Water Pump, replacement, costs associated??

[sanioll]

hey fellas,

It has been leaking slowly for months now, right under the water pump. And I've been refilling it.

But this morning, when I got off work at 7am with 33 farenheit weather, I got it running for 5 minutes to warm up, then drove off.

Temperature gauge went up and up, to a point where I had to stop the engine on a traffic light before reaching the gas station.

At a gas station, when I stopped the engine, I heard water leaking, popped the hood and reservoir coolant tank, which was full 2 days ago, now was empty.

Radiator, and upper hose was hot, meaning that the thermostat is opening, right? After 5 minutes engine cooled down, due to very cold ambient temperature, and radiator, was way cooler than before, obviously.

First question is, how can a pump fail, it is directly connected to a pulley which always turns, so it should circulate the water inside?

I searched the forum, and seeing that it it most likely the pump itself and you can buy it new under $50.

But I have no time at all!! End of the semester. How much will it cost if I take to a mechanic??

thanks for your help.

[Bwana]

Water pump failure it typically caused by seal or gasket failure resulting in a loss of coolant. Once you loose enough coolant there's nothing for the pump to pump, and it overheats. If it's leaking out of the pump (typically under the pump "snout") then you'll need a new pump. If it's leaking from the gasket surface then replace the gasket and figure out why it failed.

[sanioll]

how much do mechanics charge for water pump replacement?

[hudy]

Pretty simple job. Probably 1.5 to 2.0 hrs at whatever labor rate you find. Around here labor is anywhere between 50 and $100/hr.

[Chief_Suicide]

I know you said you don't have time, but a water pump is one of the easier things to change once you get everything out of the way.

I guess you would save money if you bought the pump yourself and then took it to a local guy. The Nissan dealer is probably going to charge the most. I know going to a non Nissan guy can have it's risks, but here locally, I have two good neighborhood mechanics.

Anyway, I hope it turns out OK for you.

[martins_240sx]

dude there is always time, take an hr out of your sleep time and grab a mag light or something and change it...it doesnt take very long...sorry for sounding like an *** but im just trying to save YOU money

[sanioll]

dude there is always time, take an hr out of your sleep time and grab a mag light or something and change it...it doesnt take very long...sorry for sounding like an *** but im just trying to save YOU money

I've digged through the underhood before, especially with the belts, and alternator.

Problem is time, it is the end of the semester, I am graduating in 1.5 semesters.

Another problem is the coolant. Once I did the full flush, inside the garage, and when you take out that bolt on the engine block, coolant goes everywhere. It splashes through the suspension parts and goes everywhere on the floor. DIY guy here in every department, especially considering the labor effort required vs. money saved + fun of doing it yourself.===========================================

This is what disappoints me:

Within one week, I've been told that 1. Cut in pay at work down by 25%2. My laptop screen inverter goes nuts, and decides not to turn on the backlights on the LCD.3. Water pump failure.4. And due to costs of all the above, I cannot fund my "universal PERFECT windshield camera mount" project. Meaning I have the finished mounts, but cannot spend money on fancy new camcorder. Winter is coming, how the hell am I going to record my ski trips. Damn!

Add end of the semester time constraints into the equation, and it gets pretty sophisticated.

*But I am not complaining, this what makes life fun.

[SR20drftSX]

its pretty simple , 10 mm wrench , a 12mm , maybe a 14 , take the fan and water pump pulley off , then pop the bolts outta the h2o pump off , and then tap the pump and itll pop off , replace in reverse order , it took under an hour , and im 17 witch no previous knowledge and had only owned the car for a week..good luck and keep us posted

[RyanAwesome]

+1 for diy. very easy to do. if you were in the tampa area i would definently lend you a hand

[driftfreek]

is there an aftermarket pump for the ka24de na? if there is, how is it better than stock?

[sean58888]

no aftermarket water pump for ka24de or sr20det,stock is good already!

[SR20drftSX]

if yu want better coolin performance , use some redline water wetter , bout two of those bottle and the rest of yur favorite(good) antifreeze and coolant and itll be good

[sanioll]

Yes it already had redline red thingy, and 30/70 coolant/water ratio. It was great, no more rust stains inside the reservoir tank.

Anyhow, listened to dad, instead of taking it to his local mechanic, he told me to go to my old and trusty Goodyear. $395 = [new pump, coolant flush, + $40 pre-work check to find out what the problem is]

Pricey, but its worth the quality, especially when the car will be kept for another year. And their labor includes 1 year warranty.

*just an update.

