My mom called me from the UW parking lot... she turned it off as soon as she saw the temp gage go red! hopefully that was soon enough... so when I got there, she started the car up, and it sounded mostly normal... (it also stopped making the evil noise it was making before, which I had assumed was the water pump bearing...)

 

so my guess is that the waterpump was making noise before, due to a bent fin? or something? and now it broke, and is no longer turning the impeller? or maybe it seized, and is no longer spinning (hense the no noise again)??? cause either way, the car overheated, even though the fans work, the radiator is not cloged (worked perfectly 5 mins before the pump died) and there is still coolant in the rad. too.. (still full besides what steamed over )

 

but now, i guess its 2.2 disection time! it needs to be fixed tonight! (mom needs car to go to work)

 

any speedy tips or tricks to changing the Tbelt and H20 pump?

should I go to a slightly lower temp thermostat or leave it the same?

 

thanks for any info!

 

Austin

 

<--- I knew I should have changed the pump sooner! Do'h!

Don't know if you'll get it done for tomorrow, but I can give you a few tips:

 

1) Take the radiator out. You hafta drain the system anyway to remove the pump, it takes 5 minutes to remove the radiator, and the extra room will be timesaving.

 

2) After removing all the pump bolts, you will hafta bonk it with something to get it loose. No other way IMO...

 

3) Put RTV sealant on the gasket and glue it to the block, not the pump. It will be rather difficult to try installing the pump and hold the gasket on at the same time.

 

4) Don't forget to compress the T-belt tensioner, SLOWLY! Find a big vise somewhere and compress it in a timeframe of about a minute and a half. Compress it too fast and you'll ruin it...

 

Use an OEM thermostat. Without question. Subarus don't like aftermarket T-stats...

 

Good luck!