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Pontiac Grand Am Changing Water Pump

frankmefrankme Member Posts: 4
edited July 2014 in Pontiac
My daughter has a 97 grand am GT and the water pump needs to be changed. Can someone explain to me how to change the water pump? What all do i need to take off to get to the water pump?? any advice will be greatly appreciated.. thanks Frank
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  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    Which engine? If it's a quad 4 then it's a big job.
  • frankmefrankme Member Posts: 4
    ok it is a 2.4 liter.. not sure on the quad 4.. does th is help?
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    Yes. On the 4 cyl, the pump is very hard to get to. It's driven off the timing chain on the back (firewall) side of the engine. If you look at the front of the engine from the right (passengers side) you will see the pump housing, near the exhaust manifold.
    GM recommends removing the timing chain cover, removing the chain tensioner, removing the exhaust manifold, etc, to get access to the back of the housing to get the pump loose.
    Independent shops however have a procedure by where they don't do all that work. They still charge $500 (as opposed to $700+ at the dealer) or so though, since it's several hours work.
    I haven't done it myself, but have read the procedure in the GM manual for the 99 I had.
  • frankmefrankme Member Posts: 4
    THANK YOU FOR THE INFO. IT IS A GREAT HELP ! just wish the bottom bolt would come off as easy as the rest. I would almost be done by now..
    well thanks for helping me . have a blessed day !
  • frankmefrankme Member Posts: 4
    hi I NEED MORE HELP / OK WE CHANGED THE WATER PUMP GOT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER.. NOW IT WONT START.. ALL IT DOES IS SPIN BUT DOES NOT START.. WE HAD SOMEONE COME AND TEST THE TIMEING AND IT IS ALL GOOD.. WHAT CAN BE CAUSING THE CAR FROM NOT STARTING ? ANY IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED .. THANKS
  • bigalfree1bigalfree1 Member Posts: 1
    replaced water pump now engine wont start
  • gtxgtx Member Posts: 16
    If it's got fuel,
    and it's got air,
    and it's got spark,
    it must start.
    You say the timing is right on, are you sure it's not 180 out?
    Are you sure all the plugs are properly seated and functioning?
  • grandamnutgrandamnut Member Posts: 2
    Now that the water pump is changed and all the motor parts replaced. The engine seems to be locked up when trying to start it. Can anyone help me with some reasons and what i need to do.
  • jwhittingtonjwhittington Member Posts: 1
    Just got thru changing wp on a 94 pain in the but. Did you check the battery. does it have gas.If the front end is off the ground the fuel pump may not be getting gas. will it turn over at all.
  • grandamnutgrandamnut Member Posts: 2
    The motor does not turn over at all. Plenty of charge in the battery. Starter engages but motor tried to turn over at first then it stopped and now will not turn over. Starter will engage but motor will not turn over.
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    How did you change the water pump? Did you remove the timing cover, take off the tensioner to get some slack in the timing chain before removing the pump? It sounds to me like the timing is off and a piston is hitting a valve, or something around the timing chain is binding up.
  • jenniboojenniboo Member Posts: 4
    just in the last couple of days when i go to start my car it jumps a little anyone have any idea what it could be or is it because of the cold? :confuse:
  • tborntborn Member Posts: 2
    where is the timing mark on the 99 pontiac grand am 2.4
  • leonu4leonu4 Member Posts: 1
    okay at TDC , the timing marks are , the crank key way should be facing upwards. there is a mark on the top of the crank chain sproket also that is in align to a dot on the oil pump. the cam sprocket dowels should face upwards with the small hole on the lower part in each cam sprocket facing down. I do not recommend anyone trying to tackle this job at home....It is a pain. I am in the middle of doing one of these at work. It's a nightmare even for a mechanic. I got the new waterpump on and now, my chain tenioner will not re engage. there is plenty of room for error in this job. costly error.I recommend you to take it to a dealer. pay the huge bill. It's well worth it. hope this was some help to you.
  • bamburgeybamburgey Member Posts: 1
    I went to a mechanic to have a water pump changed on my 1999 grand am and the next day the oil light would flicker. Just a few minutes later the car lost horsepower and started knocking really bad. So stopped car and checked oil, it was empty. My question is is there anyway that by changing the water pump it would somehow cause the engine to lose all of its oil. I know there was oil in it before i took to get it fixed cause i just filled it up. So if anyone could help me i would appreciate it.
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    Is it a 4 cylinder or V6? Was the oil light flickering all the time or only at idle?
    Did this light flickering start right away after you picked it up or later?
  • banshee05banshee05 Member Posts: 1
    i just did the water pump on my 99 grand am 4 cyl. worst water pump job ive ever encountered. my motor was full of oil during the whole job never left your tech. must have drained it and forgot to refill unless there is a big leak?? I learned a valuable lesson during the grand am water pump job, while i had everything open i changed the thermostat, o2 sensor while the manifold was out, backflush the system all the good stuff but i made the mistake of putting it all back together with the original timing chain and tensioner well after putting the timing cover back on (25 bolts) motor mount back on coolant tank back in place and cruise control back in and the balancer and s belt on i started the car and it was great took it for a spin and when i got 2 miles away and got to normal operating temperature i heard a terrible wrapping sound and i immediately knew it was the chain i just knew it so as it would turn out i had jack up the motor all over again,pull the balancer, timing cover, coolant tank, cruise control, i mean i was beyond furious so i rip it all apart again this time in 1 hour flat! lol so i came to the conclusion that the tensioner was failing only after warm up when the oil thinned out and the oil pressure dropped being the tensioner runs off of oil pressure it didnt malfunction until warm up and also only at idle if you tapped the gas which lightly increased pressure the noise went away so after new chain, tensioner assembly, and the three guides ( i wasnt taking anymore foolish chances) the Ga was better than new. The Ga had alot of recalls too many issues gotta do the work myself.
  • kristi448kristi448 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2002 Grand Am and my boyfriend and his father replaced my water pump this past weekend, it was actually changed twice. After the first water pump was put in, my car made a screaming noise and the only thing they could figure out what was causing the loud noise was that the pump had to have a defect so they took it back and got another on from O'Reilly's Auto parts. Once they had the second pump in, the car still made a loud (not as loud as the first pump) annoying humming sound. The pump works as it is supposed to but they can't figure out what is causing the noise still. They called around and talked to a few shops and auto part stores and they keep getting told that the serpentine belt is not positioned correctly, but my car does not run of the serpentine belt, it is ran off the timing. The only suggestions they were given was to buy a water pump conditioner, which we did and there is no change in the noise. Any suggestions?
  • fix4u2nvfix4u2nv Member Posts: 1
    have them put a funnel to there ear and listen next to the ac,and water pump to see were it's louder the ac cluch makes a loud squeel like that and is common! the funnel should nerrow it down 4 them!hope it help's
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