please help

i have a 97 ga 2.4 leakin water from waterpump/thermostat.dealer charged me 800 to put on a waterpump in 2002.are they hard to change myself,cause i have limited cash right now.any help would be great ,thank you

$800 sounds about right, they are a real pain to change and I do believe you have to mess with the timing chain to change the pump. My 95 2.3 the exhaust manifold had to come off entirely, but didn't have to mess with the timing chain. Dealer here wanted $750 to do the job, had an independant do it for $250.

thanks for the info ski
anybody else ever do their owne pump

thanks for the info ski
anybody else ever do their owne pump

its a pain in the ass (pita) !!

2.4L water pump removal

Drain the engine coolant.
Disconnect the oxygen sensor wiring.
Remove the upper exhaust manifold heat shield.
Raise and safely support the front end of the vehicle securely on jackstands.

Remove the exhaust manifold brace bolt.
Unbolt and remove the lower exhaust manifold heat shield.
Break loose the manifold-to-exhaust pipe spring loaded nuts.

Unbolt the radiator outlet pipe assembly from the water pump cover.
Disconnect the exhaust pipe from the manifold.

Pull down and back on the exhaust pipe to disengage it from the exhaust manifold bolts.

!! Be carful with that flex coupling !

Separate the radiator outlet pipe from the oil pan and transaxle.
On manual transaxle, remove the exhaust manifold brace.

Next, leave the lower radiator hose attached,
and pull down on the outlet pipe to detach it from the water pump.
Just allow the outlet pipe to hang.

Lower the vehicle.
Remove the exhaust manifold-to-cylinder head nuts.
Remove the manifold, seals and gaskets.

Remove the timing chain cover.
Remove the timing chain tensioner.
Unbolt the water pump from the cylinder block.

Extract the pump assembly-to-timing chain housing nuts.
Remove the water pump and cover assembly.
Separate the pump from the cover.
Clean all mating surfaces of gaskets & sealant materials.

The install
Attach the water pump to the cover and hand-tighten the components.

Lubricate the splines of the water pump drive with chassis grease or equivalent,
then install the pump and cover assembly.
Hand tighten the cover-to-block bolts.
Install the pump-to-chain housing nuts and hand-tighten.

Lubricate the O-ring on the radiator outlet pipe with an anti-freeze solution,
and slide the pipe into the water pump cover,
install and hand-tighten the bolts.

!! With the specified gaps,
tighten in sequence as follows:

Pump assembly-to-chain housing nuts
Pump cover-to-pump assembly
Cover-to-block, bottom bolt first
Radiator outlet pipe assembly-to-cover
Install the exhaust manifold using new gaskets.
Install the manifold-to-cylinder head nuts,
follow the tightening sequence and tighten to specifications.

Raise and support the front of the vehicle.

Index the exhaust manifold-to-exhaust pipe flange bolts.
Turn bolt bolts in evenly to avoid cocking the exhaust pipe and binding the bolts.
Turn the bolts in until they are fully seated.

Install and secure the radiator outlet pipe to the transaxle and oil pan.

On manual transaxles, install the exhaust manifold brace.
Install the timing chain tensioner and chain cover.
Attach the lower heat shield.

Lower the vehicle.

Attach the exhaust manifold brace.
(Tighten the manifold-to-exhaust pipe nuts to specification)
Attach and secure the upper heat shield.
Connect the oxygen sensor wiring.

Fill the radiator with coolant water mixture until it reaches the heater hose coolant outlet,
then install the hose and continue to fill.
This will assist with the complete cylinder block fill.

Connect the battery.
Start the engine and top off the cooling system and check for leaks.


So you think you can do it ?

wow thats a long list.i might just take to a shop,wonder what i can get it done for
thanks xero for the wake up

An independant shop can probly do it for less than the Dealershit.
Like Skibum said, if you can get it done for around $300 I'd get it done.
But $800 is way to much , though its a good 8hr job on your 2.4L.

Good Luck !

well xero me and by buddy r gonaa try our self. a shop wants about $600 something.they said i should put new guides on too . my friend is pretty good on cars and he said it ll take all day ,but well get it done .so well see.do u know if theres a kit with the gasgets abd stuff i will need.

i will right back and let u know how it went

thanks

Glad to hear you are going to try and tackle this yourself.

Its not that bad of a job, just take your time and if you cant remember where things might go, write it down!! or take pics, they'll help too :D It could take you two days, but thats better than to rush the job and make a mistake that requires you to take it back apart.

Good Luck!
Keep me posted!

Should be able to get an intire gasket kit from most parts stores, I dont know what the exact #'s on that would be, but the stores should.

hey xero,my "buddy" never showed up to help.and hes the one who said we could do it.so i worked oo it for 6 hrs. and got done this. manafold,exhaust,shields,out.took out 2 bolts down below the pump housing.but dont know vwhat the radiator outlet pipe is so i can remove it.and i loosend up some of the many bolts around the timing cover.some of them are in so tite space,i dont think i woill get them off.

but anyways,if anyone can help, please do

thanks for the info ski
anybody else ever do their owne pump

I did the water pump on our 1994 Pontiac Grand Am. PITA, especially when removing the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe but I got done.

well.i got a $HIT LOAD OF WORK DONE ,WELL IT SEEMS THAt way.found out were the pump was and realized its not the pump at all ,but a $1 o ringon the drivers front side of engine.put it all back togeather. then put the o ring in and vwalaa its all fixed.not $700 but $1. sweet.what will i do with that extra cashoola.;)

thanks every1

An "O" ring.... :cool:

See you saved your self a bunch of $$. THat shop wouldnt hav probly admitted to being wrong. they'd hav charged you anyways.