2011 Tahoe lt 5.3 waterpump replacement

[Chvytahoe11]

Been toping off coolant every 3 days for a week now. Couldnt pinpoint the exact location but it maybe the pump is on its way out. Im planning on getting it replaced some time this weekend, since its our only vehicle and need to drive it tomorrow for work. I plan on replacing the pump, thermostat and belts. Are there any special tools I need for this? How long should I expect this to take? Do I need to use sealant before i place the gaskets? How much coolant should I buy to refill once Job is completed? And are the torque specs 22lbs for the pump and 11 for the thermostat housing?? ( those are the Numbers that kept coming up on youtube). Thanks for any help!!!

 

[Charlie207]

It's pretty straighforward. Hardest part is making a mess, and maybe getting the two heater hoses off the right side of the water pump... they were sticky with age. You can do it in well under an hour, including bleeding the air out of the coolant system.

I didn't use any RTV or gasket sealer on the two gaskets that came with my waterpump.

The main serpentine belt is easy to get off, but the A/C belt is annoying. I got it off/on by hand when I swapped motors, but all the accessories were missing from the front of the engine at the time, and no plugs were installed, so the engine spun over easily. There is a small tool to help get the A/C belt to stretch over the harmonic balancer, but I'm going to try it by hand again next time.