# easy way to do water pump job



## wine (Feb 23, 2005)

I would like suggestions to replace a water pump. It is such a dark, tight spot with the frame in the way. 

Jaking up or lowering engine.

Suggestions, referrals to other stickies appreciated.


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## crazy4honda (Feb 24, 2004)

Bump....i'd like to know as well as I'm getting ready to tackle this project on my ga16.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

The bolts are a bit of a pig to get to overall. No real easy way to do it.

One thing that I found that helps is to pull the power steering hose bracket located near the front/right strut tower and kinda swing the lines out of the way a bit. With those moved, at least you've got another place to put your arm in there to help get a ratchet in there to turn a few of the bolts.

If you pop the passenger side motor mount bolt out of there, put jack and block of wood under the oil pan, jack up the motor and give you a bit of room to play with.

Other than that, it just ain't easy. 1/4" drive ratchet, 10mm & 12mm sockets, both regular and deep well, a bunch extensions, maybe a 1/4" drive universal. You'll need a 14mm for the p/s pivot bolts, 10 & 12mm for the p/s adjuster arm, 10mm on the water pump bolts and thermostat housing (take note of where the bolts go, the length varies).


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## crazy4honda (Feb 24, 2004)

Thanks for the tips. It also looks like it's going to suck as there's no paper gasket between the water pump and block....looks like it calls for RTV sealer? Isn't it a b#tch to squeeze the water pump back in that small space without smearing the gasket maker all over the place?


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Nah...the water pump is thin (narrow?) enough to where you can line it up then place it into place.
The new water pump may or may not come with gaskets. I took my original water pump off...didn't have gaskets...just goop. The new water pump came with gaskets, but I had to pull the pump off after installing it and I don't plan on getting new gaskets. Just clean the hell out of the surfaces and I'll use a thin layer of Copper Permatex. I'm won't be worried about putting the thing in with only RTV and no gaskets. That's the way it came from the factory.


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## PTXer (Aug 31, 2006)

Use the Permatex Ultra Grey. It has better coolant resistance. Change your thermostat while you have everything apart too. Its just three more bolts to do. It is a pain. I loosened the motor mount and jacked up the engine.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Good call on the motor mount. Any little bit of room helps bunches back there.
About the Permatex Ultra Grey... Is that the same stuff the factory uses? When I took the timing cover off recently, it had grey goop along the runs on the edges, same with the water pump and t-stat housing. Like I said above, I was going to use the Ultra Copper stuff since I've had good results with it in years past. But if the Grey stuff is better for coolant, then I guess I'll make the switch.


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## CASTLK (Feb 17, 2010)

There is no easy way to do it, it's a sucko job no matter which way you slice it. I did mine and changed the thermostat and all of the hoses and clamps while I was at it. Don't want to have to do that one again any time soon.


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## crazy4honda (Feb 24, 2004)

Well, after doing this job yesterday and spending 11 hours (yes, ELEVEN) slumped over the fender of my car, I can honestly echo what everyone else has said: This job is a b#tch no matter how you slice it. And mind you, I had access to a hydraulic lift, too.

I would advise others tackling this job to take off everything they can to give more room to work. Cylinder head mount bracket, engine mount, as well as jacking up the passenger side of the engine. If it would have been feasible to take off the A/C lines I would have done that too (they're really in the way).

I bought a bunch of new parts and changed everything related to the pump. Water neck, thermostat, thermostat housing, and water pump. To be honest, the thermostat housing took up most of my time. All of the hoses (five I believe) going to this thing SUCK to remove. If I would have had it to do all over again, I would have just unbolted the water pump from the block and the thermostat housing and not even touched the rest.

Perhaps the sh#ttiest part of all is the fact Nissan had the bright idea to use RTV gasket maker to seal everything up. This job would be much cleaner if they had designed a gasket for the water pump. Before installing the new pump, you have to coat the engine block side and thermostat side of it with gasket maker, and then perform the impossible task of manipulating the water pump into a ridiculously tight space without smearing the RTV all over everything and messing up your nice, even bead of RTV. 

When these pumps were put on at the factory, I'm sure the engine was on top of a table or on an engine stand, where the assembly worker would have no problem putting RTV nicely on everything and bolting it up to the block. When the engine is in the car though, it's a different story.

Oh yes, make sure to keep track of the water pump bolts as they're all different lengths.


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## Jdoggsc (Dec 25, 2007)

thanks for the info, guys. Mine just sprung a leak this past weekend, so I'm looking at doing this too.:lame:

I noticed on the Autozone website, there's a cut-out gasket available for the water pump. Anyone have any experience using it? Sounds like the permatex gray is the most common on this thread.


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## christofer (Aug 30, 2011)

This is a complicated task you should take help from some professionals.


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

i did my pump not too long ago as well. i also broke the thermostat housing(coolant neck) and thankfully, advance auto parts had them in stock. i had an engine brace on hand so i used that in conjunction with the car being on a lift. 
it is a very tight fit and keeping organized is a very good idea since you'll end up taking off more or loosening some to gain access. the hoses were a pain as well since they've never been off.


