Recently bought my first Vette. Excited about it. It needs a starter, a water pump and a new muffler before I can put it on the road, and MAN am I antsy. I'm ready to push the thing and hop in the driver's seat just so I can feel the road move beneath me. Haha.

Here's my problem though. I can pretty much replace any part you give me on a car, but I don't consider myself a mechanic. I've located the general area of the starter. It's an LT1 motor, and I found the starter on the rear of the engine on the passenger side. The car is in the air as I'm typing this, but I was told by many sources that I'd have to unbolt the exhaust from the manifold to remove the starter. Is this the case, or can I wiggle it out with the exhaust in place?

Also, how long would it take to replace my water pump? I'm thinking two hours, but a 'buddy' of mine said closer to 4. He knows what he's about when he's under the hood of a car, but I don't think he's worked on many Vettes in his day...

Anyway, thanks ahead of time for your time everyone. I appreciate all your help and consideration.

 

You do not need to remove the exhaust. There is nothing keeping one from removing it once the bolts are out. There is one bolt above the cat that is tough to reach, though. It took a while, plus a curse or two, but my father & I eventually managed. From a PM I sent to someone else a while back:

There is a foam gasket on the stock starter. Check your new starter to make sure it has one. I built one out of cork gasket material since it was too late for me.

 

jrp is on the money, no need to remove the exhaust.
Use a 1/4" drive socket with a long extension so the extension is thin and the socket is short and you can work the socket up to the bolt with ease. You may have to deflect the cat heat shield a tad.
Begin by removing the passenger side knock sensor shield and wiring (pinch the connector to remove it) then loosen the starter and solenoid wires. They're easier to finish and start once the starter is unbolted and moved forward slightly.
Of course, disconnect the battery first of all.
Good luck, piece of cake.

 

Welcome to the forum & congrats on your new purchase!
These C4 cars are great and you'll love a great running vette. I would recommend you pick up a Factory Service Manual (FSM) for your specific year vette if you plan to hang onto it. With the information CF members offer and an FSM book on your lap you'll not find too many problems you can't tackle yourself.

 

Didn't think of that... I was using 3/8" drive. From what I remember, though, even a smaller socket wouldn't have fit directly between the starter body & cat.

 

Push the socket as high as it needs to go while ahead of the starter, then slip the extension rearward between the cat and starter. That way the socket need not fit between the cat and starter.

 

Congrats on your new Vette!

Just due to unfamiliarity, I would plan on a few hours for the water pump. You're going to have to drain the block, too, which is a little putzy (you have to remove the knock sensors on the side of the block). And there isn't a lot of room to get in there and scrape the old gasket material off, so that can be time-consuming. You may find that removing the coil and the belt tensioner gives you more room to work. If the hoses are original, this is a very good time to replace them, and the serpentine belt if needed. There are o-rings on both the water pump and engine end of the drive coupler - the water pump should come with a new one, and you'll want to make sure to replace the one on the engine side as well. Do some searches here and you will find lots of info on how to burp the cooling system, etc. And make sure to be careful not to get the optispark wet when you remove the water pump!

Good luck!

*edit* - you'll find some pictures here from when I was working on my car last spring - installed water pump, opti and a bunch of other stuff. Looking at them reminded me that you'll likely have to move the vacuum hoses for the opti out of the way to get at one of the water pump bolts on the driver's side - they're hard to see in there.

http://bradprestonmusic.com/Photos/V...008/index.html

 

How many miles on it?

How does it look under the hood?

Throwing any codes?

 

If you haven't already got them, you'll want to buy these soon - they're a big help:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Manu...3A1|240%3A1318

 

Had a feeling that would do it. I'll have to get extensions for the 1/4" next time the starter craps out.

 

Took me 20 minutes from setting the tools out to having them cleaned up to get the starter out, another 30 to clean it and put the new contacts in, and another 20 start-finish to put it back in. First time I kicked it over I wondered what I have a girlfriend for. I remembered quickly, but I loved that sound... I'm looking at doing the water pump today, but I think you have to have a special tool to bleed the coolant system, right? My uncle has one so I might call him up, but I'm about to do some online searching to see if there's more than one way or what the deal is...

 

Not aware of any special tool needed to bleed the system.

The bleed screw above the thermostat housing takes a standard screwdriver.

Unless your speaking of draining the system and having to remove the knock-sensor to do so... and the socket needed to remove the knock-sensor...

And based on posts, not many folks have removed the knock-sensor to completely drain the block before R&R the water pump.

However, nonetheless, be sure to protect the OPTI, even if it is the 'vented' type -- with cardboard to redirect the coolant and paper towels/rags to absorb any spill-over...

 

I never removed the KS to drain the coolant. Just drain the radiator and put an old bath towel under the wp to protect the opti. Very little coolant came out when I wiggled the pump off. I had to do it twice because the seal was installed wrong the first time. No one mentioned the difficulty installing the WP seal it is the hardest part of the job to get right.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...s-on-94-a.html