so i will be replacing my water pump this weekend or over the week and i wanna know is it difficult for a backyard fix and what else should be done while im in that area of the engine leaking coolant a little bit and its giving a little bit of a rattle just wanna know is it very difficult and are there any write ups for it i think i remember seeing one thanks

 

if you have knowledge of repairs and do most of your own id say not a problem to do,however if you usually pay a shop i wouldnt suggest doing this yourself as the waterpump is in the timing cover and you need to remove various things to get to it comfortably. the rattle is just a tensioner something fairly easy to change...again...if you can do most your own repairs....shouldnt be a problem but if you usually go to a shop...i suggest not attempting it...

 

Then SEARCH .....

 

Research how to replace your timing chain and tensioners. If you can do that then the water-pump will be easy. This is a difficult job to do, not for beginners.

 

ive done most my repairs so i will take a shot at it thanks

 

Water pump job isn't something simple to do.

 

i sure as hell wouldnt attempt this.

Anytime, the timing cover needs to be removed i consider that to be major surgery and i aint doing that myself.

Highonfumes man, u sure u not just high on fumes for attemptin this??? This isnt like changing brakes, timing stuff aint easy.

Sorry dont mean to be a buzzkill, just want u to know this aint gonna be a 2 or 3 hr thing. Its a 6-8 hr thing and being on yur back under the car trying to get that pump out aint gonna be fun.

I do know this, use a pin to hold the plunger in check for the tensioner or its gonna fall out into the timing case and that is a PROBLEM

Might need to remove the pass side motor mount for additional clearance. Make sure u get a quality pump too.

 

the whole cover doesn't need to come out. caution the guy, but don't scare him lol

 

I recommend watching the following videos for anyone who plans to attempt this, before attempting:

[pt. 1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibfs1Zu9h4o
[pt. 2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBIjrYxYMU
[pt. 3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Urfeyq5mgU

 

i thought i was!

i do work on my car too and some stuff is easy, like brakes and struts and plug. Radiator is easy too. Axles are a lil harder. AC is a b*tch and so isnt KS. Alternator is intermediate diffculty AND a b*tch.

Water pump is completely diff animal. that being sd, i still say he can do it. But its an all day, 6-7 hrs, type of thing, if its the first time attempt. And if u mess up....well lets stay on the positive side here

If he had an orger helping him thats done it before, i wd feel more confident.

For a mech to do it, its 300-400 bucks labor at least

And u are right the cover doesnt need to come off. Thats like the last thing u ever want to do with a max ugh

 

yes i understand that completly but ive done more then your average repairs such as brakes ive converted my car to five speed myself and i just graduated LTI so i do have some knowledge in cars yesi am still learning aswell and i did read the write up and it doesnt seem that very difficult i do relize its not a breeze ether i just wanted to know if it could be a job for a back yard or in front of the house type of repair and what else should be done while im in that area i will be doing it thursday so i will let everyone know how it went maybe take some pics with a lil write up of my own but thank u for letting me know what to be expected just hate having a mechanic do work on my car sometimes more money and i need the car asap so i cant wait either for a shop to have me wait two three days without a car so

 

Nice videos there on how to change water pump

 

I personally couldn't do it in my backyard cause I don't have the proper resources. If I had a lift I'd do it in a heartbeat tho. And about LTI I too recently graduated from a LTI institute and has been working in a mediocre shop for a few months only to realize LTI really didn't teach me squat about actually working on cars. The book knowledge is nice to know but I'm still finding myself asking many questions when I actually get a decent ticket(the biggest thing I've done so far ironically was a timing/water pump but on a camry instead)

 

yea samme here i learned im not gunna lie but every school is kind of a scam they make it out to be what its not but it was worht it over all im not saying i now know how to do everything but i tried to get as much hands on as i could and alot on my own time at the house ya know but u could know everything about a car book wise but when you put a wrench in somebodies hand they cant do anything i have seen it and im sure we all have lmao..... but the biggest thing i apreciated about LTI was the snap on took advantage of that instantly lol

 

oh yea lol snap-on...I can't stand seeing that logo anymore lol. They may make good tools but being forced fed that stuff was pretty weak. But if your confident in doing it try it out, when I did the camry I worked with a more experienced tech so it was a good experience for me. He made sure to emphasize that I set timing on cylinder one(putting it at top dead center) before removing the belt and tensioner, guess the same would hold true for a maxima.

