98 Tahoe water pump

You dont have to take the fan shroud off. That will just be wasted time. I just drop the fan down in the bottom of the shroud while i take the pump off. You shouldnt have to remove anything else. There should be a quick disconnect in the top of the pump that will have to be taken out and put in the new one but more than likely you will break it. They are bad about that. So you may end up buying one of those. They are fairly cheap. $10 or so You do not need to change the timing chain. Belts yes chains no You can rent a tool at auto zone to help take the fan clutch off but i just use a long screwdriver in between the bolts on the pulley and a wrench to take it off. The screwdriver to hold the pulley still. Leave your belt on until after you get the fan clutch off. Thats helps a little bit. And take the pulley off while the pump is still on the motor. Its alot easier that way. 4 bolts holding the pump on. That should be about it. Pretty simple job.

No, you don't need to remove those brackets. The job is fairly straight forward, remove the upper shroud (contrary to what another poster says, I think that removing seven screws and getting the upper shroud out of the way "saves" time), remove the fan, and then other then disconnecting the appropriate bypass/heater hoses and rad hoses (by the way, the bypass hose is quite difficult to remove from the water pump while the water pump is still attached, so my advice is to disconnect the bypass hose from the "intake" end of it.) All you are left with at this point is 4 bolts. I will admit that it seems quite "tight" in there with the brackets in place, but you can remove and install the pump with them in place. I would also recommend that you use some sort of contact cement to hold the water pump gaskets in place on the water pump....put your four bolts in place in the water pump....have your 9/16" socket and extension ready so that you can move the water pump right up to the block and then start the four bolts. At this point, you will be working almost blind, but if you have the gaskets securely glued in place, there is little change that they will go sideways on you.

Ian

Do what Ian says as far as the pump, and dont woory about the chain . Scott

Thanks Ian and everyone, One last question, to remove the fan and cluch together there is 1 large "nut" between the clutch and the pully. I assume this is the right hand thread you speak of.. Looks like its about 1 3/8th in size??? Is that the proper part to separate the fan from the pump..Anyone know of the exact size so I can have the proper wrench available, since it is quite large???,,, and when trying to break it free does the belt and crank keep it secure or do you have to hold it some other way to keep the whole assembly from spinning??? Thanks again Tony

I use a 15 inch cresent wrench. And if I remember correctly it is right hand thread.

I don't know the exact size...I have the special tool...but I never look at the size (just lazy, I guess). If you are lucky, you can put the appropriate size wrench on it, and wack it with a hammer and it will come loose. If not, you need a special tool that engage the pump pulley (you can see small holes between the bolts in the pulley), or you can use a pry bar between two of the bolts in the pulley to hold it in place. Basically, you use whatever you have at hand and a bit of ingenuity to get this loose.

Ian