Water Pump, Do it myself or pay someone?

[maui]

Comments below barryware's very accurate and useful post:

Originally Posted by barryware

I replaced my pump twice in the last three weeks because the new pump (new, not a rebuild) was leaking around the shaft. There is one bolt that is difficult to get any "turn" on.
Removing the alternator makes it easier to access. Make sure you get a good gasket with the pump. My 1st pump came with basically a piece of paper for the gasket.

The 3 bolts that hold the pulley to the shaft are 10mm. You need a wrench (not a socket) to remove these bolts as well as having to lock the pulley. I used a large screwdriver through one of the holes in the pulley.

There are 3 bolts and two nuts that hold on the water pump. These are also 10mm. You will need a combination of wrench and socket to get these off.

The top bolt on the alternator is 12mm. The bottom bolt on the alternator is 14mm. A wrench works fine for both. To get to lower bolt out all the way so you can remove the alternator, you need to remove one 10mm bolt that holds an AC line in place. Remove the bolt, and wiggle the bracket up the ac line (toward the front of the car) a couple of inches so it is not in the way of removing the lower alternator bolt. It is a long bolt.

The last pump, was the third pump I have installed on the car.. 1st pump was at about 38k miles. The second was at 73k, and the third was the next weekend after the 2nd pump.

Start to finish, about 3 hours but there was a lot of coffee sipping.

Even though you drained the radiator, when you remove the pump, there will be a substantial amount of coolant that comes out. Put some cardboard on the floor with some kind of catch pan. I used a plastic 1lb coffee container. Besides what made it to the floor (cardboard), I caught 6 ~ 8 oz of fluid in the container.

Good luck.. It is not difficult. Well.. it is not like hauling rocks in a wheel barrel for three hours but it is kind of a pain.

barrymore has give very useful information for anyone considering this DIY

I was looking for torque specs for the 5 pump bolts and was only able to find 18 inch pounds for those 10mm nuts and bolts

Taking the alternator out makes it much easier!!

You will need to use a screwdriver or in my case a screwdriver with a hook end to put through the pulley so it won't turn, otherwise it will spin.

I also loosened the motor mount, and the one A/C line mount and finally used a pry bar to get enough clearance to wrestle the pump out. This is the hardest part, just not enough room, really need an extra 1/4 inch. Also the bottom most bolt on the pump is a pain as under the pump are two bolts the TOP one is for the waterpump and they are situated vertically, you want the topmost one. A retractable mirror is useful here but it can be done by feel.

Ours lasted 115K on a '07.

ASIN OEM waterpump available on eBay for $45 including Priority shipping and it has the proper metal gasket!!!

Aloha