I have coolant leaking out and i'm pretty sure now that it is the water pump. Question can water pumps leak even if the cars not running?Like a steady drip every two seconds? Forming a decent puddle after awhile, but when running the pump is'nt making any abnormal noises is that normal? Is there other clues to positively know the pump is bad? I cant believe how hard a job it looks like it would be to replace it there is no room! Anybody with some helpful how to's? how about an estimate on how much a shop would charge to do it?
I have a 94 grand am with the 3.1 v6 and really it's an easy job, it looks harder than it is. The biggest thing is getting the serpentine belt off.
Yes, water pump seals will leak all the time (worse when under pressure). It is not a hard job if you now what your doing. Get a repair manual and make sure you have all the right tools and parts before you start.
A repair shop will charge about $200 to fix that problem. If you have a jack and a jack stand the lack of room wont be much of a problem anymore. It only a matter of getting the belt covers and timing covers off, and the water pump pully off. The pully can be tricky. since It is a car '92 and younger you may have a problem with a gear slipping and the motor needing timed. If your paticular car needs timed by the belts and pullys, then no problem line up the notches in the gears as they go. But if the timing is off by the valves, Then your in for a long night of work and slight frustration. If you dont really know what you are doing at all, Then don't bother with it, leave it up to the pros, so that your car actually runs when the pump is put in. It took me 8 hours to fix one in a '99 honda Civic
Go to parts store get CHILTONS manual for your car. Make sure your problem is in book. Chiltons, other books not as good. Local library may have book. Biggest problem is ,usually, find the proper bolts to remove. Not too big a chore really. Be sure all old gasket material is removed from the engine where the new pump wiil seal. Do not turn the water pump shaft on the new pump any more than necessary, they have a mechanical seal that can be damaged. Probably a four hour job for the inexperienced. If it's necessary to pull radiator the book will tell you, that would add a couple hours.
Put a jack under the oil pan with a 2x4 between the pan and the jack face. You will have to take the serpentine belt loose, the idler is below the power steering pump, and then support the engine on the jack and remove the passenger side motor mount. There is an aluminium L-shaped bracket to remove and then a cast iron piece with 4 bolts holding it to the engine. Remove also the alternator, as it will get in the way. Once the motor mount is out you can remove the serpentine belt. Now you will need to remove the bolts holding the stamped serpentine pulley to the water pump, I believe there are 4 of them and I think they are 8 mm. You cannot, however, take the pulley out until the water pump is off. So now you have to take the bolts out of the water pump and pull it out, clean the mating surface for the new pump, and reinstall, just make sure to put the serpentine pulley over the water pump before you try to put the pump back in. On a side note, before you go apeshit with all of this, pull the iginition module and coil pack mounting bracket off the front of the engine and check the bypass hose to see if it has a hole in it before you go right to the water pump. I had this go on the wife's car, and overzealous idiot that I am, I just assumed it was a water pump. Several hours, busted knuckles, and beers later, I discovered that it was a bad hose that cost me 6 bucks and took 15 minutes to install, not the 40 dollar water pump.
