I have read a few threads on this forum about the infamous water pump and tensioner, and I was wondering if any of you have attempted this yourself. So far, I have only found two or three of you, and some say it is really hard, others say it is easy but time consuming. Anyone else have an opinion?

And should the tensioner be replaced at the same time regardless of its condition? Can a tensioner be inspected?

I read the write-up on the water pump, but the author did not give an estimated time of completion...

Any help?

 

DIY for me. I think it took me all afternoon to do it on my buddies 96 though. Only basic tools and knowledge is needed. It all really depends on if you are mechanically competent. There was a guy on here last week that could not even undo an electrical connector. If you are one of those, definately not DIY.

 

I am competent, no worries about that. I only have a Chilton Guide, though. Is that enough (with the write-up on here)?

 

Should I jack the engine up for easier access? If so, what do I have to disconnect so nothing gets ruined?

 

i like to work from underneath, but thats just me - doing so might make things a little more difficult to orient for you but if you can visualize what you are doing and the parts involved then its much easier to do work on that side from the bottom.

remove the accessory belt for the alternator and ac, the idler pully bracket, and the alternator - you dont want to spill water in your alternator... besides that, there isnt much in the way except the passenger side wheel well

 

One last question: Nissan Water Pump or OEM by Cardone (Kragen)?

 

i use nissan genuine parts on everything, which thus far have worked perfectly. if you want to go with something else i doubt you will have problems but you can never gurantee fitment unless you get the exact part from nissan themself...

 

For the water pump and o rings, use Nissan parts. You don't want to do this twice.

 

i paid a shop to fix mine. $100 for the parts, $300 for labor

 

If you take it to a shop, they will not likely use Nissan parts...

 

Buy your parts and have them install them, also don't forget to ask for the old parts no matter what they are.

 

Switcharoo is the oldest game in town. Game, not profession. How does asking for the old part back ensure they installed your part? You give them an OEM pump, they put it on their shelf, get a replacement part that costs 1/4 the price, install it, and give you back your used OEM.

Short of your friends doing you a favor, why in the world would a shop want to install parts that you bought online? That would be like expecting to get full retail not wholesale when you trade in a car. They have to make money coming and going, not just going. my .02.....

 

While you're in there change the thermostat & rad hoses as well..

I got all my factory parts from Courtesy Nissan

Not too hard of a job....did it all from the top

 

Where is the thermostat?

 

Should take 3-5 hours for a newbie with tools and common sence. Just make sure torque it right to avoid leaks.

 

Every shop I talked to quoted about 4-6 hours of labor for a skilled mechanic...do you know something they (we) don't know?

 

There is a how to in the stickies. Looks somewhat time consuming but pretty easy. With the directions posted you probably wouldn't even need your chilton. Go for it and good luck.

 

that book hours are always inflated far above the actual time...

 

Its about a 4 hour job... and thats with out a lift.

 

I worked on it all last night, and it was not a 4-hour job...(for me--more like 7 hours), but there were a few obstacles that I could have avoided, and I would likely take about 5 hours to do if I did it again. I will share my experience here and hope that it somehow helps someone later.

First of all, I followed the directions very closely in the stickies. They are good directions, but I found some of the information was not accurate or that there was (IMO) a better way to approach the issue. Knowing what I know now, again I think the job is closer to 5 hours with the tools I used. The process would be quicker with ratcheting box/open wrenches and deep sockets as well. My approach followed the outline in the stickies:
(Jack up car, remove passenger wheel--did not mess with splash guard)
1. I did not drain the coolant as recommended, rather I let it all out via the water pump drain plug. I lost about 3 quarts this way, and although it was a bit messy, I only had to drain one location. You should drain from here anyway.
2. I took off the belt tensioner as suggested--it was my first time doing this and I did not understand how it worked. Now I do; easy...
3. I removed the A/C--Alternator belt
4. I removed bolts for chain tensioner piston and water pump and cleaned the surfaces really well in preparation for re-gasket.
5. I removed the piston but not by holding the piston in with my thumb. I removed one screw (top) entirely and then loosened the bottom. The piston housing tilted back with the force of the chain and opened up a gap between the piston and the chain guide. From underneat, I compressed the piston with a lon flathead screwdriver and had my wife (from over the top of the engine) push in a clipped safety pin (tied to fishing line, tied to the car). The pin went in completely across the piston and was held by pressure on the other end. This made the unit much easier to remove as I did not have to worry about my thumb (so little clearance) keeping the piston in, etc. I highly recommend getting help and doing it this way--much faster and safer. You may not even have to remove the tensioner assembly. Perhaps compressing, pinning, and taking out one screw is the only thing necessary to create enough slack on the chain.
6. After tensioner is not applying pressure to chain, I rotated the crank pulley 20 degrees CClockwise as stated, then removed the pump as suggested.

