Is there a Water Pump replacement procedure anywhere?

[jrcstudios]

I'm looking for a procedure for replacing the water pump on a '96 Diesel Suburban.. Helping a friend out, not my vehicle.

I tried using the search, but entering captcha's for every search? I am so bad at those due to dyslexia anyway, I figured registering would make them go away.. is there anyway around it? I can't deal with it.

[DieselDavy]

JRC,
Ask Jim "More Power" about the publication. He probably has one for the water pump, although it is relatively easy. I bought one for Head Gasket replacement from him a long time ago and it was awesome! I setup a 3 ring binder with a copy of it with the pages being in plastic sleeves. I was able to follow the steps and make notes as I went. (bold length hear and there, wire location/color, etc)
All of the tips included made the job easier and shorter. I had the factory service manuals and they were useless for this job. Again, his tips made the job possible for me.
Give him a call now!

[jrcstudios]

JRC,
Ask Jim "More Power" about the publication....Give him a call now!

You didn't give me any contact for Jim.. and i noticed you said you "bought" one, I'm not looking to buy a guide. I was hoping for someone who just documented their experience with pictures. I'm sure I can figure it out, but usually someone on forums like this has done 3 or 4 and knows exactly what has to come off.

More than anything, I want to know if there is anything I should check, grease, replace, etc. While I am in that deep, and if any special tools are needed. I want to have everything ready so I can only have the truck down 1 day.

[rustyk]

GM deserves chronic broken knuckles for this one. I've replaced 2. The front plate with the water pump attached has to come off the engine, because several of the bolts are inserted from the rear, IRC, there are a total of 14 (9 outside, 5 inside). You will need special sealant to reattach the front plate, although some kits come with a gasket.

Not at all difficult, but much more tedious than it needs to be.

[Robyn]

OK, here is the way you do it.
Unhook both battery + cables

Remove top half of Shroud
Drain the radiator into a bucket. ***** Easiest once the shroud top is off *****


Remove the fan/fan clutch then remove the serp belt

Remove the alternator and the AC pump and lay them aside, no need to unhook the AC lines, just lay the pump out of the way or tie it up with a bungy cord.

Remove the accessory brackets on both sides (the ac pump, vac pump and alternator and belt tensioner bolt to these)

You are now looking at the water pump.

Remove lower radiator hose.
Remove the clamps on the bypass hose or just cut the hose in half to get it off.

There are stud topped bolts on either side of the pump that go through into coolant in a couple places. These are different lengths and need to go back where they came from (make notes if you need to)

You will want to remove the oil filler tube with its bolts. The filler just slips out of the rubber gromet (with some wiggling)

There are bolts that go through the steel back plate around the top of the timing cover and also down under the pump.
Use a mirror if you need to and do not miss any bolts before you start prying on the pump.

The entire pump and front timing cover plate (just the steel plate) comes off as one chunk.

Now with the pump off and looking at the back side of the plate, there are some bolts there too.

Remove these bolts and the plate can then be removed from the pump.

Clean off all old sealer/gasket material from the plate and then the timing cover on the engine.

Get a new pump and a gasket set. (DO NOT USE SEALER ONLY)

Apply a very thin "smear" of high temp silicone (red, blue, orange or ??) to the water pumps mating flange.
Fit the gasket from the kit that fits the area.
Apply a smear of silicone to the gasket that is now fitted to the pump and then install the plate.

Use some BLUE loctite on the little bolts that hold the plate to the pump and tighten.

Remember, if one of these bolts falls out GAME OVER as it drops through the timing gears.

Apply silicone to the timing cover flange and install the proper gasket.
Apply silicone to the outside of the gasket that you just fitted.

Carefully fit the assembled pump/plate back onto the engine and attach with the top bolts of the plate first to hold it.

Get all the bolts back in.
Install the oil filler tube (be sure to use thr stud topped bolts in those two spots)

NOW be sure to apply silicone to the threads of the long bolts that go through into the cooolant.

Tighten all the bolts back up.

Install lower hose. (If its the factory original, a new one is in order) AHHHHH new stainless clamps too, never reuse the factory spring clamps

Install new bypass hose with new clamps. (hose connects pump to bottom of Stat housing)
Reinstall the accessory brackets and accessories (alt/ac pump etc)
Install the fan/clutch
Install the serp belt.
Install the shroud
Hook up batteries
Open the air bleeder on top the thermostat housing, then replace the coolant until it apears at the air bleeder and the coolant tank is back up to the cold mark.

