92 LeSabre water pump (?) problem

Hi all,

My serpentine belt popped off this afternoon, about 200 feet from my house. After wrestling the car to the curb, I opened the hood to find the belt off and some fluid here and there (and dripping onto the pavement beneath the car). Looked and smelled like antifreeze.

I got the belt back on, started the car, heard some strange noises and watched the belt start to edge off the water pump pulley--again, I think.

Seems safe to assume that the water pump is shot. It looks like it wouldn't be too hard to replace but...

I've never replaced a water pump and I don't have tools beyond a socket set and wrenches.

I don't mind barking my knuckles up trying to do this, but I'm having terrible flashbacks to my old (and dearly missed) 74 Pontiac Grandeville's water pump, which I tried to replace with a basic set of tools in sparrow-sized mosquito infested woods, only to have a friend's father (bless him) show up 4 hours later with some enormous metal tool that popped it off in no time at all!

Is there anything I should know before I attempt this repair and end up teaching my children every cussword in the English language? :biggrin:

Thanks in advance for all assistance!

Jesse

As long as the pulley isnt wobbling, the water pump sounds fine. There is a bypass hose that connects the water pump to the lower intake manifold. The fitting on the lower intake is notorious for failing in the 3.8L engine. A new one won't run you more than 4 dollars at a dealer, possibly cheaper at auto zone or the like. I'd replace the bypass hose too while your at it.

I had a pump that the bearing had worn so bad that the impeller actually ground into the engine block and forced the belt off. Make sure you can turn the pully by hand with the belt off. I think all you need is a simple set of socket wrenches (3/8) and a screwdriver and something to scrape the old gasget off. It is a pretty small job.

I have replaced my water pump in a 92 Park Avenue and posted my experience in the Park Avenue forum. All you need are socket wrenches. The water pump I bought cost $ 30.00 at Pep Boys with no core exchange. The most difficult part for me was getting the bracket mount out of the way so you could remove two of the bolts.

Thanks everyone, for the advice.

My water pump pulley is wobbling, so I guess that means the water pump has to go.

I checked your posts, Jimmy, about your water pump adventure. This is probably a dumb question--and probably evidence that I shouldn't be tackling this job--but if I have to jack my engine up to get to all the bolts, how do I do that? What do I use?

Another dumb question is will the coolant pour out when the pump is removed? Or does it only move through the pump when the engine is running?

I called a mechanic down the street from me and he gave me a price of around $260. Maybe I should just let him take care of this. I don't want to do any damage to what is otherwise a great car!

Thanks again for all of the information!

Jesse

Hi Jesse:

It was my first time to change a water pump. Yes you will need a jack to support the engine. As you probably read on the P/A forum I got help from someone who had it done on a Le Sabre. My car sat for three weeks for not knowing how to move the engine mount. I could not move it because I have not jack the engine high enough. If you do not have a jack it will be a problem. Yes it is necessary to drain the coolant, a sharp blade to remove to remove the gasket from the surface. If I have to do it again it will be about a 2 hour job. I took the oppurtunity to decrease the engine around the pump also. I even removed the alternator to have better access but then if you have to do this be sure to disconnect the battery. And be sure to chock your wheels while jacking the engine. It is doable. A project is always difficult the first time. Good Luck.

I did not answer your question on the previous post. On assumption that the Le Sabre water pump is the same as the park Avenue, 2 bolts that hold water pump goes through the bracket mount. There are 2 holes on the bracket mount where the bolts go through. To remove them the bracket mount has to be moved out of the way. The purpose of supporting the engine with a jack is so there is support for the engine while the bracket mount and engine mount which holds the engine to the frame is loosened. You have to remove 2 bolts that hold the bracket mount to the engine and a nut. There is also a pin in the engine mount that needs to be loosened. Good Luck

Thanks, Jimmy!

You're right on the money!

A friend with a jack is over helping me (he's out picking up a pizza now) and everything is going just the way it has been described on this board.

The only hairy spot was the bolt on the engine mount that's close to the battery--it was pretty stuck and there's not much room there, but we got it.

Thanks again for your advice.

I'll let you know how it turns out when it's done!

Jesse

It's in and it's good! Thanks to all for their help--every hitch we encountered I was able to work through quickly with all the solid information you gave me!

Thanks again,

Jesse

I am having the same problem removing the water pump on my 95 Buick Lesabre. I cannot for the life of me remove that bracket. I tried to look under the engine as to where I can put my jack but it scares me. Does anyone have any suggestions as where to place it?

Will that mount come off once the engine is lifted a bit? The two bolts are totally lose, and the mount moves, but I just can't remove it because of the top threaded stud and the fact that the mount is catching on the frame.

try using a 2x4 or 2x6 on a floor jack beneath your oil pan

I ended up taking the engine mount completely off (in 2 pieces) Then my only and BIG problem was getting the mount back into place. I, of course, used a jack to support the engine. Did I not have to completely remove the mount from the engine compartment? Was there a way to slide it to the side? By the way I appreciate the posts on the 92 Le Sabre water pump removal. I got through it with your help and saved about $300.00!

I just did mine on a 92. I could not get the mount out because there is not enough room to slide it off the stud from the block. After cursing all american cars and thier engineers, I noticed I could swing it to the right to get the pump bolts out. So although you have to remove almost all the mount bolts, if you can't slide it out, try sliding it to the right. I also jacked up the front of the motor untill the power steering punp tank touched the cross member bar. Really not that bad - about 3 hours.

Oh Yeh ! autozone.com has a great site having instructions and pics on how to do it.

This is a pay back post. I couldn't have done this without what I found on the net !!!!!