Well, it seems that GM has left me marooned on the Big Island of Hawaii (no Hummer, Chevy or GM dealers here anymore)- nobody to perform the warranty work on my H3. Talk about money down the toilet! I am now my own Mr. Goodwrench...

Anyway, I am stuck here on the island with a busted water pump. I have changed water pumps on other cars before, but I do not have a manual for my H3 and wanted to know if there was anything unusual about doing the change on this 5 cyl motor.

Does anyone have a graphic of the cooling system or any tips to help make this job as painless as possible? Any help at all would be very appreciated. (I'll even promise to post a nice island girl thong photo when the job is done). Thanks!

-Marooned by GM

2007 H3 5 cyl with 25,000 miles and the "extended island warranty program"

 

I've been stranded in NJ with the closest Pontiac dealer now about 45 minutes away, I know how you feel. In your case, i'd contact GM and demand that they let you sublet the warranty work to a good 3rd party shop! At the very least, they should cut you a check afterwards for the cost of the repair.

I think the I5 is one of those GM designs with the waterpump integrated into be block, if so you will have to drop the oilpan, no sign of the pump just peeking at the front of the engine. I hope I'm wrong about this, it's then a real PIA or an expensive repair. I went through this about 5-years ago with their old Quad-Four engine.

Update: Maybe it's not so bad afterall. Here's a link to the pump, it looks like it sits in the front of the cylinder head and is driven off of the polybelt: http://www.familycar.com/store/?Ntt=...+pump&oes=true

 

Thanks for the info.

Amazing that nobody has turned a wrench on this motor...?

Update: The water pump cannot be removed with the fan clutch attached- there isn't enough room with the radiator in place. Since the radiator has the trans oil lines and air conditioner condenser attached to it, removing the radiator will be an extreme PITA.

I cannot get the fan clutch nut (big nut) off the pump, because I have no way of keeping the water pump pulley from turning.

Does anyone know of a special tool that can be used to stop the water pump pulley from turning while the fan clutch nut is turned???

 

Water pump replacement is not difficult on the I5. Removing the fan is the hardest part but with the fan off the pulley is held on by only 4 bo;ts and the pump only 6. the pump kit from Gm comes with a new pump and gasket and will probibly cost around $220 but you shouldnt try the install yourself if you dont know what your doing. any decent independent can handle the job

 

Pump cost me $60. Not a GM pump, but who cares- the GM factory pump that was in it lasted 24k miles, which is far less than any pump from China that I have ever installed.

Step 1: Loosen the upper radiator hose clamp at the radiator, then pull the hose off the radiator. Remove the fan shroud by pulling out on the triangular **** that is attached to the shroud assembly- the **** is on the pass side. Rotate (spin) the lower shroud assembly 180 degrees, so that it is at the top, creating a larger opening at the bottom of the shroud so that the shroud can be removed with the fan in place. Unlock the shroud at the on both sides (near the top) by depressing the plastic locks and prying it out of the plastic catches, then pull the shroud straight up and out.

Step 2: Remove the Fan clutch

Step 3: Loosen the water pump pulley bolts

Step 4: Make a diagram of the serpentine belt path. Remove the serpentine belt (insert a 1/4 inch drive torque wrench or breaker bar into the square hole on the tensioner pulley arm, and pull the arm down to release the tension- remove belt), then remove the water pump pulley

Step 5: Remove the pump assembly

Step 6: Install new pump with new metal compression gasket.

Step 7: Install the water pump pulley

Step 8: Install the serpentine belt

Step 9: Install the fan clutch, then re-install the shroud making sure that the lower part of the shroud engages the guide holes at the sides of the bottom of the radiator.

Step 10: Re-fill radiator through the radiator cap. You are done.

The fan clutch has to come off the water pump before the pump will come out of the car (the whole assembly is too long to clear the radiator)- this requires a fan clutch removal tool which is a long bar that engages the water pump pulley bolts so that you can turn the large fan clutch nut that threads onto the front of the water pump shaft. The nut is removed with it's own special tool, which is nothing more than a very flat wrench- I used a large crescent wrench instead. The water pump will NOT clear the radiator with the fan clutch attached.

Caution: The fan clutch nut is NOT a reverse thread- so righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Once the clutch is off, the job is easy. Sorry, no pictures- I had to do the job on the side of the road, and had no time to turn it into a documentary.

Tools: Fan clutch removal tools (water pump pulley tool and fan clutch nut flat wrench), 10mm wrench, 13mm wrench, 10mm socket, pliers to release the hose clamp, screwdriver to pry the locking tangs open on the shroud.

Hope this helps someone in the future: Get the fan clutch tools FIRST, then start the job!

 

just wanted to ask what brands do you prefer for water pump replacement, Geba or Graf? what's the difference of both brands? do both brands compatible with the H3? thanks in advance.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to helicfii for all the info! I had to do mine the other day with 62k on mine and his instructions were spot on. I replaced the serpentine belt while I was at it and gave the engine a good scrub too. Fairly easy job, it was just finding the proper fan clutch tool here in Phoenix that turned out to be the difficult part.

 

I know this thread is older, but did you send GM the bill for the waranty repayment to you?

 

how would I do that? I thought it only had a 50k mile warranty if it is an 07?

 

Thanks Helicfii. The steps are awesome. the only thing thats giving me hell is getting the Fan Clutch off. How did you do it?