 

The water pump is a huge PITA if:
* You have never done it before, and
* Are cautious, going slow

I cooked an entire three-day weekend in Feb doing mine. There was nothing I had to backtrack on, but I wasted a huge chunk of one day gingerly trying to put the pump in before I just removed the motor mount and lifted the engine. An inch or two made a huge difference. I spent an hour or two cleaning the access panel mating surfaces.

The only thing I regret is not replacing the tensioner while I had it apart.

 

one more question tackling the job tomorrow havent gotten time to it yet but could shaft play on the old water pump cause slight rattle of the chain ? cuz it has gotten a lil louder coming home from work tonight and its leaking a lil bit more so i will be doing this early in morning tomorrow just wanted to know bout the shaft play thanks ....

 

those vids are key i had never done a wp change on my maxima and didntd do some of the key stuff in that vid like with bungy cord and moving the crank back and stuffand ended up with a timing issue making me have to pull off the dumb cover so good stuff wasnt a member on here till way after i had this issue on my car. my luck lol

 

its done i did it yesterday and it only took me about 4and half hours it wasnt that bad only thing that was just a lil tricky was the tensioner but thats it i will have some pics up soon just need to upload them now that my coolant is done on to my growling front hubs cant stand that noise

 

nice work fumes man.

U shd have sd u graduated from LTI from the jump. U have formal training so it shdnt have been bad for u at all.

 

Waterpump will take you 2 hours to remove and install. Remove alternator out the way. You do not need to remove the motor mount. I have done the water pump on this car over 10 times now. The water pump will be removed from the top. All you need to do is relieve slack from the chain to give you the room u need to remove the waterpump. Dont be afraid of this Be carefull when removing bolts from water pump and chain tensioner,you do not want them falling in the cover. Before removing the chain tensioner push the piston in deep and stick a thumbtack in the pin hole on the side of the tnesioner this will keep the piston inside the tensioner in place. Also when you are removing the chain tensioner loosen the bottom bolt (do not remove) then remove completely the top bolt,lossening the bottom bolt and removing the top bolt will force the tensioner back and make sure the spring and piston doesnt fall in the case. Good luck..have fun

 

The rattling may have been his w/p bearings....this is an easy fix....in the car! By removing the Xmember it will allow you to be able to lift and lower your engine more if you need more space!

 

The altenator is not in the way, Just the altenator tensioner!!!! You can't press the tensioner plunger in with your finger nor screwdriver while in the car....place a rag under the tensioner and remove it try too hold on to the plunger cause it will try too fly off like a rocket.....once you've got it remove depress it back into the tensioner and secure it with a tack/pin!!!! Rotate your crank 20 degrees CCW and remove your pump! installation is reverse!!!! I removed my passenger side motor mount and loosened the Xmember and lower motor mount to have more access into the timing cover access ports!

 

I havent read the entire thread so if I repeat anything, please forgive me but...

According to the 1995 Maxima FSM. There is no need to remove timing chain cover for water pump. I've done THREE already. 2 with engine still in car and one while I was doing an engine swap into my 97.

-All you need to do is remove the p side wheel
-remove timing cover side motor mount.
-remove belts and belt tensioner
-might wanna drain coolant lol
-remove water pump cover
-remove tensioner cover which is further in back of engine
-turn harmonic balancer 20 degrees counter clockwise I believe (very with fsm)
-once tension is relieved, compress tensioner and put a pin in pin hole so it stays closed
-remove 10mm bolt and pull tensioner
-remove water pump 10mm bolts and remove water pump without damaging chain.
-bam, reverse order.

took me 45 min my first time 2 years ago on my cousins Max, took me 3 hours on mine this last fall because I wanted to save time by not removing the motor mount lol.

Check FSM, its not THAT hard like all these damn wussies claim it is. Good luck

 

Just finished my W/p install last night and everything is purring like a kitten.....need to drain the water and add some antifreze and w/p lube and that's it....I think removing the Xmember with F/R motor mounts makes this really easy!