replacing water pump

Drain the cooling system.
Remove the battery and battery tray.
Remove the drive belt.
Remove the water pump bolts (318).
Remove the water pump (300) and gasket (314). Discard the gasket.
Clean and inspect the water pump gasket mating surfaces.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/ls4-perfo...tine-belt.html
Please research this before you start your project. I had to do this in the rain last spring in a parking lot. It is a PITA.
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It sounds like a lot of unneeded work but taking the wheel off to get to the tensioner is the easiest way and I used a medium sized pry bar to get the belt off and on.
Removing both front and back parts of the fuse box was the only way i got the battery out which is a must
I also removed the battery tray. Its only 4 10mm bolts so do it right away and smile later when you realize how difficult it would be to remove the lower pump bolts with it in.
A magnetic 10mm socket will be your Savior, though i didnt have one. The 6 times i dropped the lower bolts trying to put them in made me realize what i was missing.
Using a 1/4 drive, short 10mm socket, with a universal joint will make putting the lower bolts in easier
When putting the belt back on, its easier to get it over the idler pulley near the radiator the trying to pry it around the crank or AC pulley
I think thats about it...well see tomorrow after i bleed the system if my problems are now gone.
Now for some bad news. It seems my tensioner had a crack or piece missing. So about 10 minutes after start up the tensioner lost a sizeable chunk which then ate up the belt rather fast. So back apart it came to remove the shredded belt and get to the tensioner. I got the back and lower bolt off but am stuck right now trying to get the upper bolt out. I figured taking the alternator bracket off might make it easier but am stuck now with rounded head bolt holding the bracket on. So im kinda at a stand still trying to figure out what to do next.



