Hello all....I just got the aluminum high-flow water pump in today and was planning on doing the work this weekend. I just had a couple of questions before I get neck deep in coolant;

1. Is this going to be a total pain in the ***?

2. Do I need to drain all my coolant before I remove the old pump?

3. Do you have any pointers/advice before I begin?

Thanks for all replies,
Matt

 

Yeah, get rid of the coolant. Some people mess with the drainplug on the bottom corner of the radiator. When the car is cold, I drive it onto ramps, block the rear wheels, put goggles on, remove the radiator cap (remember, the engine & coolant is cold), put a pan on my stomach, and crawl under the front of the car. I loosen the lower hose clamp at the radiator. Then I aim the pan so it's right below the lower radiator outlet, and pull the hose off. The radiator & engine drain fast, and it's less messy than the damn drainplug dripping all over the framerails and floor.

One un-obvious pointer; before you loosen and remove the belt(s) from the pump pulley, loosen all the pulley bolts. Otherwise you'll have a hard time breaking those bolts free if the pump's on your garage floor/workbench.

 

I should probably add that, after I drive the car onto the ramps, I shut the engine off.

 

The way I do it is to jack up the driver's side of the car, put a pan under the drain plug in the corner of the radiator, and pull the plug. No mess, it all comes out in one stream of coolant.

 

Dudes...thanks for your replies. Is there a new water pump gasket I need to get.

 

The gaskets usually come with the new pump.

Use sealant on the bolt threads, at least one of them goes into the water jacket, and will leak around the threads if not sealed. DO NOT use silicone, it always leaks eventually; use Loctite PST, or Permatex 300, or other non-hardening stuff.

 

Gotcha.....thanks. I live in texas and keeping it below 220 in the summer time is always a challenge. I hate driving in the afternoon in traffic. I just grit my teeth and hopw nothing really bad happens. But the Edelbrock water pump I got is supposed to drop coolant temps by 20 degrees. That would be very nice.