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## Jopet (Aug 10, 2009)

I found a trick to put screw back on the the thermostat housing. If you are having problems using your fingers to put back the screws, shop rag or paper towel in the socket will hold on to the screw then extensions to lenghten your reach.


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

Took me almost 6 hours doing it myself, with only a set of crappy jacks and stands. I had to pull the mount, and undo some lines, and finally got it out/in. The job is not some I recommend doing yourself unless you have a decent amount of automotive knowledge, I had almost none but I think I got lucky since the OP took 11 hours.


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## techtalk (Jun 8, 2011)

Josh,

That's pretty much the only way to go when it comes to performing this job without the help of a professional :thumbup: 

Whenever I replace a customer's water pump I typically follow this procedure:

1. Drain the cooling system.

2. Disconnect the following negative battery cable.

3. Remove the cylinder head front mounting bracket and loosen the water pump pulley bolts. (refer to this Sentra water pump diagram if need be)

4. Remove the engine drive belts.

5. Remove the water pump pulley.

6. Remove the coolant hoses from the water inlet and thermostat housing.

7. Remove the water pump and thermostat housing.
(Make sure that you remove all traces of gasket material from sealing surfaces.)

--As for installation, follow these steps--

1. Apply a continuous bead of liquid sealer to the sealing surface of the thermostat housing. The sealant should be 0.079–0.118 in. (2–3mm) diameter.

2. Install the water pump. Torque the bolts to 56–73 inch lbs. (7–8 Nm).

3. Install the pulley to the water pump and tighten the mounting bolts to 56–73 inch lbs. (7–8 Nm).

4. Install the coolant hoses to the thermostat housing.

5. Install the drive belts and adjust as needed.

6. Install the cylinder head front mounting bracket.

7. Connect the negative battery cable.

8. Fill the cooling system

9. Start the engine, check for leaks and repair if necessary, yadda yadda yadda


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## Jdoggsc (Dec 25, 2007)

Y'all are probably gonna laugh when you read what I did:

1) remove front passenter mount and support engine with jack
2) move reservoir, power steering reservoir and fusebox out of the way
3) *undo A/C lines since A/C doesn't work anyway* <---- that was a HUGE help!
4) undo drive belt
5) try to get pully off
6) put drive belt back on so i can get pully off
7) undo drive belt again
8) Undo the 5 bolts to the pump and the 3 to the thermostat neck
9)* pull pump out and let a billion coolant pour onto the ground*

at this point i had to put everything away because it was t-storming. mother nature cleaned up the coolant and dried up the place for me within 2 hours. 

reinstallation:

1) clean up mating surfaces, and soak up remaining coolant that's near the pump mating surface.
2) liquid gasket sealer on the new pump, paper gasket on the liquid bead, another bead of liquid gasket on the other side of the paper. 
3) _carefully_ shove it in place and screw it down.
4) put everything back together.

total time: 6 hours

didn't have a bucket, or desire to pay for a bunch of extra coolant, so i didn't flush it all out and just refilled with 1 bottle of premixed afterward. I ran it a little bit and then opened the air relief valves. Everythings sounds normal, temp stays where it's supposed to, and, most importantly, _nothing leaks!_

I understand I did kind of a haphazard job what with not draining the coolant and such, so I don't know the best thing to do as far as bubbles in the system. anything I should watch out for? or am i alright with things having been done as they are?


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

I'd put the lines back on the A/C, if anything just to keep the bulk of the crud out of there in case you ever decide to get the A/C fixed in the future.
When you get a chance, get one of those coolant tester bulb checker things and check your coolant mix. Don't know where you live, but where I'm at, it's almost one of those seriously critical items.
Keep a close eye on your coolant levels and temps for a few days (weeks?), let everything settle out, and you should be good to go.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

FYI, Nissan pays 2.3 hrs. under warranty rate... 3.2 hours cash rate. Welcome to the world of auto mechanics!


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## Jdoggsc (Dec 25, 2007)

> I'd put the lines back on the A/C, if anything just to keep the bulk of the crud out of there in case you ever decide to get the A/C fixed in the future.
> When you get a chance, get one of those coolant tester bulb checker things and check your coolant mix. Don't know where you live, but where I'm at, it's almost one of those seriously critical items.
> Keep a close eye on your coolant levels and temps for a few days (weeks?), let everything settle out, and you should be good to go


haha. that was implied in the last step "put everything back together." i was stranded about 3 weeks ago when the compressor seized outta nowhere. when i jacked up the car to replace it, coolant started leaking out. i had never had a problem before that. I had to replace the compressor just for the sake of drive belt tension (although i put PAG oil in it and charged it with the autozone cans) but the system's so clogged it doesn't work anyway. That's why I knew i could undo the A/C lines. I covered up everything in zip-lock bags while i worked on it, though. Not that that would keep moisture out of the system, but just to kelep grit from getting in the compressor bearings.

Coolant is already dropping (not leaking!) so my wife says, so we gotta get another bottle of coolant, but *what is this bulb thing you speak of?* I've never had to open the coolant system, so besides knowing its function and components, i don't know much about upkeep/maintenance.


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

One example:
Amazon.com: E-Z Red S102 Anti-Freeze Hydrometer: Automotive

Lots of different types and styles, as long as you use one of them...


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