Water Pump for you car

[froghorn717]

I found out that I need to replace the water pump in my Car....is this difficult to do because $400 plus (parts and labor) seems kinda steep

 

[NickDanger]

Probably depends on the car, but if you can twist a wrench it's probably not that difficult. I've never paid anyone to do it for me.

 

[froghorn717]

its a jeep grand cherokee

 

[NickDanger]

Unlike some of the Japanes cars that no no room under the hoop, a Jeep is probably a snap.

Accuratehorn is a respected mechanic who posts here and is very generous with his time and advice. I'm pretty sure he is a Honda specialist.

 

[OrangeBlooded]

it's not that difficult to do. I've replaced mine before. Just take your time. Make sure you get all that old crusted gasket gunk off the intake.

 

[Mrmyke709]

Worst thing about the jeep is the damn serpentine belt.
If you have a good manual, and some decent tools, it's about an hour job.
2 if you include beer.

 

[Tripdaddy]

replacing is simple. The only issue is the ease of getting to it. I replaced one on a Mercury Sable about 10 years ago and it took a very long time because it really was not easy to get to. But if there is room to loosen the bolts and pull the old one off, it is easy to put the new one on. $400 to replace is a LOT of money. The part is not very expensive at all, so most of that will be labor. Honest mechanics will charge by the amount of time it really takes to do. And if they are charging $400, then it may not be as easy of a job on your vehicle as you think. But if you get in there and start looking at it, you will know if it is something you can do or not.

 

[bevosayshi]

$400??? Was this at Firestone by chance?

 

[accuratehorn]

Some cars can get pricey because the timing belt turns the water pump, but I looked up the labor on a 98 Grand Cherokee, and one engine was 2.3 hours and the other two were both 1.5 hours, and the part was $92.00. This would come to about $275 to $300 at most shops, plus the price of the serpentine belt. Maybe there is a tensioner or something else in there, but I don't work on Jeeps. Not sure where the $400 came from,-it could be fair, but it sounds too high unless there is something else included. Looked up the belt, and it said $41.75.

 

[horn4life]

biy a good manual for 12 bucks and the parts and figure you can blow whatever you want on dinner and still be way ahead.

Second the make sure the old gsket is all cleaned off, or mostly. Secondly make sure and rotate the tightening of the bolts as you torque them down.

I would also replace my lower radiator hose for the less than $10 it will likely cost you, as you don;t want to be there in a month...

 

[froghorn717]

thanks for the help....

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Do use a torque wrench to tighten the water pump - if you have an aluminum body on the pump, it's fairly easy to overtighten it and cause some damage.