[SR20drftSX]

pretty damn steep, it only cost be about 50 bux (with water pump , coolant, belts) but hey , if yu got da dough then drop it

[ddgsxr504]

Anyhow, listened to dad, instead of taking it to his local mechanic, he told me to go to my old and trusty Goodyear. $395 = [new pump, coolant flush, + $40 pre-work check to find out what the problem is]

Well congrats on getting it fixed but... a $20 chiltons/haynes manual and 2 hours of your time would have saved you $300 but whatever to each his own.

[rdx4me]

$395??? I just replaced the water pump on my sons 95 240SX SE and it cost $43 with a new pump - Lifetime warranty and 1 gallon of Antifreeze.

Took me an hour to complete everything... Like someone else posted already, if you got that kind of dough....Hell, I'm in the wrong business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gtd65]

Just going to attempt replacement of the water pump (leaking at the weep-hole) this weekend or perhaps early next week depending on the availability of the part down here in Sarasota.

I've read thru most of the threads about water pump replacement and it does appear to be fairly straight-forward. I've only ever replaced a failed water pump (squealed like a banshee!) on my mothers old Honda Civic years back and it wasn't a difficult task.

Any other tips or recomendations?

(I'm driving a 1995 240XS SE btw)

I've got prices from Autozone and DAP starting around $33 + Tax for the pump.

[vancouverbc]

one annoying thing for me was that bolts did not come with new water pump and the studs are very hard to get out of old pump. this was for 1991-1994 240sx

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[480sx]

Autozone is going to use remanufactured pumps most likely. On ebay right now theres a guy selling a boatload of pumps, i bought one myself for 60 bucks shipped, and its brand new from japan for the KA. Go here if your interested ---> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

[gtd65]

Just got back from Advance Autoparts where I ended up buying the ASC branded water pump for $39 + Tax. This one is $6 more than the Cardone but has some variation on the warranty (Lifetime).

The guy in the store advised that this one was a new replacement part rather than a remanufactured exchange model of course that might just be

I honestly couldn't tell from looking at it

I'll get onto removing the fan + shroud etc., tomorrow and hopefully get everything removed then squared away

Edit:The guy in the store recommended that I used some corrosion inhibitor when I change the pump and gave me a small 1/2 pint I guess sized container of the stuff (around $3). He advised that I put this stuff in before adding the coolant.

I always assumed that the coolant had corrosion inhibitor in it anyway?

Is this an un-necessary fluid to add?

[180fan]

yes it's unnecessary. different coolants have different stuff though for different materials. I've an all aluminum setup (block, head, pipes, rad) so I went and looked for stuff with no borates and phosphates in general tend to be bad news anyway. Otherwise if you want to K.I.S.S., just use the plain jane green stuff.

[gtd65]

Well the job is done but I'm noticing that the temperature gauge is fluctuating up and down quite a bit and not sitting in the usual constant position I'm used to.

Could this be due to in sufficient coolant or otherwise?

[Tech12]

Well the job is done but I'm noticing that the temperature gauge is fluctuating up and down quite a bit and not sitting in the usual constant position I'm used to.

Could this be due to in sufficient coolant or otherwise?

Yes, make sure you follow proper bleed procedure outlined in the FSM and posted many times on this site.

[SR20drftSX]

and also make sure your coolant sensor plug in it attached properly , even if it is , get some diaelectric grease and rub on the connections , itll smooth things out...drive it aroudn and wait for the next morning , check the level , fill it up and then check it again ina few days , its gonna have to get all the air outta the system

[gtd65]

Well, I went out to the car after dinner last night to have a look at the coolant level.

Noticed that it was actually low, topped it up and then took it out for a drive.

Temperature gauge was rock solid in the normal position

I guess that there must have been a fair amount of air in the system as I pretty well followed the filling procedure with the engine running, heater on etc until the bubbles stopped coming out.

The worst part of the job was defintely getting the bloody fan belt back on!

I'd say that if I'd had all the parts that I needed available (had to nip out to Autozone to get a new fan belt) It would have taken me probably just over an hour to do the whole job. I spent more time slackening off the ajduster for the belt than anything else, to get the new one to fit!

All of the other bolts came out without any trouble at all - probably due to the climate down South.



I took some pics (well, my GF did) of the repair which might help others to complete this task.

[Tech12]

right on, post them up. Also, fan belt shouldn't be to tough if you use the power steering pump like you should, a in, a tensioner.

[SR20drftSX]

darn tootin! post up them pics!

[vancouverbc]

As far as I know, these type of tensioners only tighten. Dont try to get slackwith it. You have to loosen the bolts that hold the power steering pump in place.

[gtd65]

darn tootin! post up them pics!

Consider it done

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