97 yukon water pump replacement. Mechanic or DIY?

[God]

I bought my 97 yukon GT a couple weeks ago and found sometime after my purchase that the waterpump was leaking. Tried a thing of alumaseal but no cigar. It leaks a lot right after driving after the coolant has been under pressure.

Anyways. I have very limited mechanical experience. Changing oil and putting on a spare tire is the extent of my mechanical experience.

How hard is it to change the water pump myself? And do I need amy special tools? I hear you need some kind of special tool to remove the fan.

Also, what would a replacement water pump cost at a mechanic?

Mechanic or DIY...

 

[ezdaar]

its a 30 min job.

Use a pipe wrench and a big ass hammer to knock the fan loose.
The rest is extremely simple..

Save yourself a cpl hundred $$ and do it yourself..

 

[SunlitComet]

Judge for your self.


Service and Repair REMOVAL PROCEDURE

1. Drain the coolant from the radiator. See: Service and Repair
2. Remove the upper fan shroud. See: Fan Shroud\Service and Repair
3. Remove the drive belt.
4. Remove the fan, the fan clutch, and the pulley from the coolant pump. See: Fan Clutch\Service and Repair
5. Disconnect the radiator outlet hose from the coolant pump.
6. Disconnect the heater hose from the coolant pump.
7. Remove the coolant pump bolts.
8. Remove the coolant pump from the engine block.
9. Clean the mating surfaces on the coolant pump and the engine block.

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE

1. Install the coolant pump to the engine block.
2. Install the new gaskets.

NOTICE: Refer to Fastener Notice in Service Precautions.

1. Install the bolts.

• • Tighten the bolts to 41 Nm (30 ft. lbs.) .

1. Connect the radiator outlet hose to the coolant pump.
2. Connect the heater hose to the coolant pump.
3. Install the coolant pump pulley, the fan, and fan clutch to the coolant pump hub.
4. Install the drive belt.
5. Install the upper fan shroud.
6. Start the engine. Run the engine, with the radiator cap removed, until the upper radiator hose becomes hot (This indicates that the thermostat is open).
7. While the engine is running at idle speed, add coolant to the radiator, until the level reaches the bottom of the filler neck. Refer to Draining and Filling Cooling System.

1. Install the radiator cap. Make sure that the cap arrows line up with the overflow tube.
2. Inspect the cooling system for leaks.

 

[God]

Thanks Sunlitcomet,

Would it be a good idea to change the thermostat at the same time? Also my serpentine belt looks good but I just read up that gatorback belts are the best, should I get one?

 

[SunlitComet]

Could not hurt to do the thermo as well but with the housing off and pump done fill the system till level is at the top of intake burping as much as you can along the way the correctly install the thermo and bolt down(don't forget the ground wires on it.) Then top off rad and reservoir. This will help ensure you get hot engine coolant on the the thermo asap and reduces the final expelling of air. At that point top off only the reservoir. Don't open the rad cap ever again unless something else is wrong. It will more coolant until all the air is burped so watch the reservoir until it is stable.

As for the belt unless cord it fraying off, chunks of belt ribs are gone or there is dryness and cracking that stands out big time just reuse it. The oem ones are usually made from EPDM material and typical life is about 10 or 150k miles and cracking usually just meant the had reached half of there lifespan.

 

[God]

Thanks again Sunlitcomet.

Another question: When I got this truck 3 weeks ago I added the recommended dex cool orange coolant, but later noticed that it had been running green. Will I need to get my cooling system professionally flushed? Could the remanents of a green/ orange coolant mix be harmful?

The past week or so I've been adding distilled water to the radiator for the leak. I'll be replacing the water pump this Saturday with a more mechanically inclined family member.

I also decided to replace the heater control valve at the same time as I believe there is a small leak coming from it. Replacing the heater control valve looks fairly straight forward. Just unclamp and clamp?

Also what type of coolant would you recommend I refill with?

 

[SunlitComet]

Yes it now needs to be flushed completely. Find this at your local stores:

Back flush it completely. Maybe even get a Prestone rad cleaner in the system first And yes harmful to mix the two. The heater vales hoses just clamps on and you should use a 50/50 distilled water/Dexcool.