How do you correctly replace the water pump and timing belt on a 1998 Dodge Durango?

Answer 1

==New answer headline==This question is not too involved to answer here. It just takes some explaining as with any repair by the home mechanic. 1. Remove the serpentine belt by rotating the main tensioner clockwise. You may want to leave it on to apply pressure when loosening the nut for the fan, however this does not always work. 2. 4 bolts retain the fan shroud. Simply loosen but do not remove all of the bolts until the fan nut is loose. 3. There are supposed to be four bolts on the water pump pulley to apply counter pressure with a 13mm wrench when loosening the fan nut (this nut has reverse threads so it's not righty tighty, lefty loosey.) At this point you might want to remove the idler pulley right above the water pump to make the following steps easier. 4. The manual says you need a special tool to loosen the fan nut. I couldn't buy it at the auto parts store because the water pump pulley both on the old one and new one did not have the 4 bolts but unthreaded holes instead. Dodge would not tell me what they do in this situation or sell any special tools to customers. Rude. So I used a strap wrench and wrapped it around the pulley and held tight while I unloosened the fan nut. Worked great. 5. Once the fan nut is loose, remove the bolts for the shroud and lift the fan and shroud out together. 6. There are three hoses (on the V8) that need to be removed from the water pump. You will need needle nose and other pliers to do this. 7. Mark the bolt at 12 o'clock on the pump for reference and start loosening them a little at a time clockwise laying them down in order as they are different lengths. 8. Remove the water pump and get ready to start scraping gasket. The upper part is difficult to see but be persistant. Who wants to see a leak after all this work. 9. The water pump has a coolant return hose that will need to be transfered to the new pump and a new o-ring replaced that is included. 10. Apply RTV high temp. silicone to the new water pump and the side of the gasket that faces the engine. Spread it thin. I had to break the habit of thinking more silicone=less chance of leaks. 11. Install the new pump and gasket and torque the bolts in 1/4 turn increments. Let the silicone cure as instructed on the package. 12. Start working your way back up this list, reversing the procedure, refill the coolant leaving the radiator cap off. Start the engine and turn on the heater. Add coolant mixture as necessary until full. Check for leaks and hope the new pump lasts a darn long time.

The question you ask is too involved for a proper answer. You need to go to a car parts store, and get a repair manual for your car. They cost about $16.00 Or, go to a Public Library.