want a pump that gives my truck the best chance to go another 177,000 miles before needing the pump to be replaced again (God willing). I think nothing gives me a better opportunity for that than the Airtex.

And I plan to get the Hayden 2991 fan clutch. I removed and carefully inspected the fan for cracks when I changed the coolant two weeks ago, so I think it's good.

I helped a friend change the water pump in his DII a few years ago so I know the most difficult thing about the job is cleaning the old gasket material off of the mating surface of the front cover. Wish me luck, please. Any tips, tricks or advice are welcomed. Thanks.

 

I had to buy the GOODSON 3M Roloc Bristle Disc 3" and a pneumatic grinder to get the gasket off after 147,000 miles. Plastic scrapers just would not get the job done.

Let me know if you need to borrow them.

 

@Discorama had a great idea for clamping off coolant hoses...

 

Thanks Ken. I'll take you up on your offer. I recently saw a positive report on another forum about someone using that product with very good results, but I also understand it should be used very, very carefully to avoid gouging the aluminum surface. I'll text you separately to agree on a time for me to stop by and pick it up.

And Juke, I saw Discorama's thread showing those clamps, but I also saw a recommendation in the AB video about replacing the water pump (linked below) that if you remove one of the water pump bolts that goes through the water jacket just enough of the coolant can be drained in a controlled manner. I plan to do that and collect the coolant to be filtered and reused. I've done that before, and this coolant is only two weeks old.

 

I took my time over the weekend and got the new pump mounted. The Roloc bristle disc was essential to removing the old gasket material. It took a while but I was patient and the results were good. Thanks Ken.

I didn't finish the job because I found that the drive belt had a couple of splits in it so I'm getting a new one. But in the meantime I'm stumped by a new problem. The hex-head bolts holding the old fan clutch in place are thus far resisting all attempts to remove them. And I thought replacing the fan clutch would be one of the easier parts of the job. Sigh. Any tips or tricks will be appreciated. (Calling Best4x4, who seems to have replaced more fan clutches than anyone else on this forum.) Thanks.

 

@mln01 ... what grade size did you get for your Roloc bristle disc? I've looked online and seen 50, 80 and 120 grade. Thanks.

 

It was the 80 grit. It was yellow.

 

Thanks Ken.

 

With the OEM Allen head bolts I get a really good and tight 6mm 3/8 socket/Allen and I use a good cheater bar on it. They can truly be a PITA. I highly recommend changing those allen bolts to normal bolts when you get them off. If that doesn't work and you don't want to damage your fan blade I'd drill the heads off.

 

I actually ended up using the white, 120 grit Roloc disc. There's a thread on another forum in which a pro says he uses the 120 on aluminum and the 50 grit on steel. I wanted to do what I could to ensure that I didn't gouge the mating surface of the front cover. The NAPA nearest my house had the white disc in stock.

I also ended up buying a right-angle pneumatic die grinder. The inline grinder Ken loaned me didn't allow enough clearance when connected to my air hose. Ken used his on a different vehicle that must have had more room to work. The right-angle grinder I bought worked great.

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-to...der-52848.html

And thanks to Best4x4 for his response. I'll stop by The Home Depot on the way home and buy a 6mm, 3/8" drive hex socket for $2.17. And you're right, I can drill out the head of the old bolts, or more likely cut them off with my angle grinder. Ultimate worst case I can buy a new fan. I know they aren't that expensive, but I hate throwing away perfectly good parts.