The water pump is the heart of the Pontiac Grand Am's cooling system, circulating the coolant. A faulty water pump can cause some serious damage to the engine of your Pontiac Grand Am. To prolong the life of your vehicle's engine, make sure to change out a bad water pump.
Disconnect the negative battery cables before you begin.
Place a drain pan underneath the radiator. When the engine is cool, drain the cooling system from the radiator into the pan.
Elevate the vehicle and remove the right front wheel, the splash shield, the water pump sprocket access plate and remove the exhaust manifold if your vehicle has an n automatic transaxle.
Use the water pump sprocket holding tool (Tool Part Number J 43651) and attach it to the sprocket with access plate bolts, securing the tool to the front cover of the engine.
Remove the following bolts to remove the water pump: the three bolts attaching the pump to the engine block, the bolt to the engine front cover, the bolts to the sprocket and the bolt attaching the thermostat housing to the pump.
Remove the old pump and install the new one, aligning the water pump sprocket to the hub with a threaded stud.
Reinsert the engine cover bolt to the block to the pump, tightening the bolt to 15 foot pounds (20 Nm). Tighten two of the water pump sprocket bolts to the water pump by hand.
Take out the threaded stud that was used to align the water pump sprocket to the hub and attach the last bolt to the sprocket to the pump, tightening all three to 89 foot pounds (10 Nm).
Remove the water pump sprocket holding tool and attach the timing cover to the water pump sprocket access plate, tightening the bolts to 89 foot pounds (10 Nm).
Reattach the splash shield, the right front wheel and the exhaust manifold if applicable.
Refill the engine's cooling system with coolant and reconnect the negative battery cable. Start the car and check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.
Disconnect the negative battery cable and drain out the coolant from the cooling system when the engine is cool.
Disconnect the electrical connector to the oxygen sensor and remove the exhaust manifold heat shield.
Remove the following bolts and studs: the coolant inlet housing bolt connecting the exhaust manifold, the bolt to the exhaust manifold to the brace, the studs to the manifold to exhaust pipe and the bolt to the coolant inlet housing to water pump.
Disconnect the following parts from each other: the exhaust manifold from the exhaust pipe by pulling the pipe downward, the oil pan from the coolant inlet pipe, the camshaft housing from the brake vacuum pipe, the cylinder head from the exhaust manifold, the heater outlet pipe from the heater hose and the timing chain cover from the tensioner.
Loosen and remove the water pump bolts to the engine and the bolts from the pump to the timing chain. Remove the water pump with the cover assembly and remove the cover from the pump.
Install the new pump with new gaskets. Replace the cover and tighten the bolts by hand. Attach the pump to the engine and tighten these bolts by hand.
Attach the pump to the timing chain housing nuts and the coolant inlet pipe to the cover. Also tighten these by hand.
Torque all bolts to the following specifications after all bolts have been inserted and hand tightened: the chain housing nuts to the pump assembly to 19 foot pounds (26 Nm), the water pump assembly to the cover to 124 foot pounds (14 Nm), and the water pump cover to the coolant inlet pipe assembly to 124 foot pounds (14 Nm).
Reattach the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold, tightening the nuts to 11 foot pounds (15 Nm), the coolant inlet pipe to the oil pan, tightening the nuts to 19 foot pounds (25 Nm), and reattach the timing chain tensioner, tightening the bolts to 89 foot pounds (10 Nm).
Reconnect the camshaft housing and the brake vacuum pipe and reattach the front cover, tightening the bolts to 106 foot pounds (12 Nm).
Reattach the exhaust pipe and the manifold, tightening the bolts to 26 foot pounds (35 Nm), the exhaust manifold to the brace, tightening the bolts to 41 foot pounds (56 Nm) and the nuts to 19 foot pounds (26 Nm), the manifold to the exhaust pipe, tightening the nuts to 26 foot pounds (35 Nm), the heater pipe to the heater hose and reattach the exhaust manifold heat shield, tightening the bolts to 124 inch pounds (14 Nm).
Reconnect the electrical connector to the oxygen sensor and the negative battery cable. Refill the engine's cooling system with coolant and start the car. Check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.
Disconnect the negative battery cable and drain out the coolant from the cooling system when the engine is cool.
Remove the accessory drive belt and the water pump pulley.
Loosen and remove the water pump bolts and remove the pump from the engine.
Install the new water pump, tightening the bolts to 89 inch pounds (10 Nm).
Reattach the water pump pulley, tightening the bolts to 18 foot pounds (25 Nm).
Reinstall the accessory drive belt and reconnect the negative battery cable.
Refill the engine's cooling system with coolant. Start the car and check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.
