91 Buick Park Avenue water pump

[Bob Mobley]

Tried to replace the water pump on a 91 Park Avenue 3.8L and could not
get one of the pump bolts out due to the engine mount blocking the
removal. I was able to get all the bolts loose but could not get the one
bolt out. Looks to me that the entire engine mount will have to be
removed and to remove it the engine may have to be removed. The Haynes
manual does not even show the mount in the illistration. Does anyone
have any input on this?

[Mark Aarabi]

Bob,

There is nothing to this job. As a matter of fact, this is probably one of
the easiest water pump jobs on a front wheel drive vehicle. Use a jack and
block of wood to support engine at the oil pan. Remove motor mount out of
the way. R&R Water pump assembly. Reverse procedure to put it all back
together. Good luck.

-Mark

[Robert Mobley]

The problem is that it appears that the mount can't be removed without raising
the engine due to a long stud extending from the engine and going through the
mount. There is not enough room to slide the mount horizontal to clear the
stud. I talked to a mechanic today that said the stud has to be extracted from
the manifold with a special tool in order to lift the mount out vertically.
This has to be one of the worst designs for maintenance on the market. Why
would engineers cover the water pump with the engine mount. A water pump never
lasts the life of the car. What a pain for a water pump change.

Easy is relative. I can change the yellow system manifold low pressure switch
on an A300 aircraft easily because I've done it before and I know what to
remove to gain access to the switch. I wouldn't expect very many other people
to find this job easy.

If GM would have used a bolt instead of a stud this job would have been easier
but not "easy". Changing a water pump on a Jeep is easy.

Thanks for the input.

Bob

[Tomasz Orzechowski]

Robert Mobley <jo...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
: but not "easy". Changing a water pump on a Jeep is easy.

'87 Nissan Sentra 1.6 carb, about, maybe 45 minutes, at most...
For whatever that matters :)
--
Tomasz Orzechowski t...@apk.net
APK.net systems administration team TO630