I've had a water leak at the front of the engine for a dew weeks which has now got to the point where it needs sorting. I think that it is the water pump gasket/seal as you can see from the picture below how far I've got and there is still a drip from the bottom of the engine which gets quicker when I turn the end of the pump. My question is this, is this a job that should be left to a pro or can i do it on my drive? What tools and how much longer will it take to be at the point where the water pump is off? I don't think the pump itself is knackered as it's only about 3 years old but then any part can fail at any age!!!!!!

 

Your almost there. May as well do a cambelt change or even a 60k service while it's in bits

I'm at the same stage as you. Mine was dripping from the crankshast out of the timing cover so assume it's water pump leaking. From the manual the next step is to get the 3 belts off & the crank pulley, then you can remove the bottom part of the timing belt cover & you have access to the water pump bolts. Make sure you drain the coolant down or else it will likely go everwhere when you remove the pump.

 

I'm stuck on slackening the power steering pump to get the belt off. Loosened the main bolt that holds it on (accessed via cutout in the pulley), slackened the tensioner right off but it's still rock solid. Any advice appreciated!

 

Good luck.

 

Les

Les, you need to force the belt off while turning the crank pulley - ie make sure the bottom comes off as you turn the crank clockwise with a 27mm socket (if that makes sense?)

Finished mine yesterday and it's all running sweet.:dance:

 

My power steering pump was a bit of a bitch too but with a bit of persistance and persuasion I managed to slacken it a bit and in the end i just took the pully off the end. You'll need a 27mm socket for the crank pulley and something quite meaty to crack it off and a puller to remove it.

 

I think book time on changing a water pump is 3 hours, took me about 12 all up, I'm not changing my career just yet!!!!!!

:rant::headvswal: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Took it out last night and now it's p!ssing out water again, even worse than before I started, I HATE MY ZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You did replace the 2 rubber hoses behind the upper metal cooland pipe? Visible in first pic either side of upper cambelt idler pulley

It turns out that the water pump is shot so hopefully I will be able to get my hands on another tomorrow. At least I'm getting some experience with stripping down the front of the engine!!!!!!!! I didn't change the 2 pipes as they looked OK to me and they weren't leaking when I rebuilt it the 1st time, should they be changed then as they haven't been disturbed this time?

yep you should always change them 2 pipes they only cost about £20 for the pair, if that......

Replace the pipes without a doubt!!!! They WILL blow soon if you don't!