Water pump replaced - Diesel Forum

505live · 01-10-2013, 05:45 PM

Van is at 112K now.
I replaced the water pump yesterday as it had started to leave a small puddle under the van after sitting for a few days. I swear to God, if I can go a whole month without discovering some new puddle under this thing I'm going to be worried all the fluids are gone.

Ordered water pump, t-stat, upper and lower radiator hoses, and a new plastic fan from Tousley. Saved something like $180 vs the local dealer. I'd replaced the serpentine belt not long ago, but if I hadn't it would have been a good time. I also put in a billet T-stat housing from Diesel Site that I'd had waiting around for just such an occasion.

After draining the radiator and removing the upper hose I removed the serpentine belt and removed the AC compressor and put it up to get the AC lines out of the way.
I got a set of fan clutch wrenches from Autozone, but it turned out they're for the gassers and of course the diesel is a different size. The holding wrench (the big one) is correct, but the fan wrench is too small (need a 46 mm I think). I got a larger "universal" set from Autozone, which had one that was close enough. With the use of cheater bars and the appropriate adjectives I was able to get the fan clutch loose (righty-tighty lefty-loosey for the 7.3L van).
After getting the fan free from the water pump per the service manual I removed the fan shroud and the fan together (more adjectives, neighbors don't let their kids play outside when I'm working on the van). It took some wiggling but it came out without huge hassle.
After that there's plenty of room and it was a simple nuts/bolts job, and I didn't have to pull the radiator out

. Removed the pulley with the water pump still on the engine.
Total it was probably a leisurely 5-6 hr job.
There was some play in the shaft on the old pump. I replaced the fan because one of the blades was chipped, and I wasn't sure if that was causing to be out of balance enough to mess up the pump and I don't really want to do this again.

Lilnuts · 01-10-2013, 08:39 PM

Thanks for the nice write up.

stever88 · 01-13-2013, 04:21 PM

Hi! Nice write-up, Thanks. Is the plastic fan better than the metal one? I have a '97 w/metal fan and I would like to know more about the benefits of the plastic fan. Steve

DivinDave · 01-14-2013, 09:55 AM

The plastic fan is what came on the 03 engine and maybe other years. I dont know if it has any benefits over a metal unit in moving air.

I do know that when I did my HPOP repair and changed out my water pump last year it had a cracked a blade and I replaced it just like 505 had to so maybe they get a bit brittle with time. It is not horribly expensive.

505live · 01-14-2013, 10:31 AM

Not sure either why one would be better than the other. I do believe the fan clutch is integral to the metal fan, as the metal fan costs quite a bit more than the plastic one. If, for some reason, someone wanted to go to a plastic fan they'd also have to buy a fan clutch. I have no idea about the cross compatibility of the two for various applications though.