water pump nipple

[hunter4656]

Hey everyone
I just removed my waterpump,,finally got the clutch fan off,,now i see the new one doesn't come with the 3/8 or 1/2" nipple that connects to a hose on the drivers side of the motor,,,any idea what this is,,I have put penetrating oil on it,,and now I have crimped it.I need some suggestions on what to do next.Is this a dealer item?

Thanks Hunter

[miro1118]

I think you can just get one from a plumbing supply store. Bring the old assembly with you.

[mrvh]

is this a 4.7? If it is then that nut stays on with the water pump. When you get the new pump it will have the nut and pulley already installed on it.

[andefire]

Sorry to bother y'all, but how in the heck did you get the fan clutch off? My book says to hold the bolts on the water pump pulley, but mine is on with studs - no bolt heads stick out. I have tried significant hand pressure on the serpentine belt, but the pulley just slips under it, and I cannot loosen the nut. I have been to both local parts stores, and have stumped them as to how to get it off, although they have rented me all sorts of useless tools that work on Fords. I don't wanna go to the dealer, I'm a blonde and going to a dealer is just asking for trouble.....any ideas for me?

Originally Posted by hunter4656

Hey everyone
I just removed my waterpump,,finally got the clutch fan off,,now i see the new one doesn't come with the 3/8 or 1/2" nipple that connects to a hose on the drivers side of the motor,,,any idea what this is,,I have put penetrating oil on it,,and now I have crimped it.I need some suggestions on what to do next.Is this a dealer item?

Thanks Hunter

[Mike13]

Andefire- On my 1998 Durango with the 5.2 engine, I used an allen wrench in one of the holes on the clutch, put a small pipe on the allen wrench, and then wedge it while pulling on another wrench to take that nut off. Not exactly the correct way to do it, but it worked. In the past I went to Auto Zone and they lend you the tools you need. Give them a try. Good luck.

[1thunder]

usually use a 1'1/2 wrench and drive it hard with a hammer must pay attention to rotation of engine in order to turn proper way

[t-bank]

I've replaced (2) water pumps on my 99 Durango and another (2) on my 94 Dakota, (both 318's). Each time, from (2) different auto parts stores, (Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts). The pumps all came with a new pipe nipple. I'd go back to the store you purchased the pump from and see if they can provide it for you. If you opt for the plumbing store appoach you'll need to be careful about what you buy because the pump housing is aluminum and you don't want to strip or crack it. Also, dissimilar metals could potentially cause a corrosion problem and result in a future leak. As a last resort, the dealer may also carry this nipple as a separate part.
As far as removing the fan, I simply used a couple of 1/4" bolts with nuts snugged up tight against the bolt heads so they would stick out far enough and stuck them in a couple of the empty holes in the front of the fan pulley. I then wedged a pry bar between these two bolts and used this to hold the pulley while I loosened the fan nut. I've changed all (4) pumps using this method. (hey, what can I say, I grew up on a farm where you gotta make do with what ya got!)

[andefire]

Done! I ended up using needlenose vicegrips on the pulley, and wedging them between the upper pulleys, then it was pretty easy to get off with the 36 mm wrench - and there was cheering. At about two am there was a lot of crawling around on the floor of the shop to find the O ring from that dadgummed nipple, my girlfriend found it after about twenty minutes, we blamed her dog for losing it. Made me wish I had a concrete floor rather than dirt. (Country gal, can you tell?)

I got one of those Haynes repair manuals - let me just say there are things on the truck that aren't in the manual. The manual showed seven bolts, and said to make sure you know which go where...okay, so as a girl, I make a little list and a diagram to show where each bolt came from. Only thing was - mine had eight. That was when I moved on from the book and just started winging it. If I had it to do over again (God forbid) I would have a set of Torks, maybe some 3/8" drive metric sockets (I uses predominantly 1/2" drive everything), and less beer. I am definitely paying for the beer part this morning.

Next project? On the way home last night my left front wheel started kind of ...chattering, but in a more grinding way, when I applied the brakes. I sense a brake job in the near future.

Thanks for all of your help!
Ande

[HemiGottaLuvIt]

Next time slide a large piece of scrap cardboard, inexpensive tarp or thin plywood under your truck to help trap errant parts. You may also want to score a magnetic broom. They're under twenty bucks - a great gift suggestion.

Wish I would have seen your post earlier, I could have save you some grief. Check out my response to your water-pump question. Oh well, hopefully somebody got some benies out of my post.

[HemiGottaLuvIt]

Yes, technically the water pump has 7 bolts. But you must remove 8 to get the thing out! Details.

Try this suggestion for bolt 'gut-check' the next time you're wrenching on a part with varying bolt sizes. Get yourself a Fedex or USPS priority mail box. Draw a rough sketch on the box to represent your part. Use a box cutter or similar tool of choice to precut a small x-pattern bolt holder holes in the cardboard. Pick an index location on the part as your starting point. Then working around in either a clock-wise or pattern dictated according to torque specs for the part as you remove the bolts insert them into the cardboard. The cardboard is rigid enough to hold bolts securely and you also have a decent box for other smaller non-bolt parts related to the removal that you simply stuff inside. For extra piece of mind you can run some tape across the bolts/screws. Slap a date/time on the box and ID of your vehicle (if your like me and have a fleet). I will jot down a punch list on the box too. Then just check things off as you go along.

Your mileage may vary and objects in mirror are closer than they appear...