96 2.4L Water Pump Replacement

[Cruize]

The GM manual wants me to disconnect the exhaust pipe from the manifold and then remove the manifold in order to change the water pump.

Must the exhaust manifold be removed or can I leave it on? I wouldn't care except the exhaust pipe bolts are rusty and I can only get an impact gun on two of the four. I sprayed the other two, but they didn't break loose.

Thanks in advance.

[xeroinfinity]

Have you gotten under there and looked at the coolant pipe where the thermo goes?

I dont think you have to remove the exhaust for this.

[Cruize]

Thanks for checking in Xero.

I did get the water pump changed without removing the manifold or separating the pipe from the manifold. I assembled the pump to the housing prior to installing on the car. In order to get the assembly installed, I needed to remove the shift cables (manual transmission) and bracket to make room for the bracket on the pump housing that attaches to the engine. I'm sure the manifold has to come off if you intend to use a torque wrench.

It was funny. I called a GM garage to find out what it would cost to have the water pump changed, knowing full well I would change it myself. The guy rattles off the top of his head, that'll take about an hour and a half. I told him to check his book. He asked why. I told him this was the difficult engine. He had someone look it up. The estimate was somewhere between $800 and $900. Boy was I dumb. I should have said "Schedule me, have the estimate in writing, and I'll have the car in this afternoon!!!"

Four weekends later and about 50 manhours between my dad and I, we had it done. I probably spent an hour or more jacking the entire car up and supporting it so I would have ample clearance. I spent more time loosening exhaust hangers in case I wanted to try removing the exhaust and manifold as an assembly.

[xeroinfinity]

glad to hear you got it !
Might have been helpful to have a cheap manual for your GA.
I dont think Ive ever charged anyone that much to replace these, boy Im getting jipped. lol

[Cruize]

I tried looking at a Haynes manual at AZ, but it was still sealed. I checked a website with free repair guides, but that said to remove the manifold as well.

I guess some time was wasted loosening manifold nuts in anticipation of removing it. Then we had the engine mount bolts that would not come out even after we pried the engine sideways. I ended up cutting one of the bolts with a hacksaw to get it out. One or maybe both of the other bolts had already been shortened by someone else. We made sure all the bolts were shortened enough so that if I ever need to pull the engine mount again, they'll just fall out without any prying.

The shifter cables and bracket were troublesome to re-install. The one cable broke and we fixed it rather than buying a new one. Now it's coated in lots of RTV (for weather protection), making it a little difficult to grasp and manuever.

Maybe I should have just sealed the weep hole shut. No more leakage, problem solved!!! HA, HA, HA!!!!