Hello,

Flushed my radiator about 7 times over the weekend. Once with flush, other six times with water. It was that nasty. I refilled the system with coolant. At work today, I saw a large green puddle under my car. It was coming from behind the radiator. So it hasto be water pump. Drained the coolant and loosened the bolts that manual starting with.H said to loosen the belts. That didn't do jack. Before I cut the belts, is there really a way to loosen them? Any advice will be appreciated . Quarter to eight now,.pitch black out and haven't eaten dinner yet. I do have a ride in for the next few days. It would be nice to gave this finished before the weekend :-)

 

Don't you just hate Autocorrect, ? Meant water pump

 

Don't you just hate Autocorrect, ? Meant water pump

 

Supposed to loosen the idler pulley. But why would you automatically assume its your water pump? You don't even know how to remove your belt, then you're in for a shocker when its time to remove the timing chain cover.

 

I have done a lot more complex work on other brands of cars. What else could it be if it is behind the radiator and the hoses are good and snug? On this Max, the trunk wouldn't open with the key and the button doesn't work so I had to take out the backseat. Not exactly sure how I managed to get the trunk lock to work again

 

OK maybe you're right. Good luck.

 

you have pimps in your engine bay?

check your rad hoses and other simple stuff before jumping to the watery pimp. also check your heater core hoses by the firewall

 

Thanks, is that pulley almost directly below the camshaft positioning sensor? That 9/16 nut is almost invisible it.is so loose. The belt is still wicked tight

 

Saw coolant dripping off the starter

 

If the heater core ones are the ones wrapped in foil looking stuff,.they look okay except for coolant splashes.

 

Triple check all hoses before you touch that timing chain tensioner. There is a lock but on top of the pulley, that needs to be loosened or you will never get the belt off. Good luck.

P.s you probably just need wp seals, unless the teeth on the wp rusted off.

 

The car is a 96 with 211k on it. According to what I saw online, you are supposed to put the square of a 3/8 ratchet in a square hole and turn. Nothing like that on this car. Heaven forbid they make it so you could stick a large screwdriver in so you can pry up and the belt comes off. Guess that would have made too much sense. The book is garbage.as far as this is concerned. 50 degrees out and I'm laying down on cardboard under my car with a flashlight.

 

I just think it's funny that the word "pimp" is used enough for ot to come up on correct. :-P

 

Is the idler pulley on the first pulley that has s 10 mm bolt head on it? The inside of the pulley is just spinning. Am I.anywhere near the right place. Vanna.may I please get a clue on the location of this friggin pulle

 

Should I just take the Leatherman off my belt and cut the drivebelt?

 

Cutting it off will not help you. Once you loosen the bolt, then you can loosen the tensioner. You can't miss it.

But check your hoses man.

Edit: inside of the pulley moving? That's the a/c.

 

Searched the HowTo's sticky thread and found this

 

The hoses look fine. Will someone please tell me the general location of this damn pulley? The book didn't. I ran my hand on the hoses , they were dry. Probably won't be able to sleep, it is driving me insane

 

Thank you jholley

 

I do not see you changing the water pump. It is no where near as simple as the task you just struggled to complete.

Good luck.

 

Yeah, you have to loosen the idler pulley first from down below, then loosen the tensioner with the 9/16th from up top.

Did it ever occur to you that if you cut the belt, that you wouldn't be able to put on a new one? You would also be spending $20 you didn't have to.

A water pump job can not be done hastily. You better slow down or you're gonna really f things up. Plus I'm not convinced you've done your due dilengence and ruled out other possibilities

 

PowerToTheMax, removing the timing cover isn't necessary, there are 2 covers you take off to get to the pump and the tensioner. If it wasn't for having to remove the crank pulley removing the entire cover would probably make the whole process much easier though.

I'd take it to a shop if you determine it's the water pump. Mine went out a while back and it was well worth it to pay the mechanic to do the work since it's such a pain in the butt. If you still want to do it yourself here's a 3 part how to video:
Part 1: Part 2: Part 3:

 

Thank you very much for the videos. I got the belt off without a knife and drained the oil which I just changed . Will go further after work. Right now, I don't have a choice about diy. My wallet was stolen over the weekend and I canceled my plastic.

 

You will also need to take off the power steering belt.

If you think getting the serpentine off is problematic . . . just wait.

I suggest to everyone that you cut off the ps belt. Buy a new one. Then walk it onto the crank pulley. To do that, you put as much of the belt on as you can, then using a 19mm ratchet, turn the crank pulley and push the belt on.

This will likely save you hours.

 

+1 on the watery pimp. Nearly spit my coffee all over my car lol.

Im pretty sure my water punp seal is on its way out as well; theres a slow leak of coolant dripping from that area, down to next to the oilpan and onto my driveway. What else should i replace?

I read the pump, seals, belts, and tensioner are all worthwhile. What else should i do as preventive maintence?

 

Don't you just love Autocorrect? Being .sarcastic. Just got home from work, paying attention taxes to my cat, then change into my Victorias secret jeans. Crotch went out so only thing I wear them for is car work . Pity they are the most comfy jeans I own. My belt still looks good, so I'll leave that alone.

 

 

funniest thread on the .org in years. bravo sir.

 

Thanks, got to the motor mount part. Never dealt with those before, and am a little scared. Friend of mine knows those, so he will help. He and I help each other with our card. Afraid of the engine falling or something like that.

 

Got the motor mount off. The bracket it bolts onto is being an alternate term for a female dog. Got the left bolt, buy can't get a socket onto the right side bolt. Does it really need to come off? To the left I see a cover with four bolts. Any chance that is the water pump cover?

 

Asking because I was using a 17 mm wrench and felt the car start to move before the bolt went anywhere

 

Can you PLEASE post pictures of this process? I'd like to use them just in case I ever have the same problem.

 

How do you do that? Just drew blood in four spots on my right knuckles trying to loosen that right side bolt.

 

Water pump doesn't have a cover, the cover I know of would be the one for the tensioner so you can loosen the chain

 

 

Showed a cover in the YouTube video on this thread, immediately to the left of where the radiator hose from the bottom of the radiator goes in. Couldn't find a drain plug anywhere on my radiator.

 

How do I post pics?

 

Hi, I got the covers off , water pump and timing chain tensioner. Would I screw up the timing by taking out the tensioner? The YouTube video didn't say.
Thank you much for input

 

You've got to kept the chains from jumping any teeth, keeping the engine in time.
Set the engine at TDC just in case you mess something up. Mark the chains and sprockets clearly. Then you can take it apart.

 

Thank you much