2002 water pump replace

Doing the water pump replacement tomorrow. Looking for last minute advice.
Will I harm anything by raising the motor from the pan?
Do I need to cut the wp mounting bolts to clear the frame?
Do I use a sealant with the new gasket or go dry?
Do I have to remove the ps pump?
Should I have a mechanic do the work?
Ford dealer quoted me $700 for the job.
Thanks.

title should read 2000 Wstar with a 3.8.

HI
Here are some notes from my replacement on my '96. Some items will be slightly different on your van. But.....I would not use the oil pan body to lift the engine. Try and find a point on the block. You should not have to cut the bolts. Good Luck.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=642152&highlight=water+pump

Doing the water pump replacement tomorrow. Looking for last minute advice.
Will I harm anything by raising the motor from the pan?


You can raise the motor by the pan if you use a block of wood to distribute the pressure.


Do I need to cut the wp mounting bolts to clear the frame?

I’ve never heard of having to cut bolts to replace a water pump.


Do I use a sealant with the new gasket or go dry?

I would use a light coat of Perma-Tex gasket sealer.

Do I have to remove the ps pump?

I don’t know…..I’ve never changed a WP on a 2002


Should I have a mechanic do the work?

Depends on your mechanical ability, your desire to spend a few hours of bonding time with your van, do you have a space to work on it, and do you have the correct tools. I personally do 90% of all of my auto work. The 10% is tires and exhaust.

Ford dealer quoted me $700 for the job.

You will probably spend under $100.00 if you do the job yourself.

I wonder how many hours this job is rated at?

Thanks.

pitteach

By the way, this is a 2000 Winny with a 3.8- No that it matters.

Thanks for the replies.
I do have the tools. I do have the mechanical ability. I do have the space. What I don't have is the will or patience for this job. I spent a couple hours yesterday in a cold garage replacing a leaking heater outlet tube. I got done put everything back together and let it run to find that the water pump now leaks. I believe I may have cracked it while trying to remove the old tube out of the pump which was fused in there. Anyway, now the pump must go! I think it was on the outs anyway, a little noisy.
I'm always up for a good challenge, but this one has me a little leary-I don't like messing with lifting motors- seems to me that things could break. Maybe if I had an extra hand...
I guess at what point is your time worth more than what you would save by having someone else do it? Believe me, I don't have an extra 400-700 bucks laying around (as I have been quoted for this job), but almost a whole weekend without seeing my kids seems very expensive to me. However, for some that is a monthly car payment which I don't have. I'm just thinking out loud here, I'm sure I'll be back out in the garage and back at it-I always talk myself into doing it myself when I think of the money saved.

Thanks.

I've replaced the front cover gasket on my '99 3.8 ... and the water pump removal was a major piece of the work.

I would suggest removing the wipers and cowling.
I jacked up the motor, loosened the subframe bolts, and used a pack of capenter's shims to keep the motor forced over toward the left side of vehicle.
I also used my hand grinder with cut-off discs to clip off the tips of some of the bolts.
On hoses fittings, water pump gaskets, etc, I use petroleum jelly. Makes it easier if later removals are necessary.

Got the old pump off and new one on. I just need to drop the engine and wrap it all up. The job went about as expected -very time consuming. The biggest problem I had was scraping the old gasket material off. Everything is tough to get at, so I have some pretty sore knuckles. One problem I had was when I was turning off one of the wp nuts, the stud pulled off with it. I can't figure how to tighten the stud into the front cover before putting the nut on. I got it as close as I could with vise grips but could not snug it as I would destroy the threads. I hope it holds. Its a little scary when lifting the engine- lots of creeking and the exhaust looks a little distorted. I carefully placed 3 pump jacks and blocks of wood to get the proper load distribution and lift. THis was easier than expected- Hopefully, it goes together just as smoothly. We'll see tomorrow.

Got the old pump off and new one on. I just need to drop the engine and wrap it all up. The job went about as expected -very time consuming. The biggest problem I had was scraping the old gasket material off. Everything is tough to get at, so I have some pretty sore knuckles. One problem I had was when I was turning off one of the wp nuts, the stud pulled off with it. I can't figure how to tighten the stud into the front cover before putting the nut on. I got it as close as I could with vise grips but could not snug it as I would destroy the threads. I hope it holds. Its a little scary when lifting the engine- lots of creeking and the exhaust looks a little distorted. I carefully placed 3 pump jacks and blocks of wood to get the proper load distribution and lift. THis was easier than expected- Hopefully, it goes together just as smoothly. We'll see tomorrow.

Hi
I had one of the studs spin off as well. If you double the nut on the stud you can run it on that way.

Got everything back together and it looks good. Everything went pretty smooth. I replaced pretty much everything that I took off- pump, hose, tubes, and belt. If I had to sum the job up in two words I had have to say- no fun. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Thanks for the help.

Got everything back together and it looks good. Everything went pretty smooth. I replaced pretty much everything that I took off- pump, hose, tubes, and belt. If I had to sum the job up in two words I had have to say- no fun. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Thanks for the help.