I finally traced my Anti Freeze leak back to the water pump bearing and now I'm ready to do the nasty with the pump and Ineed some advice on which is the fastest way to remove the pump while in the car?

I'm sorry if this has been posted before, I searched and couldnt find what I was looking for so I made this thread : )

Thank You.

 

Anybody?

 

as far as i know, there is no fast way. you gotta take the timing belt off and its located behind it. you should change the belt and related parts while you are there as well as the cam seals and plug tubes since you have it all apart.

 

bone33 is right ...the timing belt has to come off ...which means youll have the whole passeger side of the motor apart .....be sure to get the dampener pully tight on reassembly....i didnt when we change the pump in mine and ended up throwing the crank off balance which skatterd the engine wasnt a pretty sight..

 

id say the fastest way it to take it to a shopcuz it seems as if its going to be a pain in the ***

 

I was affraid of the unknown...lol

I don't believe in shops, they take everybodys money and never give it back, also they charge you for stuff that is not wrong with your car and they take forever, Also I spent all my bread on the water pump and timing belt.

Fortunatly after I seen AutoZones Online repair manual I quickly gained confidence but was still not atall excited about doing the job.

So far in3 hours worth of work I've dealt with heating up my motor mount bolts with my cutting torch, an unorganised tool boxthat my brother has let me use(My tool box has been stolen) Not using my brain and using the puller on the outside edge of the pully and making groves in it and getting very impatient and throwing stuff, but now after I've got the damper off things are getting easier!!! FINALLY!and taking a 2 hour nap and getting a cup of coffee calmed me down enough to get back to work on the water pump with a clear head.

So pretty much at this point I have to take the belt tensioner off and the belt timing gearand plastic cover and I have access to the water pump. I bought a brand spanking new water pump from Auto Zone for $38 and it looks so pretty its a shame it will be covered up by all the **** in the engine bay I'm going to finnish up today hopefully!

Opon taking the first timing belt cover off I noticed exactly where the leak was coming from! The area around the pump had tons of green sludge from somebody using radiator stop leak, My belt looks horrible has a huge tear in it and gouges all over not to mention its got green sludge all over it!, I garuntee I would have blown my motor sometime this year had the water pump not gone out to alert me of the situation the belt was in.

It really scares the **** out of me that I took my engine up to 5800 Rpm a couple days agowith the belt looking like it does now, Thank GodI caught it in time before it could break and smash a valve and other damage. Also get this! it is the Original Factory equipedChrysler timingBelt and it lasted 126,000 Miles!! With no noticableperformance drop! The belt looks like **** but it made it quite futher than expected!

I keep wanting to get pissed and break soemthing at certain times when things arent coming off as quickly as they normally should but I keep in mind all the good things that have come from this job such as:

#1. Being able to put the rest of my Prothane Inserts in the mounts.

#2. Keeping my trunk cleaner by not carrying an Anti Freeze jug around

#3. People not telling me my car smells like its leaking Anti Freeze

#4. A quiet water pump bearing

#5. Not over heating ever again! at least for 100,000 miles : )

#6.Replacing the timing belt and hopefully restoring power I never knew existed! while also preventing a major engine repair.

As you can see I've brainwashed myself into keeping my moral up so I don't go postal onChryslers bad design of location of the water pump and the use of a timing belt instead of a timing chain like onGM's Quad 4.

 

If your water pump was kinda sluggish, it would make the timing belt and everything in that rotating assembly run a lil slower, So you might actually see a lil more pep in the rev! Good luck with the whole thing!

 

Thanks Man!

I'm thinking maybe the belt was stretched out as one of the reasons low end power wasnt up to par all the time, after 2500 Rpm it grows noticable power like night and day and moves like a gazelle. Some people I've talked to who have owned Neons say my low end isnt nearly as good as theirsis in their Neon but they say my top end is really good in contrast, some people have said timing belt can cause that but I almost think the whole thing would run like crap if it was off time a bit.

 

I'll be doing a timing belt and headgasket change soon also. My timing belt snapped on me last Wednesday.

 

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE
ill prolly just take mine to a shop becuz i dont trust myself... and after reading a how to it seemed really confusing and ive been scared since then but i can get it done for 250 + the price of the parts.. but im pretty sure my head is ____ becuz ive been told it needs to be shaved becuz for it not to leak that had to put 2 headgaskets on.. but i cant think of the word so im pretty sure im gettting a new head or new to me.... but good luck to the both of you...

and let us know how it turns out... oh and even the timing chains need to be changed well atleast i think so cuz my friend got his chain changed in his beretta