Water pump has gone out on my sohc 3.0; seems pretty simple to replace theoretically, but being that its a sideways six, it could get really cramped up there.

is this something i can tackle with a friends help or should i pay a mechanic to replace?

 

I am about to tackle this project today I have got all the parts I need to replace the water pump... So i will let you know how everything goes

 

i did it on my old VG.. it wasnt hard at all... take the passenger wheel off and jack the car up as high as you can.. a lift really helps.. while you are in there you mind as well change the timing belt too since you have to remove the timing belt cover to get to the water pump anyways... and then you mind as well take a look at your camshaft seals.. and make sure you change the timing belt tensioner too

i did it when i was 16 and it was pretty simple.. make sure you have a FSM next to you

 

some possibly useful links:

http://members.csinet.net/tisch/maxima/waterpumpVE.doc
this is a ve engine but u get the idea

http://home.earthlink.net/~vqfaq/Vil....htm#waterpump
basically the vg u have

it should go without saying that this is one of those jobs where u want to use oem replacement parts and not risk the variability of aftermarket stuff

 

im gonna wuss out on this one; the mechanic is going to replace the pump and all of my belts for 220; not bad.

at least i got my old rims back on there today!

 

well just make sure the timing belt is one of those "belts"...it's a common "oversight" - u'll usually hear "oh i meant the accessory belts...a timing belt'll run ya $X,XXX.95" or some line like that

 

btw, i noticed before the pump started leaking that the lower radiator hose isnt hot after the thermostat opens up; whats the deal with that and what does that mean?

 

the LOWER one doesn't get hot?
do u have enough fluid? or can u not fill it properly due to the leak? does the motor overheat?

 

motor does not overheat; temp gauge never goes above center line; i can feel that the lower hose never gets hot; stays same temperature as atmosphere, even when the upper hose is hot from when the thermostat opens.
coolant has overflowed from the coolant resevoir for the past 2-3 months. i have been filling up the radiator, bleeding the coolant system, etc. nothing has worked to stop the overflow. heating works after bleed, but after few hours, heat is intermittent.

i have changed the thermostat and replaced the bypass hose; no change.

and now the water pump is leaking from the seep hole. at the moment, my heat isnt doing ****.
and the blower resistor went out after i bled the coolant lines of air the first time.

 

all of this right after i put my headers on...

 

man its been a while since I've posted since I'm deployed in Iraq right now, but before I left, my Max was doing the same thing. All my problems didn't start until I cracked open the intake manifold to replace the gaskets which I had to end up taking to a mechanic cause I couldn't complete the job! They ended up f'n my car up even more and next thing I know I'm needing a waterpump and a thermostat, oil leaking into my 6th cylinder and blah blah blah!! I digress...but I had the same problem and still need a waterpump...hopefully my block doesn't crack from the hard winter (Ft. Drum) cause I'm pretty sure the majority of the fluid leaked out through the waterpump before I left!

 

my lower radiator hose doesnt get hot either..... hmm

 

isn't the lower hose supposed to be cool
it is how the coolant gets out of the radiator to go back into your motor to absorb more heat

 

I'm going to be replacing the crank/ cam seals and adding a UDP. Will I have to tear enough crap out to be at the point where I should replace the water pump? I have 128,000mi.

 

you'll be past it. And at 128K, your 8K past the standered WP and TB replacement. As long as your doing all those seals, do the Timing Belt and WP, you;ll thank your self later!

~Alex

 

at 176k right now; i figured it was supposed to be cold, being that its the replenished coolant.

now ANOTHER question for yall:

im about to purchase the blower motor resistor since my heater is only working on full blast. is this the correct one? or is it different on the 92-94 3rd gens?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...EWA%3APIC&rd=1

its maintenance time, bayba. getting a new dcc too.

 

ALSO; i just took my car out for a drive with the stock rims on it; the water pump isnt leaking at the moment...

are pumps known to be intermittent before they go out, or do they usually go out one day without any notice?

 

Yup...My w/p leaked off and on for a year before i finally replaced it...

 

Timing belt was done at 90k. Still worth it to do WP?

 

how long does it take to replace the timing belt?

 

it takes a beginner about a day to do the timing belt.. ohh and maxitech.....if i were you and i had the money laying around... i would definately change it unless if you wanted to push it to the 90,000 miles mark again

 

Well, I'm gonna be working in that area anyway (seals and UDP). What the h&ll

 

im pretty sure everything that was wrong with the cooling system was caused by the water pump; it finally started overheating tonight. glad its getting fixed tomorrow!!!

getting timing belt changed as well.

 

Hi All,

I have a clanking noise around my water pump. It started about a month or so ago and has gotten really loud in the past 2 days. What are the chances it is the water pump?

Thanks.

 

could just be belts or pulleys; if its the pump, im sure youll see your temp gauge go up here and there, smell/see external coolant leakage, have warm air from the heater depending on if the pump is flowing coolant correctly, and hear some gurgling, which is NEVER good; in my experience, it all started intermittently (except the gurgling...that was the telltale sign) and then all the symptoms reached full maximum over time. thats when i knew it was the pump.