Saturday, December 15, 2012

How to Change a Water Pump

How to Change a Water Pump on a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country.


  • Change everything you can think to change avoiding the possibility that the water pump is what's leaking
  • Give in and decide to change the water pump
  • Read the Haynes manual....   a lot
  • Thank the stars above you have a 6 cylinder that does not require removal of the timing chain
  • Purchase water pump and gasket (app. $40)
  • Put van on ramps
  • Disconnect negative battery terminal
  • Drain antifreeze (for about the fifth time in a month...you should be good at this by now)
  • Remove plastic belt guard (for about the third time in a month...  again, you're an expert)
  • Using 19 mm box wrench rotate belt tensioner counter clockwise to loosen belt
  • Slip, pinning hand between wrench and lower pulley
  • Swear
  • Push hard, using the pain and frustration
  • Remove serpentine belt from water pump, tucking it carefully out of the way without removing from other pulleys
  • Release tensioner, almost pinning hand again
  • Remove three 12 mm bolts holding water pump belt wheel
  • Attempt to remove five 10 mm bolts securing waterpump
  • Realize your handy open socket set is not sufficient for job
  • Get trusty heavy duty hinged ratchet and sockets with extension
  • Realize your metric sockets are in the trifold toolbox
  • Search in vain for said toolbox
  • Swear
  • Ask wife where it is, getting the expected response
  • Swear
  • Call son to see if it at his house; not there...   swear again
  • Ride with Daughter-in-law (who came to get wife to go shopping) to purchase metric sockets
  • Get call from son on the way saying he did have the box after all; go there to get it
  • Return home and continue work
  • Remove five 10 mm bolts securing water pump
  • Push water pump pulley wheel against water pump and attempt to pull water pump from vehicle
  • Realize the leak has been going on long enough to "rust fuse" the water pump to the timing cover
  • Spray the hell of it with WD-40, clean up, and eat lunch while the magical solution does its work
  • Pull water pump from vehicle (yay!); realize there's not enough room between the timing cover and vehicle frame to completely remove it
  • Hop on You-Tube to find everyone and their brother (except Haynes) says you need to drop the engine to get the water pump out
  • Place jack under oil pan and head to back yard to get the 2 x 6 you've had for 10 years and never used so you have something between the jack and the pan
  • Realize you finally cleaned up the flippin yard the previous spring and apparently threw the stinkin thing away
  • Swear
  • Catch wife and daughter-in-law as they leave to shop and ask them to pick up a 2 x 6
  • Watch several repair videos while you wait
  • Call wife to see if they went to the next state to get wood, then watch them pull into the driveway
  • Place wood between jack and oil pan, raising ensemble to rest firmly and support engine
  • Prepare to remove three 15 mm bolts securing right side of engine
  • Realize you have 14 mm sockets and 16 mm sockets but no 15 mm sockets
  • Swear
  • Call wife to pick up socket before shopping (app $5)
  • Get socket from wife, watch them leave...   again
  • Realize the socket is for 1/2' drive ratchet and all you have are 3/8" drive ratchets
  • Swear profusely
  • Call wife, explain situation, claim you will walk and never drive again
  • Retrieve from wife a new socket set and ratchet and a new 1/2" drive ratchet (app $25)
  • Watch them leave to go shopping...    finally 
  • Remove three 15 mm bolts gently lowering engine, hoping your jack is strong enough to hold it
  • Remove water pump and gasket
  • Clean all surfaces
  • Prepare new water pump and gasket
  • Realize you threw away the packet of gasket seal you had a week ago
  • Swear like a sailor on leave in a blue law state on Sunday
  • Go through two bags of garbage to find the packet of gasket seal because you'll be damned if you're going to call them back again to pick one up for you
  • Rejoice when found, and clean up garbage spread all over the ground
  • Apply gasket seal to gasket, place in groove on water pump, and install water pump on vehicle
  • Finger tighten five 10 mm bolts securing water pump, becoming contortionist to get them all
  • Raise engine, tighten three 15 mm bolts securing engine in place
  • Tighten five 10 mm bolts
  • Attach water pump pulley wheel with three 12 mm bolts
  • Realize in all the movement the serpentine belt all but came off the vehicle
  • Struggle for 15 minutes getting the belt on all pulleys, fighting tensioner, pinning hand again until successful
  • Fill coolant system with antifreeze solution
  • Connect negative terminal on battery
  • Start engine and check for leaks
  • Stare with wonder that there are none, and that the vehicle actually runs
  • Install belt guard
  • Bring van off ramps and begin clean-up just as wife and daughter-in-law return from shopping trip apparently purchasing the entire store
  • Realize at some point the sun went down
2 hour job.....    taking approximately 6 hours to accomplish.....      Would have been easier to just by a new vehicle. 

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