I am in the middle of replacing the water pump on my 94 LT1. What PITA it was getting out! I read the Helms manual and it didn't say to remove any other stuff than the fanbelt. One side hit the coil, the other was hidden behind the PS pump pulley and the front by the AC thingy??

Is there an easy way to get the PS pump pulley off to gain some room so I can get the new one in?

Do any of the bolts need silicone sealant or anything on them?

Temp sensor, does it need any sealant? Or does the body acquire it's ground thru the pump and needs to be installed dry?

 

On my 92 I did not need to move the power steering pump at all.
I did unbolt the AC compressor. Getting at the lower bolt on the driver side all you need is a long extension.

Yes, all the bolts go in the waterjacket and need sealant.

The Coolant temp sensor needs sealant if you reuse your old one. Most of the new ones have a dry sealant on them

 

I suspected they might. When I took one of them out a bunch of water came out even though the pump was still tight.

Thanks

Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

The only difficult thing I recall about the WP was getting the old gaskets off. Definitely didn't need to mess with the PS pump/pulley.

 

Just did mine yesterday. I didn't have to do anything with p/s pulley or a/c. But the p/s pulley does get close to being in the way for that one bolt. You can try putting your socket through one of the slots in the pulley. You might need to move the a/c dryer canister around to physically get the pump out.

A couple of tips on reinstall. When you get the pump off, make sure you soak up enough of the coolant left in the holes in the block so your bolt holes will be dry. Take your new gaskets and put sealer (rtv, etc) on both sides of the gasket and put them in place on the block. Clean the mounting surfaces to the pump and leave them dry or you'll end up with sealant on everthing. Put the pump in place and try to get at least the 4 long bolts started. You'll notice there's a driveshaft that operates the pump that needs to be aligned. Usually it will self align by just tightening the bolts, but you can pull that front cover off of the water pump and turn it by hand from the front side to help with alignment (or bump the motor over but you have less control). There's also two guide pins to position the pump. Once the bolts are all started, I tighten a couple down to seat the pump. Then I pull the bolts out and one by one put sealer on the threads and tighten them down. It is a pita, but if you go slow its doable.

 

1/4 drive socket will go though the hole in the P/s pulley, stright in to the bolt....G

 

Got the bolts out OK it was jockeying the pump around to get it thru the little space to freedom that was Just hoping stuffing the new one back in the hole will be easier.

Gasket scrapping That's where I left off last night. The pass side I can hardly see the entire area much less get too it. Back was tired so I called it a night.

Thanks for all the great advice

 

I took off my PS pulley, I did the opti and wires too though. But even if I didn't, the hoses for the opti vacuum were in the way of the short bolt on the drivers side, so taking the pulley off made that easy. Taking the pulley off is a 2 minute job. Well it is 2 minutes if you have the tool, impossible if you don't. A friend of mine has the puller and I borrowed his, but I plan to buy one, they are like $28 at autozone, less at harbor freight, more at snap on.

I put sealant on both sides of my gasket, got the WP in place with a few test fits and then slid the gaskets in place. That worked for me, but the other method of having them on the block would work just as well. I also got the bolts started and then pulled each out and put sealant on the ends and reinstalled. I torqued everything and then waited until the next day and did it again. So far no leaks.........................

 

Don't forget to install the o-ring seals for the wp drive shaft.

(yes, I've done that before....)

 

Looks like an allen wrench in the center to hold the pump shaft still then unthread the pully?




There is an o-ring in the box. Does it go on the WP side or on the block side?

 

There's an o-ring on the water pump and on the engine shaft - make sure to replace both. My water pump came with one new one, but I had to buy the other (I just took the new one off and took it to NAPA). I found that the one on my engine side was hard as a rock.

 

No, you need a puller like this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40749
or this one:
http://www.autozone.com/R,NONAPP381/...ductDetail.htm
or this one:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....&group_ID=1244
or this one:
http://www.partsamerica.com/productd...egoryCode=3497

 

Piolt - Get a grip, perhaps not a cake walk but no the toughest one definitely. Be patient and a little wiggle room it comes out.

I use a little silicone on the block and put the gaskets on first. Then they won’t fall off the pump as you install it.

 

My pump is out right now. A long 9/16 and for that one that hides behind the PS pulley use a swivel 9/16 with a wooble extension and a rachet. The bolt will come out.

It is easier to work down there if you remove the PS tank and coil bracket. I've done this few times and it is very easy for me to do and.. I have a camber brace

9/16 socket

 

You should have pulled the knock sensors out of the block first, to stop the coolant from draining on the opti. I didnt remove the a/c or PS pulley. But then it pays to have a couple big full tool box's.

 

I did stuff a plastic bag up under the pump before I did anything else to shed fluids away from the opti.

 

No matter how much you drain, the optic will always be wet. Thanks GM for that one. I do wonder, who the heck would design such a stupid place for a distributor. The designer, his supervisor, chief engineer, mechanics.

I guess is all about keping your job ahh?

"Yes Sir, that is a great idea, once the water pump is there it should not leak"....

Don't we all...........................