96 SE replace water pump by dealer $480???

The water pump is a pain in the ass to change on the Max. I just had mine done by a mechanic who is a friend and he charged $300. I would say that $480 is not highway robbery. The water pump is located in the same place as the timing chain (i think). I bet the water pump costs like a bill 50 and the rest is labor. Lots of labor. For stuff like that try to find someone you trust to do it on the side. Also just ask one of the dealership mech's if they will do it on the side. I know of a few that do that kind of stuff.

Yeah, the water pump is a major job. It is housed inside the timing chain cover. There's an opening on the timing chain cover so you can get at the water pump without having to take off the whole cover, but space is sooo incredibly tight there. Also, since the water pumps sits there, one side of it is bathed in coolant (of course) and the other side, the gear side, is bathed in motor oil. Usually they recommend to change the oil and anit-freeze as well when doing the water pump because the fluids are bound to mix.

CD

This does sound like a dealer pricing. I think labor is $60/70 Hour I would guess 3.5 hours and Nissan parts are not cheap. dk

How many miles on the car?

If you are replacing the water pump, your are probably at 100,000 plus miles. Replacing the water pump requires pulling the cover of the end of the engine, exposing the timing chain (my 93 Max has a belt but I think the newer ones use a chain). This also exposes the crankshaft and camshaft seals that may need replacing. As long as the end of the engine is exposed, fix everything that's in there -- it would be very expensive to replace the water pump then have to go back in there in six months and replace leaking camshaft or crankshaft seals.

The timing belt on my 93 is supposed to be replaced at 60,000 miles. When I did the second replacement at 120,000 -- rather, when I took it in for the dealer to do it -- I had him replace the water pump although it really did not need replacing -- I was concerned that it would let go and we would need to pull the engine cover again. As it turned out, the dealer found leaking camshaft seals -- oil was slung around inside the engine cover -- so, we replaced the timing belt, water pump, and the seals. It all came to just over $1,000 but was worth it for the peace of mind.

I agree replace most of what you can while they are in there. Labor just to get to that area is expensive. I replaced my water pump/radiator at 170k. Just a testiment to how well these cars are built. I think I had my very first problem at 110k and that was the AC Blower Motor. After that it was the stupid Knock Sensor. I swear that thing must be made out of gold. Then I think the CV axels had to be done some where around 130k. All in all its been the most trouble free car I have owned.

You don't need to pull the cover on a 4th gen. The waterpump has an access hole in the timing chain cover, so you can easily get in there without a big project.

To the original poster - I believe the mechanic is talking about the chain tensioner, which needs to be removed, and usually fails around the same time the water pump does (for some reason!). Its not too involved to have to do it down the road, but it needs to be removed to extract the waterpump, so you might as well.

Nick

I agree, unlike the 3rd Gen models, you can get to the water pump though the water pump cover. But I don't think you have to remove the tensioner, just press it in, lock it in place, and turn the crankshaft a little to loosen the chain.

I found it impossible to remove the waterpump and slacken the chain enough without removing the tensioner. The poster should probably just do it anyway, as a lot of Maxima's have issues with it over 100k (chain rattle on cold startup).

crankshaft seals.

Thanks for your suggestions! I have a 2001 SE AnnvEd and like it but the 96se has held up well and rides good. Our daughters car now but it is still in the family and would like to keep it as long as she's in school. So this is what we are going to do by dealer:

new water pump replace chain tenshioner replace camshaft seals replace crankshaft seals quote was $480 for waterpump and chain tenshioner and $50 more for the 2 seals

any other suggestions while they have this section on the engine uncovered? on a reliable

The water pump costs about a $100. More than likely, it is just the o-ring seals (2) leaking which can be purchased for $15 total. You can argue that if you are going through the trouble to just replace the water pump though.

FSM describes the process quite nicely. Chilton online manual does a nice job too. It should take about 2 hours. Definitely do an oil change afterwards, due to coolant spillage.

CW

What else have you had changed on this car? I am curious because I have 2 Maximas,,,,,,a 97 and a 96 both have over 120K miles and I have done the drive axles on both, but have not had any problems with anything else.....so as I said I was curious as to what you have done to get the 185K miles out of yours.....that is GREAT mileage! I had a 280ZX that had 225K on it....but that was the old inline 6 not the V-6 and it was NEVER cracked open for ANY type of major engine repair,,Nissan RULES! (Infinity too......I really want a G-35 2 door coupe!! still a Nissan!) Thanks

started

Mine was $625 at the Infiniti dealer on my I30t, and I supplied the coolant.

All they did was a pump r & r by the way.

Try finding a local garage with a good reputation. I know a water pump should not cost over 50 bucks. I just replaced one on my cadillac(v8) and I bought it for 45 dollars and replaced it myself...time(2 hrs.) What I am trying to say is the DEALERSHIP= BIG BUCKS.

I understand that not all people can/or want to do their own repairs. It all comes down to What is your Time worth.

Keith (Frugal)

Big difference changing a water pump on the typical rear drive American V8 and a front drive Maxima.

...and while it's open replace the timing chain??? Unless it's been done recently.

Codifus wrote:

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Uh ..... No. The water pump is accessed through an access port. The chain requires more work to change and there should be no need to change it.