replacing water pump on 85 305

[ropergilson]

My water pump blew on a long trip and I had to have my tuck towed (coolant pouring out of it) The shop I took it to is one I have done business with before, they havent ripped me off. They looked at it and quoted me $475 to replace the pump. Is this something I can do myself? I see its on the front of the engine and has the fan attached to it. how big of a job is this? I have a little experiece with auto repair. I see that I can get the pump for about $40 at Advance Auto, the machanic mentioned its mostly the labor cost on this job.

[idmetro]

ropergilson;
I assume your 305 is basically the same as my 86 350 and yes this is a job you can do yourself. Just be prepared to pull (or at least loosen) most everything you see on the front of the engine to gain access to the pump. Give yourself plenty of time, when you remove bolts put them in a ziplock and label them with a marker so you'll know where they go back to. Take some digital pictures before you start so you'll have a reference if you need it later. Change belts while you have the system apart. Good luck!

[Elbert]

Originally Posted by ropergilson

My water pump blew on a long trip and I had to have my tuck towed (coolant pouring out of it) The shop I took it to is one I have done business with before, they havent ripped me off. They looked at it and quoted me $475 to replace the pump. Is this something I can do myself? I see its on the front of the engine and has the fan attached to it. how big of a job is this? I have a little experiece with auto repair. I see that I can get the pump for about $40 at Advance Auto, the machanic mentioned its mostly the labor cost on this job.

$475 is too much. Yes you can do this yourself. you need common hand tools (mechanic) a couple gallons of coolant, new water pump and gaskets, and maybe some "fast-tack" (its a red liquid you can use to coat the gaskets) whick makes the install a lot eaiser.

Round up a buddy to help...if you've never done this before.

[alblogg]

Man $475 to put on a water pump must have something to do with having to handle that hazardous green stuff in the radiator or something. Like he said take your time I think you will be all right and if you run into trouble someone here will lend a helping hand.

[454Chevy]

to do this you will have to drane the radiator and take the fan shroud off (about 4 bolts) the fan (4 bolts) the pulley will come off with the fan. loosen the alternator ( 1 bolt on top of braket) you will have to take off the lower alternator braket off (2 bolts bolted on the water pump ) you take off the lower water hose now you unbolt the water pump ( 4 bolts ) before you put on the new water pump you will have to clean the surfes of the engine block where the old gaskets where so you wont have any water leaks

[glenncof]

I've replaced my 1997 5.7l (350 ci) a couple times. The key things I remember/suggest is:
1) Carefully look at serpentine drive belt so you can reinstall. There should be a diagram under hood. 3/8" breaker bar to remove tensioner tension.
2) The fan/drive needs to be removed. I think I used a large adjustable and a rubber strap wrench (to hold the pulley). Careful when reinstalling not to cross tread.
3) Clean mating surfaces completely. I used single edge razor blade and/or exato knife. I put Permatex Water Pump gasket compound on gasket, pump side only.
4) I used the four bolts to hold gaskets in place while installing. This was the tricky part as gaskets tend to slide around. Keep pulley off while doing this to minimize weight and make it easier to hold/position pump with single hand.

[randy78]

475 is a total ripoff and without lube,


they saw you coming man

you can do this, this is vertually the easiest water pump to replace in the world other than maybe on a straight six engine and a very few car models


remove fan, pullies and alternator and top bracket, and bolts on left side of power steering pump and just loosen up the bracket on right side of power steering pump at the exhaust manifold enough to move it a little ways away from the waterpump
bottom radiator hose and the four bolts that hold the pump the engine block

done

[jveik]

yeah definately not worth 475 bucks. you can do it on a saturday afternoon in your driveway and just spend about 75 bucks maybe on the waterpump. just hose off the antifreeze that falls on the driveway cause it will dogs or other animals that drink it, including humans (duh...)