**May I mention that the author of the How-To may not have looked at the screws when he said to be careful about dropping their washers...the washers on my 98 were not able to come past the threads; they were semi-permanent washers so I did not worry about them. The screws are slick, however, so a magnetized wrench would be helpful. I loosened by wrench then removed by hand to avoid dropping.

7. Water pump is REALLY hard to get out. It only comes out one way out the top (at least that is the only way I could get it to budge), and you have to jiggle and turn and fudge and rotate and push and breathe and swear and pray to get it out. NOT FUN. If I were to do it again, I may cut part of the engine bay for more clearance. Removal of radiator hose could help, but I just moved the locking spring/screw out of the way on the hose that goes to the thermostat.
8. When putting the new (or reused) pump back in, I recommend getting the pump back into the cavity (you'll see what I mean) by wiggling it back in and swearing some more. AFTER it is in there, you should put on the O-ring seals. this way, you avoid possibly damaging them. Use coolant as a lubricant (dip the seals in it before placing them on pump) -- orange one closed to gear teeth.
9. Putting the pump back into position is tough. Make sure you have enough slack on the chain and that you lift it over the pump so it will land on the gears once it is tightened into position. This process alone took me WAY too long. I used a ratchet and sometimes a U-joint for better positioning, but it was just awkard and tough to get the pump back in. Deep sockets would definitely help here (10mm , 12mm, and 14mm).
10. Put piston/guide tensioner assembly back into place as directed and bolt on. Remove safety pin and piston will contact cylindrical stop on guide.
11. After the old gasket has been scraped/degreased, apply new gasket as directed and seal everything up/bolt access panels closed.
12. Continue with rest of procedure as outlined.

In summary, a few things I recommend:
-Ratcheting box wrenches and deep sockets (10mm, 12mm, 14mm at least)
-Try compressing piston and (with help) securing with safety pin jammed in at least 3/4" across front of piston (tied to end of string/fishing line). You may not need to remove the entire assembly. Try creating room by removing one screw and tilting it back out of the way, then turning the crank wheel for slack.
-Drain coolant from water pump. I did not have to change my oil at all because I had no coolant spray after removing coolant from pump.
-Make sure you have enough room to access areas from bottom AND top of engine. Access to both is helpful!
-Steering pump line/reservoir relocation is unecessary, as is removal of belt. Simply zip-tie the steering pump hose to A/C metal line. This creates ample space to access piston/belt tensioner from top.
-Take your time and don't rush because this project is not only time consuming but intricate and frustrating at times also. I will be happy to answer any questions any body else has. PM me for complete explanations.

 

I asked if you knew something we DIDN'T know...

 

Glad to hear you got it done. Good job!

 

Nice explanation of a tedious job. I just did my '95 Maxima's water pump and alternator, and after putting everything back together and starting it up, the timing chain rattle was horrendous. So I had to take off the tensioner again and put it back, and I had to rotate the crankshaft to tighten the chain (apparently I didn't get it right the first time). No chain noise now, but when it idles for any period of time, it starts chugging. I cleaned the throttle body and that didn't fix it. I wonder if I got my timing off by rotating the crankshaft too much/too little. Any suggestions? Oh, another thing I did was to replace the resonator box (next to the MAF/air filter) since mine had broken (rubber boot wouldn't stay on)--the one I got from the local used parts shop appears to be a newer model that doesn't have the bottom hose coming off it--which seems to be a hose into an empty little plastic box. I'm wondering if this might have anything to do with my idle issue. Put new premium gas/fuel injector cleaner into tank yesterday, to see if that would help. This Max has 206,000 mi. and runs great--I hate to give it up! Thanks for any ideas.

 

Oh, also when I put new belts on, my power steering seems to squeal when I start it up/goes away quickly. I got oil on my new belts when I started the engine without the timing tensioner cover on (OK, I'm an idiot). P/S belt seems to be tight--should I try some of that belt dressing first? Thanks.

 

My experiences and advice here:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=464081

 

Sounds to me like you may need to tighten the P/S belt.