DIY - C5 Water Pump Replacement (LS1)
Well folks, you get to benefit from another situation I found myself in. The day before I was supposed to drive to Arkansas from Kentucky, my water pump decides to reveal to me that it was leaking. I had been smelling antifreeze but it wasn't leaving any drops on the floor. Well, that finally changed at the most inopportune time.
Some info on how to check for a leaking water pump. First of all, if you smell antifreeze, you have a leak. Period. You may not see it, see coolant on the ground or be able to locate it but trust me, you have a leak. I think I have managed to have a leak in every possible common location:
Here's the deal with detecting a water pump leak on the C5. The fluid will not drop to the floor directly under the water pump unless you have a really heavy leak. It will land on the belt or belt pulley and sling to one side of the car (most likely the driver's side because of the direction that the belt travels). I didn't know that as I kept checking dead center of the engine on the garage floor. My leak was extremely small up until the point that I actually found it. Hey, I'm old school and my previous experience taught me to check dead center of the engine on the garage floor. Now I know better. :hide:
This turned out to be a rather easy repair compared to some that I have done. I would easily recommend a shade tree mechanic take this on as long as you have one very important tool: hose clamp pliers. Don't even attempt this repair without them as there are quite a few hose clamps that you have to remove. Those things will take you forever to remove with a pair of pliers. Don't waste your time, buy a nice pair of hose clamp pliers with the extension cable. You'll thank me later. You'll see them in the pictures below.
With all that said, let's get to the repair!
Tools needed:
- Hose Clamp Pliers
- 3/8" 10mm Socket and Ratchet
- 3/8" 15mm Socket
- Flat Head Screwdriver
- Dielectric Grease or Vaseline
- Radiator Hose or White Lithium Grease
- Safety Glasses
- Another socket for the thermostat bolts but I forgot what size it was! :hide:
- These instructions! ;)
This repair should only be done when the engine is cool or cold.
Step 1: Remove the air cleaner intake duct. This is actually done as a unit. You don't have to remove the entire thing as I did, you can just remove the air bridge but for me, it was quicker just to remove the whole thing since I know how. Here it is removed:
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump1.jpg
To do this, pop up the pins that hold the air bridge onto the radiator shroud.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump2.jpg
Unplug the mass airflow (MAF) sensor connector. Once you get it unplugged and the harness is disconnected from the clip that holds the harness down, move it toward the back of the engine out of your way.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump3.jpg
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump4.jpg
Remove the air filter in order to make the next step simpler. As you can see, I'm a firm believer in the K&N filter.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump5.jpg
This next part is kind of tricky the first time you do it. The air cleaner intake duct is held onto the front frame cross-member by 2 rubber grommets. The air box just pushes on and pulls off. The first time you do it is like pulling teeth because you really have to give it a tug. It gets easier to do once you've done it before. See pictures below.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump6.jpg
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump7.jpg
You will also need to unplug the Secondary Air Injection (AIR) hose. The bottom part of that hose simply pulls apart from the top part if you twist it back and forth.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump8.jpg
Last of all, loosen the screw that holds the air bridge onto the throttle body.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump3a.jpg
Once you get all this stuff disconnected, separated and unplugged, the air cleaner intake just simply lifts out of the engine bay. Put it to the side.
Step 2: The first thing you need to do here is look at how the accessory belt is routed. Take pictures of it from various angles so that you will have something to look at when it comes time to put it back on. This diagram may also be of assistance.
Remove the accessory belt from the accessory tensioner pulley and allow it to drop toward the bottom of the engine. There is no need to remove it all the way so don't make more work by doing so. To remove it, use the 15mm socket and rotate the pulley clockwise (toward the driver's side), until you can slip the belt off the tensioner.
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump9.jpg
http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/wpump10.jpg
DIY C5 Water Pump Replacement LS1
My water pump shaft is wobbly ran with missing fan blade for 35 miles or so, auto trans.....
New WP on the way, along with new fan and 1 gallon of BMW coolant. Ive watched the DIY videos on how to replace the WP, however, the vids dont mention needing to pre-drain coolant, prior to unbolting the old WP.
Im not replacing anything else on the cooling system, except replacing the lost coolant, because I recently had BMW dealership service the system.
Should I pre-drain coolant?