I've got coolant gushing out of my water pump, right behind the pulley. So i'm off to buy a new pump at my local import store and change it out myself. As far as i can see it's pretty straight forward

-remove shroud
-remove fan
-remove belt
-remove 10 bolts
-clean up old residue
-install new pump
-refill coolant

did i miss anything. I'm looking for tips and tricks that may make it easier and/or a better job when i'm done. Thanks

 

If you want it to be easier let someone else do it.
Otherwise you got it, should only take a hour or so.

 

Ok thanks, that's what i thought. by the way this is on my 04. but, i've got a squeak on my 99 that is also coming from the water pump pulley. i may be doing the same job on that one soon.

 

The only thing I see missing is:

8: bleed air from system
9: check coolant level following morning

 

perfect thanks.

 

Just did mine, I'm not sure how mechanically -inclined I am, but I am "mechanically-curious" - here are a few tips that others gave me:

- rent/buy a fan clutch wrench
- keep track of the bolts - they're not all the same size. Someone here gave me a tip to punch holes in cardboard in the pattern of the bolt holes on the pump. I took a cardboard box, turned it upside down, put the new pump on it, and drilled holes through the bolt holes in order to keep track of m bolts.
- be very careful of the nipple on the radiator. My experience was that the plastic on my rad was very brittle. Mine snapped off.
- changed my t-stat while I was at it
- I had the old-style hose with the bleed valve embedded right in it. Not sure if this applies in your case, but I needed to replace that hose with one that has an updated/better design - bleed screw is part of a "junction" (for lack of a better term), where three hoses meet.

 

sounds like you got your steps covered.
FYI - the fan removal is the hardest part. (was for me anyway, I didnt have a fan clutch wrench).

If I remember right all you need is an 8mm for the pully and a 10mm for the pump bolts. I might have that backwards though.

 

Oh yeah - the pulley. I forget what size the bolts are but I uses two opposing wrenchs to get the first two off, then a strap wrench to immobilize the pulley in order to get the third out.

This was necessary because the pulley turns freely once the serp belt has been removed

 

This is true. I used an opposing wrench to hold the pulley steady while using a ratchet to remove the remaining. I then stuck a screwdriver into one of the bolt holes to hold the pulley in place to get the last bolt out.
Im sure there is a better way, that is just what worked for me at that moment.

 

Here's pix of what to expect, D1 and D2 use same pump. Be sure to check fan clutch for proper operation, it usually dies near the same time as WP. Should not freewheel (spin more than 1 revolution) when cold or warm. Note in pix this WP had wobbled, which started eating aluminum, left as it was, would have wobbled off and sent fan through radiator and/or hood. Old pump on left coated with stopz leekz from PO. Think that powdered aluminum (ground up by impeller) released into my cooling system "fixed" the head gasket leak? Not!