water pump removal

Unless it's in a S-10~S-15.....it's a breeze.

Recommend changing the belt, idler and the tensioner. Put in a new thermostat and radiator cap. Check those hoses too. They're 10 years old. Remove the top section of the fan shroud for easier accress (C series pickups).

Even the S-10's aren't that hard. I have an 88 S-10 4.3 and did it 8 weeks ago on the side of the road with a hot motor in the dark. Brutal, yes, but only because I had worked all day and my back was shot, and I was hustling to get it apart before the sun set. Long story short I didn't get it done before it got dark, which really makes it a lot harder. All told, I spent 2 hours doing it. I knew it was dieing, so I had the new pump and anti-freeze. It blew on the way home from the parts store. This was the most catestrophic failure of a pump I have seen. We're talking bearings sheared in half. I got the truck pulled to the side of the road and shut off just in the nick of time. I think had I waited a few seconds more I might have had fan hitting the hood or worse. Sometimes you just listen to that little voice...

Take a half inch drive and socket and take tension off of the serpentine. This is a good time to replace the belt. Draw a diagram of how it wraps around everything. Really, draw it, you'll be cussing if you don't. Take off top half of radiator shroud. Usually a few screws and a couple of bolts on each side. Place shroud on ground. Open radiator cap, and drain anti-freeze. Loosen and remove bolts holding fan on. These are a PITA, but doing this keeps you from banging the radiator with the fan on removal. Loosten and remove bolts holding pump, and lift old pump out. Now do yourself a favor and do a really good job of cleaning the block where the old gasket was. Make sure you get any little drops of anti-freeze out of the passage ways in the block, as if this runs out while you are putting the new pump on, you might not get the new gasket to seal. I use copper coat spray on the gaskets and put the bolts through the new pump/gaskets and put it back onto the block. Re-assemble and you should have many years of cool running.

Additionally, on my truck you have to remove all the air cleaner system, as it gets in the way, but I don't think any of the 95's have the TBI setup like mine to get that in the way.

While you are in there, replace the serpentine belt, the upper and lower hoses, and put a new thermostat in as well and save yourself a headache down the road.

No real special tools, but having a half inch drive set to take the tension off the tensioner pully is the only way to go. I've done it once with brute force, and once with the half inch bar and socket, and believe me, it's worth the few dollars to buy the tools. That or have a second person, because trying to keep the belt on the pullies and cranking on the tensioner is quite challenging by yourself without the right tools!

Big Chris

Hank wrote:

Isn't there a 1 1/8" nunt holding this fan on, or did that change in 1996??

Off the top of my head, I'm not sure on the 95. 1st Gen have 4 bolts. They are a real PITA, as they are hard to get into, and then the fan is eating your fingers every time you move (and those blades aren't dull!)

Big Chris

Eightupman wrote:

Last night I just pulled mine off (new pump)and put it back on...if you get one of the Bosch water pumps with the sealed plate (six bolts) on the back, make sure you pull the plate and RTV (gasket sealer) the gasket, then secure it back on. I'm hoping this is where my leak was taking place after installing the new pump...nothing more annoying than doing the replacement and still finding fluid leaking afterwards. My '97 Sierra 5.7 does have the

1 1/8" nut holding the fan on...after removing the battery connection and pulling it out of the way, then the top fan shroud, I pull the fan off (1 1/8" nut) while I still have the serpentine belt on helping with some resistance.

'95 has 4 bolts, iirc.