Pontiac Repair: water pump replacement on 97 grand am 2.4, water pump replacement, seal tabs

Question
I understand that the water pump is timing chain driven and you have to de-tension the timing chain. is it as intimidating as it sounds? any info on pump replacement procedure would be very helpful

Answer
Hey Jesse:
Yuop it's a BIG job and yes the timining is critical on this engine! not only do you have to take off the front timing cover and chain but also the exhaust manifold. It's a big job and if your not a very mechanically inclined person I would advise you not to tackle this job. If you are more power to you. You don't need any special tools other than a couple of bolts to align the cam shafts to the timing cover. If this car has a lot of miles on it I would advise you to replace the chain tensioner while you are in there along with the shoe for the tensioner. It it has over 100K miles I would advise on all the guides and the chain as well. Hope that helps you out.

If it's not leaking all that bad yet you may want to try a product that's sold at the dealer called cooling system seal tabs. It comes in a package of 5 pellets break them up and put them in the over flow bottle and see if it seals up the leak. It may work if it's not to bad of one.

Good luck :)