How do you replace the water pump on a 1992 Geo Prizm?

Answer 1

Hey Daniel==It is prettu oinvolved. Get a sshop manual from the parts store and go from there. GoodluckJoe
hey, lemme tell you what I know from my '93 recent experience. Do not replace the water pump unless you replace the timing belt, and THE O_RING behind the water pump mount and the 3 inch bypass hose as well, other-wise, you are taking a real chance of needing to start over. These bolts on the pump are grade eight , and I tend to think of them as brittle. The dealership pump costs twice what Napa charges but comes with new bolts... and take a look on their Dealership parts screen exploded view to make sure about the O ring, also I think most folks have the 1.6 liter motor, I checked on-line vins to match my motor number with other 1.6 geos, but the pump from napa still has one more bolt hole than the part on my car it mounts to... the one with the o-ring smashed into a square where it is pressed onto the block by the three long water pump bolts.... YOU do not need a special tool to get the crank pulley off, some wd40 and a light tap with a hammer around it until it pops off, the o-ring the gave me was 7 bucks and wrong at the dealership(after a two day wait), I used Permatex The Right Stuff and gooped it. Also, if you drill a hole spot-on through the frame on the passenger side wheel well(if you dare) that a 1/4 " extension can fit through, you can get a socket on the water pump pulley without (jacking up the motor, although you will still have to remove the engine mount to get the timing belt on. If you use a micrometer on the timing belt spring, it will probably be stretched, and that means the tension will be too low, so, (simulate a perfect spring with a little "help" I used a buck knife on the tensioner pulley and got the belt side to side right after a full crank rotation that way.) There was NO MARK on my crankshaft pulley to check timing belt alignment, but the keyway was straight up and the cam dot was up, too. Things a lot of mechs might not do and say they did are, the o'ring, bypass hose and really checking timing tensioner spring length. I bought my geo from a mechanic so I would never have to touch it. Yeah, right! This procedure is a real pain but it has to be done right to get the Toyota effect. It is the weak link in the chain in all timing belt driven motors, that the belt being changed out wears out the water pump. DO BOTH. And get a book but don't expect all the info I just put here ... The deviations from OEM Spec I cannot guarantee, but when you're in there, you tell me I am wrong then...Also, the valve cover has to come off, I think mine sweats oil, so, I used a tiny amound of RTV silicone on it since it was no longer that flexible, after I popped it out and put a tiny bead in the groove on the cover. Also, there were these tiny gasket material Dots where the valve cover clears the cam bearing, I think they were to sling oil away from a weak point in the gasket. You will still want a book, but, these points won't be in there... Good luck and plan on taking two days in your driveway, book time is under three hours for the belt without the pump, but heh, that's an optimum condition fantasy, I think.