How do you replace the water pump on a 2001-2004 Chrysler town and country?

Answer 1

Water Pump replacement- Chrysler T&C updated by mlgs300 10 minutes after removal of said Water Pump on a 2003 3.8For 3.3 and 3.8 L engines, the following is straight out of the workshop manual:

1 Loosen lugs (3/4") on right front wheel. Jackup up front of car so wheels are off the ground. Put car on jackstands under frame. remove right front wheel.

2 Remove inner splash shield it has plastic push pins so you'll probably have to break them off with a pair of dikes.

3 Drain cooling system - radiator petcock located lower driver side of radiator. 1/4 turn only, usually does not work. remove clamp from lower radiator hose to pipe and take that hose off make sure you have a big drain pan or remove it slow and stick a screwdriver in between the hose and pipe to drain slowly.

4 Loosen the 3 13mm bolts on the water pump pulley

5 Use a very long prybar like at least 18". From underneath there is a triangular slot cast into the tensioner. Stick the prybar in there and use the frame as a pivot (careful of the brake line it's close) pull down it will only move about an inch. Pull off the belt from the A/C Compressor it makes it easier cuz the pulley moves independently. Get belt out of your way.

6 Check the tensioner. The pulley should not have any play and when you spin it, it shouldn't make any loud noise or scrapy kind of noise.

7 Loosen 5 10mm bolts from water pump

8 Pulley has 3 long openings so you can put pulley through the mounting flanges of the water pump to make room to get water pump out.

9 Pry water pump off gently with screwdriver

10 Rotate water pump and pull downward until it comes out. Don't worry about fins scraping block they are el cheapo plastic! If you don't rotate, it will not look like it would ever come out. If it still doesn't want to come out, you can lower the passenger side of the engine an inch or two, which will give you enough room to pull out the entire assembly.

10a If lowering the engine is necessary. Just remove the air filter assembly and hoses, and any electrical connectors attached. After you remove the air filter assembly, you will be staring right at the engine mounting bracket. The bracket will be attached to the frame and the engine block (it also has a big rubber piece on the frame). Place a jack underneath the oil pan, with a piece of wood in between. Jack up the jack until the wood is in contact with the oil pan. Now, loosen the bolts on the ENGINE side of the mounting bracket. They are fairly long, so you shouldn't have to pull them all the way off. Loosen the bolts about an inch and a half. Now, when you lower your jack, you will be lowering your engine. Lower the engine until you have enough room to pull the water pump out.

Voila! Respect to the original guy who posted and nice torque values below.

To install the new one:

1 install pump, tighten bolts to 105 in-lbs (12 Nm)

2 install pulley, tighten bolts to 22 ft-lbs (30 Nm)

3 install right inner splash guard

4 install accessory drive belt

5 connect negative battery cable

6 fill cooling system

7 start engine and check for leaks

Well, that's what the manual says. Don't shoot the messenger. You can also use the German method of tightening--Gutentight.