Start the truck and allow to warm up until the T stat opens and coolant circulates.

Check for leaks.

***** Leaving the coolant tank open during warm up will alow the system to "Burp" if it needs to******

Replace coolant tank cap

Job done.

With the radiator shroud top removed, you have really good access to everything that you need to work on.

Here is a Piccy of the timing cover and bolt locations.
Its upside down in the piccy, but you can see whats needed.
This is what you will see when the water pump is off the engine.

The gears will be in view once the pump is off.

Hope this helps

Missy

[Robyn]

Here is another piccy, showing the entire front view of a 6.5.
The water pump is clearly visible as are many of the bolts.

This is a 1995 engine and the T stat housing may be different that the one you are working on, but the basics are all the same.

Just take careful note of the bolts and their lengths as you remove them.

There are some differences in the long stud topped ones and IIRC a couple others have long and short ones.

If you need to, lay them out in order on the bench or ??? to keep everything going back where it came from.

This job is very straight forward.
You just have a lot of stuff to pull off to get down to it.

The nice part is that once the shroud is off, things get really clear and quick.

The bypass hose is best installed after the pump is back in place rather then trying to install it with the pump.

Just take care when installing the new pump back on, so as to keep the gasket where it belongs.

The use of the silicone to STICK the gasket is the best policy.

Originally GM used an anerobic sealer in these places and not a gasket.

BELEIVE ME
The gaskets work great, I have never had one keak, EVER

Missy

[Robyn]

Here is another good shot of the front end of the 6.5
You can see the entire bolt pattern on the cover

Missy

[jhornsby3]

I wonder if he got it done. I have the mil manual that I can email. The best 6.5 owners manual one can have. It even tells you when you are going to need a helper or not. :D

[DieselDavy]

JRC,
Jim "More Power" is the owner of this website. You had to go through him to join.
He has a lot of documentation on GM diesel service. Looks like Robyn had time to document it pretty well for you though. Sounds like "jhornsby3" can help you out also.
Have fun!
Dave

[More Power]

Free is always nice, and that's what this board offers. Just about any engine service procedure can be found here by using the search function - like this thread on a water pump replacement.

However, we also offer a hardbound "6.2/6.5 Diesel Troubleshooting & Repair Guide", which takes it all a few steps farther. Aside from being an illustrated guide, the information includes advice from 6.5 engineers from GM's Romulus Engineering Center, input from Fel-Pro and their 6.2/6.5 gaskets, input from custom engine builders, experience from our helping others solve problems over many years, and finally, from doing everything ourselves many times. I have the GM service manuals, the MIL service manuals, Haynes and Chilton too. They weren't written by 6.2/6.5 owners and enthusiasts, ours was. I want individual 6.2/6.5 owners to succeed.

The "Guide" almost always saves people more money than what the book costs, and it'll save you more time. It also guarantees success more than any other because the procedures are tried and proven. In it, you'll find part numbers and sources for replacement parts, it lists the specified sealants, a tool list for each project, any special procedures, bolt torque specs, timing procedures, and many tricks of the trade to save you even more time and money, and it'll make it easier to do correctly. Do it once.

Our Guide is in use in Iraq and Afghanistan (and other military bases)... We even did a story in 2003 about HMMWV maintenance in Iraq, where our books were in use. Was a cool story about an AM General engineer who was on special assignment in Iraq to help solve 6.5 problems in the desert.

See link in my signature for a table of contents... Jim

[jrcstudios]

Thank you Robyn!
That's what I was looking for! It just was hard for me to get started, didn't want to take all that off if I didn't have to. It wasn't that bad, 4 hours out and in, and I didn't have any bolts left over. I actually found I didn't have to take the AC compressor off, but I will today, as the quick-connect fitting on the thermostat housing broke off when I tried to remove it! (its was leaking pretty bad)

I'm sure I'll be doing this again, I know 3 friends that have this engine. It's quickly becoming my favorite diesel to work on. This one just hit 300,000 miles.

Thank you for your support!

--John