Waterpump job

If you're good with wrenching and in a hurry I'd give it about 4 hours for the first time. Better yet, reserve a whole Saturday just to take your time and savor the experience. Maybe stretch it into Sunday a bit too.

 

Big I don't know if your 81 has the modified cam belt covers so if I assume it is the old style then you need to remove them to get the WP out. If this is the case I would say it would be in the 4-6 hour range. If it has the covers modified then I would go with 2-3 hours for the total labor. This does not include the rebuild of the pump. I would say that doing the rebuild would take 2 hours provided you have all of the parts and the right equipment to do it. So I guess my net would be 8 hours (green to green) and I think you may be $50 short on the WP rebuild cost. Good luck.

 

Does anybody have a step-by-step for removing and rebuilding the water pump? I've done a search but cannot find anything. I did find a reference to something that Birdman and Verell wrote-up, but have a feeling that their tech note might have been lost in a previous crash of the system.

 

Just buy the upgrade version from T Rutlands. Mine has been on for ten years now.

 

Yep, that's fine, but I was wondering if there are any pointers towards how to actually remove and replace the pump. Perhaps it's such a straightforward procedure that it's really obvious once one gets started on the job?

 

Have you done a water pump on any other car? If so, it's the same thing. Basically, if you have the modified covers as someone mentioned, just remove the belt, unbolt the pump, undo the water hoses (draining the system first saves a lot of grief), remove the pump. If you have to remove the cam belt covers to get to the bolts, then you're talking bigger job, as you will have to remove the AC pump from its bracket and remove the bracket and a bunch of other stuff from the front cover to get it off.

While the pump is off, change the water hoses in that area, and not a bad idea to check the termostat and change that as well if it looks old and/or corroded. Putting it back is basically the reverse of removing it. Just check the torque specs for the bolts/nuts and follow them. Obviously, you'll need a new gasket, and want to be sure that the surfaces are nice and clean. I used some Hylomar on the gasket, just to be sure. Not a bad idea to change the AC and water pump/alternator belts as long as you are in there and have them off.

Hope that helps.

p.s. This ain't rocket science. It's auto mechanics 101. Just take your time, keep track of what you're doing, keep track of all the nuts and bolts as you go so you know where they go back, and have fun. Oh, and if you drain the coolant it's a good time to flush the radiator out just for good measure and check all your cooling hoses and replace any that need it. Even when shops change the hoses on top in the engine compartment, they often forget the ones up front, underneath. Be sure to check those as well. It could save you a major surprise one day.