My car (94 gxe) is leaking coolant from the water pump. The dealer wants 500 dollars to replace it because it is so hard to get to. Has anyone else done this before? Auto zone has the pump for 20 dollars, but the pump is so poorly positioned that I am not sure if I can do it myself.

Also, if someone could search for the topic for me I would really appreciate it.

Please huury people because until I get this fixed I have to drive my dads Honda accord! HELP!!

 

Dude....I have the EXACT problem you are mentioning. FIRST THING: Find a new mechanic. It is no more than an hour and half long job at the max., so don't pay a penny more than the labor for that. The first mechanic I went to was asking for $400 (P+L), while this other very trustworthy guy I found out about is asking for only $200! Shopping around will make a difference, so do that first. But make sure you don't end up with a I-am-fresh-out-of-tech-school-so-lemme-have-yo-money guy, alright?
That said, I did google "replacing Maxima water pump" last week for myself and came up with a lot of hits with directions and all that. From all my research, it seems like the best way to do it yourself is to try to reach it through the passenger side wheel well, NOT from the top. The thread I saw that on, has posts saying this method worked for them.
But like I said, find an honest mechanic first! Good luck dude! Post about what you ended up doing!

 

LOL poor guy.. gotta drive a Honduh!

read the stickies about timing belt change.. you have to remove the timing belt to change the water pump. it's a DIY job if you've comfortable timing your engine, but it's still a pretty good weekend project.

I'm sure there's info about the timing belt and water pump in the chilton's manual listed in the FAQs too.

 

for a VE engine, the water pump is easier.. the procedures you were looking at were most likely directions from the VE.. This guy's got a VG, and you have to remove the timing belt to get to the pump.
That's why it costs so much- you're doing a timing belt AND a water pump for that labor charge.

 

Thanks for the info matt. Have you ever dealt with the timing belt before? I think that as long as I don't move anything while it's off and I mark it's origional position that I could do the job myself, but if I have to re-position the cams in relation to the crank in order to keep the timing correct then I will have to take it somewhere.

 

definitely replace the timing belt with a new one while doing the water pump.

 

Check my page for good IMHO prices on all of the parts u need

 

I have everything taken apart today, but to remove the bottom half of the guard around the timing belt I have to remove the harmonic balence. On a big engine, or a manual trans car this would be no problem, but when I turn the main bolt I end up turning the engine over. Because it is an auto trans I cannot lock the drivetrain in place with the wheels. (vicious torque converter instead of clutch)

Does anyone know how to get the harmonic balence off?

 

remove Right tire.
Use impact gun

 

It's all done, and it took a long time, but it wasn't that bad. Also contrary to what some have said you DO NOT have to remove the timing belt to change the water pump on a vg. (please don't argue this, I just did it four hours ago.) Although you can very easily do both at the same time I left the belt alone because it doesn't need to be replaced for another 40000 miles.

I did have to go through the right wheel well, and pulling the cover for the timing chain out of the engine bay required me to remove the upper radiator hose (should be replaced anyway) move the ac compressor line over, and take the distributor cap off.

The total cost to me was $30 for a new water pump (as opposed to 22 for a rebuilt one) and about 10 or 15 dollars for new radiator hoses. You may also need to buy some gasket sealant.

dealers origional quote to do the job was 500 dollars so I saved at least 460 dollars.
I think that I'm justified in finnally fixing my radio with all the money I saved (well mabye half the money I saved).