Water Pump Question
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From: Tinley Park
Water Pump Question Anyone do their own water pump install on an LT1? About how hard was it for you on say a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being as hard as it can get and how long did it take you? 
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Ft. Irwin, California (But Virginia is home)
Originally Posted by 95_Firehawk_Dude
Anyone do their own water pump install on an LT1? About how hard was it for you on say a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being as hard as it can get and how long did it take you?
Realistically plan on 6-8 hours for a first time change. How much mileae is on your LT1 and why are you replacing the H2O pump? A lot of times when the water pump goes bad it leaks on the dreaded opti-spark and kills that as well. If you have over 80K miles I'd suggest pulling the crank pulley and then changing the opti with the H2O pump. An opti is not cheap ($300), but at least you'l only deal with that pain 1x! Just my $0.02 Good luck whatever you do.
Schantin
2002 Camaro Z28 M6
I'd say its a 2 on the difficulty scale. Maybe a 4 on the time scale. Shouldnt take more then two hours tops.
1: Remove radiator and hoses from waterpump
2: Unbolt waterpump (6 bolts)
3: Clean gasket surfaces
4: Bolt new one on
5: Replace radiator
ITs relatively simple
1: Remove radiator and hoses from waterpump
2: Unbolt waterpump (6 bolts)
3: Clean gasket surfaces
4: Bolt new one on
5: Replace radiator
ITs relatively simple
Originally Posted by 95_Firehawk_Dude
Anyone do their own water pump install on an LT1? About how hard was it for you on say a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being as hard as it can get and how long did it take you?
dont pull the radiator theres not reason to. simply remove the passenger side fan. its four bolts easy to get to and unplug. the airpump will have to come off. its hard to see one of the bolts but its there. getting the gaskets off will suck, but do it well so you get a good seal. if you can get under the car pull the knock sensor out the passenger side. itll allow the water to drain from the block and should keep you from drenching the opti. also you might find itll be easier to work from underneath the car.
Originally Posted by Snow Dog
dont pull the radiator theres not reason to. simply remove the passenger side fan. its four bolts easy to get to and unplug. the airpump will have to come off. its hard to see one of the bolts but its there. getting the gaskets off will suck, but do it well so you get a good seal. if you can get under the car pull the knock sensor out the passenger side. itll allow the water to drain from the block and should keep you from drenching the opti. also you might find itll be easier to work from underneath the car.
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Originally Posted by DietCoke
I'd say its a 2 on the difficulty scale. Maybe a 4 on the time scale. Shouldnt take more then two hours tops.
1: Remove radiator and hoses from waterpump
2: Unbolt waterpump (6 bolts)
3: Clean gasket surfaces
4: Bolt new one on
5: Replace radiator
ITs relatively simple
1: Remove radiator and hoses from waterpump
2: Unbolt waterpump (6 bolts)
3: Clean gasket surfaces
4: Bolt new one on
5: Replace radiator
ITs relatively simple
I'm with him ^^. Water pump is ultra easy.
And for reference: I'd rate a clutch install at 6, cam install at a 7, engine rebuild at 8-9, rearend gears at 9 winding out with a T56 tranny rebuild being a 9 to 10.
Just my .02 cents.
Mike
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From: Houston
clutch instal is easy as pie, just a lot of crap to pull off just to get to it. Getting the shaft to slide back in the pilot bearing was a PITA though, lol. Ive wanted to do the electric waterpump for a while now but im not sure if the benifits are worth it, just havent talked to enough people that have them.
Originally Posted by Gangly
clutch instal is easy as pie, just a lot of crap to pull off just to get to it. Getting the shaft to slide back in the pilot bearing was a PITA though, lol. Ive wanted to do the electric waterpump for a while now but im not sure if the benifits are worth it, just havent talked to enough people that have them.
I run a CSI electric and have zero issues with my car. Couldn't be happier. Consistant cooling, can run with car off, no weep hole or bearing seal to leak out of. (Great to cool at track).
Best part is, if it broke, it'd take about 5 minutes to put a new one in
Best part is, if it broke, it'd take about 5 minutes to put a new one in
Originally Posted by DietCoke
I run a CSI electric and have zero issues with my car. Couldn't be happier. Consistant cooling, can run with car off, no weep hole or bearing seal to leak out of. (Great to cool at track).
Best part is, if it broke, it'd take about 5 minutes to put a new one in
Best part is, if it broke, it'd take about 5 minutes to put a new one in
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Tinley Park
I'm not so sure if i want to get one right now anymore. My stock pump is still fine. When i replace it i might get electric. My buddy has one on his 99 but his car is a straight up drag car (he still drive it on the street but only like 2 days a week if its nice).
Originally Posted by dhdenney
Gangly, I just read yesterday in either Popular Hotrodding or Super Chevy (don't remember which) that electric pumps may not cool enough on the street due to the decreased volume of water. I knew they didn't flow as much but never really thought about it. The article said that an electric motor big enough to push the amount of water a stock pump will would be larger than the engine bay!
I have a Meziere electric water pump on mine and the other day when it was 90+ degrees, with the air conditioning on and 160 degree thermostat, my car never got above 170 degrees. Plus at idle, the electric pump is supposed to pump MORE than the stocker. So in stop and go traffic, when cars usually overheat, it's actually better.
And, like mentioned above, it's nice to be able to run the pump/fans in the staging lanes to cool the engine down for the next run.
Mike
Originally Posted by dhdenney
That's true, just have to pop that motor out and the housing stays. I still have a stock pump and it wasn't broke so I didn't fix it. I hadn't ever talked to anyone with an electric pump to see how it was. When mine goes bad, I might get an electric one. Do you do a lot of street driving? What's your car stay on temp wise? Is it pretty consistent?
