changing water pump hard or easy????

[tinka46]

im bout to replace my water pump... duno whether to wait for the weekend or do it tmz... pends if its hard or not..

[Brett_jjj]

Fairly easy job to do.If you want to do jobs like this ,get yourself a gregorys workshop manual or similar.Heaps handy.And you can read what you have to do before actually doing it, so then you get an idea of how hard its going to be.Plus it saves you lots of $$$.

[bandit10]

Brett you should wright to Gregory's and ask for commission im sure heaps of people have bought them now lol
Great advice as always ;-) , a work shop manual is well worth the money will pay for its self in no time.

[Brett_jjj]

Brett you should wright to Gregory's and ask for commission im sure heaps of people have bought them now lol
Great advice as always ;-) , a work shop manual is well worth the money will pay for its self in no time.

Yeah,its some of the best advice you can give people fixing their own cars,or for someone just starting out.Ive been fixing cars for 25 years and I still go back to the manuals every now and then just to check if something is right or looking up the tension of a certain bolt etc.Ive probably saved thousands over the years fixing my own cars.And Ive learned a lot from reading the manuals too.Also you know the job is done right.

[bandit10]

yep couldnt of put it better myself brett, ive been fixing cars for years to (not quite 25! old git lol maybe 15) and i always have a read of the manual before i do the job, occasionally i find the manual to be wrong tho, like when looking up about my transmission fault my VR/VS max ellery manual is telling me my transmission has a kickdown cable..!!! errr wrong they stopped having cable kick down at the start of VR lol

[BoNeZ-01]

Give yourself plenty of time to do it, not because it's 'hard' to do, but just that it's in a bit of an awkward spot.
Take your time, and do it right the first time, but it is a fairly easy job.
A Gregory's manual is a pretty cheap investment, considering the big dollars it could save you in the long run, by doing most of the work on your car yourself.
They are detailed enough for the average home mechanic, not only for this job, but many others you may need to do at a later date.

[Brett_jjj]

yep couldnt of put it better myself brett, ive been fixing cars for years to (not quite 25! old git lol maybe 15) and i always have a read of the manual before i do the job, occasionally i find the manual to be wrong tho, like when looking up about my transmission fault my VR/VS max ellery manual is telling me my transmission has a kickdown cable..!!! errr wrong they stopped having cable kick down at the start of VR lol

Yeah ,Ive come across a couple of little things that theyv'e got mixed up.Ive got a HQ holden gregorys that has the wrong picture for the brake shoes.It shows the installed shoes but they are on backwards.I noticed they fixed it in later releases of the HQ book..

[MrWooFarkinHoo]

also in the ellery's VR book look at the front hubs lol - it shows wheel bearings and caps. But it is still an invaluable tool when combined with the knowledge available in this forum.

[undar8ed1]

this should help buddy
Changing water pump VN/VP/VR

[Brett_jjj]

Ive got a Haynes VN to VS V6 & V8.Ive got a VP gregorys V6, and a VS gregorys V6.The only problem with haynes ones they have the worst wiring diagrams ever.But if theres something not mentioned in a manual you can always find it out on here.

[2DIE]

VN S1 are at the back of the motor, pain in the ass but if its for VR it should be a pretty simple job.

[deXtrous]

I gotta change my water pump also. Let me know if you find a cheap one online.

[wortus]

When you change it don't forget to dry the threads in the block where the large bolts go in, they pass through the timing case. You have to dry the threads and use some loctite thread sealer or similar otherwise water from the cooling system will get past the threads and while it probably won't leak over time the bolts will corrode to the timing case and you'll have a bugger of a time to get them off especially if the coolant is not kept good. When I did one on my VN these bolts were corroded and stuck. One bolt I ended up having to grind the head off and tap the pump off with a soft hammer, not so easy as they are dowel pinned and you gotta be careful.
I got a water pump from Super Cheap, it was good quality and made in Japan. Good idea to do a cooling system flush and add new coolant. I always use the Nulon long life at 50/50, it doesn't generally require the pellets either unles there are very smal leaks.

[RX25SE]

Good idea to do a cooling system flush and add new coolant.

Very sound advice.

[deXtrous]

Very sound advice.

Should the system flush be done before or after the installation of the new pump?

I'd guess after right? So you're not wasting coolant?

[immortality]

i'd change the thermostat when you fit a new pump. flush the cooling system at the same time and use new coolant. that way your entire cooling system has been serviced and it will be good for another few years (hopefully maintenance free)

VN S1 are at the back of the motor, pain in the ass but if its for VR it should be a pretty simple job.

only the thermostat is at the back on the S1 VN. waterpump is still at the front of the engine. the S1 waterpump is slightly different as it has a extra spacer behind it and a new waterpump to suit should come with 2 gaskets to suit.

i also highly recommend you spend what ever time it takes to remove all the old gasket material before refitting the new pump to prevent leaks in the future

[BoNeZ-01]

Basically do everything immortality just said deXtrous, that way you'l know all those parts were installed new as of that date.
And since you're doing a flush anyway, and to make it easier to get in to where the pump mounts to clean it up, remove the radiator, and give it a good flush.
I get a hose with the connector still on the end, and put in one spout, with the other up top, and run water through, then reverse it and go again, then fill with water, hold my hands over the spouts, and shake the livin' snot out of it!
I do that a few times, just to make sure there is nothing left in there that could block the cores or water channels in the engine.
flush your engnie a few times in both directions too using a hose.
Clean up the surfaces where the thermostat cover sits, and thermostat housing, install a new one, also clean up pump mounting surface and install it, best to clean up those two things 'before' you flush though, just in case any crap falls back in to the cooling system.
Reinstall your fan belt, a new one if you feel it is needed, then just reinstall your radiator and fan, and refill and bleed your cooling system.