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need to replace waterpump was just wondering if i had to change the timing belt or remove it to get waterpump off timing belt still looks good

Yes you will need to remove the timing belt to replace the water pump. Doing this job with the motor in the car is a complete bear. Even if the belt looks good i would suggest replacing it because its better to do the job now while you are already there, then have to redo it a year later. Doing the timing belt on this car with the v6 is probably the worse job on the entire car.

Nate

No, YOU DONT HAVE TO

I replaced my water pump without having to change or take off the timing belt.

You do however have to remove the other 2 belts but there nothing

Took me a long time to do it. It was my first time. There are some FAQs around here or on probetalk.

Check our V6 FAQ forum.

Take a look at this picture.

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=53392

Its the how to replace your timing belt from the v6 faq. In the picture you can see that the timing belt itself and an idler pully for the timing belt are in the way. I guess it is possible to remove the water pump without removing the timing belt but will only increase the difficulty in my opinion. If you plan on having the car for a while and keeping the k8, i would suggest replacing the timing belt for peace of mind. k series motors are noninterference so you dont have to worry about ruining the motor, but you will already be right there so i would sugest doing the preventative maintenance while you are right there.

Nate

It is possible to remove water pump in V6 engines without dismantling timing belt / idlers. It takes 5 to 10 seconds when unbolted.

Bolts in red circles need to be removed, there are more of them, some are not visible here and I can't remember exact number of them and their location. )

Green line - the way how to remove it..

I will agree its possible without taking the timing belt off. But you can see how difficult it might be with the motor out of the car. Look at those pictures and the shuffling around you will have to do. Then go pop your hood and see the whole 3 inches of workspace you have. Just do it the right way and replace your timing belt if you dont know how old it is. Enough said on my part, do it right the first time or dont do it at all.

Nate

WHile you're at it... consider the whole Timing belt kit... bushing and tensioner assembly etc... I believe you're looking at about $80 for a belt and around $150 for the entire kit... I wouldn't want to replae the pump and belt only to have the tensioner go bad and have to redo it... but then again, I'm most likely selling my GS SE to avoid having to do the timing belt because I don't have the time (or a heated garage to work in!)

All the research I did for the timing belt suggested that one should replace the water pump at the same time... I would imagine the inverse appleis as well. (assuming the vintage of the belt is unkown)

For the trouble you'll take replacing the pump, it's worthwhile replacing the belt. Now if you're PAYING someone to do the labour, replace the belt for sure.

Thanks steve for posting that - I had no idea you could just take the waterpump out by itself. This would be useful for someone who maybe replaced their timing belt recently wihout knowing that the waterpump should be replaced at the same time...

I see it being feasible with the motor out of the car, like in that picture. But with the motor still in the car, i can only see taking the water pump out with the belt in the way making the job a bigger headache. I'd love to see someboyd try to wiggle the pump back in place and then get the gasket lined up. Im sure they would need more then a few beers by the time they are done.

Nate

Its possible to replace the water pump without removing the timing belt. But cleaning the old gasket material off the block will be difficult with so many obstacles in the way and I think you will end up getting gasket sealer all over the place when you go to install the new water pump.

I agree with blazered here. But I also think you should take into consideration your future plans for the car. Are you planning to keep the car for a long time? Engine swap on the horizon? If you are planning to keep the car and keep the stock engine in it.. then I would recommend replacing the Timing Belt, all the pulleys, the tensioner and the water pump all at the same time. Yes it will be more expensive and will be more work. But what you get is a engine that wont require any more maintenance there for many years to come. This is assuming the engine is in otherwise good condition.

If you only need this engine to last you till you can save up the cash to buy a newer engine.. just do the water pump and call it good. Same goes for if you are planning to sell the car soon. No point in putting a lot of cash into a car that you are looking to sell.

In a nutshell.. the longer you plan to keep this car and run this engine.. ideally should dictate how much maintenance you should do at this point. However.. cash flow & cost can often disrupt the best of intentions & plans.

Just my .02 cents

Tunes67

Just did this, and as has been said, it's a good idea to replace your timing belt. However it can be done without removing the belt, after removing all the other belts and pullys and timing belt cover, its not really as bad as people make it out to be. You will have to remove the right front wheel and you can get to everything either from below or from the top. Follow the instructions in the online manual. As for the gasket, on the V6 its a rubber seal thats inset on the water pump so not that hard to line up. Only real problem I had was all the coolant that dumped out of the block after removing the pump. If anyone knows how to drain that I'd love to know. I did drain it from the valve on the radiator it just didn't drain enough. Made quite a mess.

Did you remove your rad cap when you opened that valve?

Yep, radiator cap was off both the filler cap and cap on the dryer thing attached to the left side of the radiator, and the overflow reservoir. It seemed to drain real well so I was surprised to have that much coolant dump out, soaked my arm real good too since I was under the car on a creeper at the time.