well my car all of a sudden just drops all the coolant on my garage floor from time to time i usually go by some stop leak and a think of coolant its good for a week or 2.. but it has to be the waterpump i heard its a pain to install? would it be easier from the bottom if i put it on a rack? or what is all involved the car is a 96 with 118k miles any help is apperciated thanx
all i know is the pumps in the 2.4 are a bitch. you have to @!#$ w/ the timing chain, removing the head. it sucks
ok i know people have done this?!!
I have had cars have numerous coolant leaks and the other ones will not show until the biggest one is fixed. You could have a head gasket leak and the water pump was leaking so bad that there was not enough pressure to make it leak at the headgasket.
make sure it actually leaked from the water pump. I know when my car dumped it's coolant everywhere it was the outlet gooseneck. add some coolant, see where its leaking from.
Brandon: Do you have a 2.2 or 2.4? I have a 2.4L 97' Sunfire and a 2.2L 98' Cavalier and I will be attempting to change out the water pump on the Cavalier. I have very few experiences with engine work but this doesn't look that hard. I am putting it on today, possibly along with a new belt, if my wallet permits. I will try to get a few pics to post.
Brandon Schmidt wrote: or what is all involved
Bagged wrote:all i know is the pumps in the 2.4 are a bitch. you have to @!#$ w/ the timing chain, removing the head. it sucks
seems like help to me.
Brandon Schmidt wrote:ok i know people have done this?!!
then stop being so @!#$ lazy and search
For The Lazy People
dude, from what ive heard, its pretty difficult swap for someone without a bit of knowledge, like said above, removal of timeing chain and some other @!#$, ive heard its actually easier to pull the engine ot get it off? then you dont have to worry about timing chain @!#$ ups and what not, should be able to do it in one long day with a little help. someone please correct me if im wrong.
Sigga what?
the 2.4 water pump is in the back of the motor.
you need to
put the car on jacks (front)
remove the right front wheel
remove the back of the exhaust.
remove the Engine mount
remove the timing chain if you can't get it off the water pump
remove water pump
Now,
STOP LEAK!!
sooner or later you will need a new radiator because that stuff not only stops
the leak, but also stops your radiator
alright so no taking off the head?.. i put tons of stop leak in it im thinking it has to be the weep hole in the waterpump because it lasts a good 10 days.. and then just one morning it will all dump out
make sure its the water pump.
get under the car and make sure you see where the leak its coming from.
no need to take the head off. only if its cracked, blown head gasket, things like that.
The hardest part of the job to me was the exhaust because there's not much room.
there's more than 20 10mm bults around the timing chain cover.
that was easier for me, after I took the engine mount off.
I think what makes the 2.4 water pump so difficult to replace is because its located in a hard spot to work on. There's a special tool for a special job. Extensions come in handy too. I had to take the exhaust off because the water pump bults were too tight and I had no room to see what I was doing
the exhaust braket was so tight, not even the BIG BIG air gun could break it loose.
so how did u get it lose?.. i will check i put some special stop leak in..lol i really need to stop but it has to be the waterpump because it dumps all of a sudden it will be fine and just dump one nite after i drive it
do u need to mess with the actual timing chain or just the cover?
Robby002 wrote:
Now,
STOP LEAK!!
sooner or later you will need a new radiator because that stuff not only stops
the leak, but also stops your radiator
Don't forget the heater core and the water passages.
If your not sure it's the water pump take it to a radiator shop and have them pressure test the system.
I got it loose with the big air gun, and some extra torque from my arm
That was the bracket under the exhaust manifold, I think it was a 15mm bult
ohh, and I didn't mean to remove the exhaust completly, I was talking about the
piece between the head, and the cat converter.
Timing chain cover, Timing chain:
BOTH, you mess with BOTH.
1st you remove the timing chain cover OFF
Then you might want to remove maybe 2 timing chain guides off after you get the
water pump loose to remove the water pump.
you see...
The water pump runs with the Timing chain.
The timing chain makes the water pump spind.
the faster the timing chain moves, the faster the water pump spinds.
Like Fast 05 said
make sure its the water pump.
Presure test it, and see where the leak is coming from.
PRESURE TEST:
Connect a pressure test gage to the Overflow. Pump some presure
about 20PSI and see where the leak its coming from.
Cooling system holds about 5-8psi when running
When the cooling system overheats, PSI pressure gets higher.
Your Overflow Cap can only old 15psi to 20psi, anything higher, coolant comes out.
Assuming the water pump needs changing, all I have to say is that if you have the tools and have done car work before (brakes, plugs, fuel thank...), then I say go for it and be patient because it's about 8 - 10 hours for a beginner. My first time took 7 hours of actually being working on it. I'm currently completing a WORD document with pictures, steps, tools needed and the size of everybolt including how to remove it.
I did chain, pump, tensionner shoe and other stuff WIHTOUT removing the manifold like everybody says to do. Keep in mind that I'm a patient bastard.
Email me if your really interested in obtaining that document that I plan on having done by end of next week.
gerry_cote@sympatico.ca
SoupMan
- and no, 'Soup' in SoupMan does not stand for Soup Up but for 'Soup' as in Lipton 'Soup'. -
