Water pump going out 3.8

**Spikito** · 03-23-2009, 07:54 AM

So I'm pretty sure my water pump is going out on my 95 3.8. my mechanic wants $330 to fix it. Can i do it myself? i've got basic skills in working on cars, mostly my own stuff, I do all my own oil changes, ive serviced the rear diff. Just simple unbolt, drop the part, reverse procedure.

**NoscamaroSS** · 03-23-2009, 10:05 AM

$330? Thats completely overpriced. Yes, you can do it, its actually very simple. First you will need to remove your belt, obviously. Next, you will need to unbolt the pulley off of the pump. From there you will be able to see the pump, there are something like 8-10 bolts holding it on, it bolts in like the old mopar and fords did. Once you have all the bolts out you will probably need a screwdriver or something flat to pop it out of its housing. Now all you need to do is scrape the housing clean, glue your new gasket to the new pump, and bolt everything back together.

BTW, what makes you think that you pump is going out? If you are leaking water around the pump area, there are a couple of plastic elbows that come out of the tensioner that go into the block that very susceptible to leaks. So if you are leaking water then I would replace those first before doing the pump.

If you have any more questions just let me know.

**Smittro** · 03-23-2009, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Spikito

So I'm pretty sure my water pump is going out on my 95 3.8. my mechanic wants $330 to fix it. Can i do it myself? i've got basic skills in working on cars, mostly my own stuff, I do all my own oil changes, ive serviced the rear diff. Just simple unbolt, drop the part, reverse procedure.

I also have the 3.8L check to make sure (if you hear sqweaking) that it's not the tentioner (spell?) pulley. They take a lot of weather and can sometimes start to sqweak. If it is the pump do it yourself just watch how you take it apart and do the reverse puting it back together. Not hard you can do it. I like to use sray-on HI-Tac gasket adhesive myself. Spray both sides of gastet with it and replace. Dont spray the parts. Hope this helps good luck.

**Spikito** · 03-23-2009, 11:38 AM

i thought it was leaking because i had a huge puddle of coolant under my car yesterday...I checked on the price, they had 1.5 extra hours added on as a precaution cuz on some cars the also have to pull the A/C and power steering, but not in my case, so it would only be $175.

The pressure tested it, and after 30 min, no leaks, they couldnt find anything visibly wrong, so they jsut said to keep an eye on it.

**Smittro** · 03-23-2009, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Spikito

i thought it was leaking because i had a huge puddle of coolant under my car yesterday...I checked on the price, they had 1.5 extra hours added on as a precaution cuz on some cars the also have to pull the A/C and power steering, but not in my case, so it would only be $175.

The pressure tested it, and after 30 min, no leaks, they couldnt find anything visibly wrong, so they jsut said to keep an eye on it.

Check make sure your coolant overflow is'nt leaking. A cracked over flow hose or loose connection there can cause it to leak coolant too. Hope this helps.

**sunsetorangess** · 03-24-2009, 07:48 AM

Normaly when a pump fails the internal seals start to leak and in turn you get a small leak from the Weep hold, Its a little hole on the snout of the water pump. If its leaking from there then you will need to replace the pump. Wha ti would do is see if you can determine where exactly the leak is coming from. You can rent a pressure tester from your local parts store or purcahse one. You connect it to your radiator and then pump the handle put pressure in the system and then you just search for the leak.
J