Okay, I replaced the water pump. I got a lifetime warranty on one from AutoZone. I also bought a new serpentine belt since the old one was cracked.
I was suprised that I had very little trouble getting the pump off. I went in through the passenger side wheel well as pepper suggested. The pulley bolts were tough, but easier to remove than I had expected. The water pump came right off.
Cleaned the old gasket off, rtv'd the new gasket and put the new pump on. Closed the drain plugs and put in new coolant and water. Started her up and let her run for a while. I noticed that.
*There appear to me no leaks
*The grinding noise is gone (guess it was the water pump making all that noise after all)
*The car does not overheat
The engine is so quiet now. I just can't believe the difference! The old pump was making such a racket, the car sounded like a jalopy coming down the road. Now, it sounds like a normal car. The engine just purrs.
I let the car run for about 15-20 minutes and did not notice any leaks and no boil overs. The temp gauge only went to 1/2 whereas before, it had headed to 3/4 pretty quickly.
In short, I believe that my cooling problem has been solved! :)
A big THANKS to peppermj for providing me with tips and the link to instructions for the wp replacement. I used the instructions and they helped me a ton.
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 AT 9:32 PM
