My friend's son has a Crossfire Limited, and was driving to the gym yesterday when the engine started shuddering and he noticed steam coming from the front. Also, the coolant light came on.

They're thinking it's a water pump failure. Coolant is low and there was coolant all over the front of the motor. Hoses appeared to be intact.

I haven't personally looked at the car, but they're fairly certain it's the water pump. I told him I wasn't aware of this being a common problem with our cars.

Is this an extremely difficult fix? The local Indie-shop quoted him $1,300 to replace. I figured with it being on the front of the motor, it would be easily accessible.

Any input appreciated, thanks!

 

I did it three times, the bolts are different bolt lengths, color them and use a cardboard templet to plug the bolts into. I used the new pump housing to mark the holes in the cardboard, then stuffed bolts in as I pulled them.

There is one on bottom that is hidden, beware. SRT is different from NA beware. About 3 hours first time. Rob can get you one.

I did a posting on it once, should be searchable.

Enjoy, Woody

 

repair manual says :
1. remove engine cover.
2. remove fan and shroud.
3. remove serpentine belt.
4. Remove the belt tensioner.
( note: drain cooling system into a container for re-use if you are not going to change coolant )
5. Disconnect the lower radiator hose.
6. Disconnect the coolant by-pass hose.
7. Remove the alternator.
8. Remove the water pump pulley.
9. Remove the accessory drive belt idler pulley.
10. Remove the water pump retaining bolts and the
water pump. ( pay attention to the bolts like Woody said above )

reverse procedure for re-installation.

 

As Woody said make sure you get the right 1 ....lots of auto parts list the N/A pump as the same for the SRT.

 

Thanks guys!

I pulled up the PDF of the repair manual and found it before seeing alaxfire's post...

Woody, I was also able to find a post from you back in 2010, giving detailed instructions.

I forwarded that information to Mike and he's having another mechanic do the repair. $1,300 is a bit steep considering the job takes 3 hours and the part costs ~$100 (Gates replacement).

I appreciate it,

 

Gates 44082 is the right one for the Limited, correct?

 

yes it is........

 

Perfect, thanks guys!

 

Can you shoot me the posting I did to see if it is good enough for a sticky posting, thanks. Woody

 

Here you go sir

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/478131-post5.html

 

Strange, manual says remove alternator, I see you did not.
Since I haven't done this, and you have, I'll take your word for it.
( The alternator removal is a pain in the a** anyway )

 

Id suggest the posting be a sticky, the photo, cardboard and templet would save issues. On the SRT I never touched the alternator as memory serves me. Woody

 

john if he wants have him bring it to the house and we can do it for free

 

I appreciate the offer

Mike is letting his local mechanic take a swing -- he does it on the weekends for extra income. Apparently the guy needs the cash.

I told him if that mechanic doesn't fix it properly, he can hand it over to the pros

 

I have been scouring the forums for an answer to my question but I can not seem to find it! Has anyone else sheered off those aluminum Torx bolts on the water pump? I have snapped two off at the heads forcing me to remove the pump (twice) and back out the studs. They are incredibly weak. The dealership does not have the proper bolt layout for the pump and can not order most of the bolts, and my local mercedes dealer would not give me the time of day to research the issue and help me find them. I did some research for bolt m6x43 which was noted to come from a Dodge Sprinter van and not a Crossfire. I had the dealer order the bolt anyway, and it matched the broken one I had perfectly. I have decided to order every bolt that mounts the pump to the engine because after three months of searching for these bolts it has become a nuisance and I would rather have fresh never-been-torqued-on bolts to get the job done.

Does anyone know where I can find these? Ill pay an arm and a leg if it means I can get my car running before snow falls. I also have a local German specialty shop researching for me as well.

Any advice would be great!

 

You can get stainless steel socket head cap screws ( bolts ) from Grainger.
They have the M6X45 package of 10 for $12.72 before shipping.
I'm sure you can also find all the other bolt sizes there also.

BTW: call Rob at Needswings, he often has low cost access to these items.

 

The only advice I can offer is to carefully follow the exact torque specifications for all bolts. Only the larger M8 bolts are 35 N-m (25 ft lbs), the M6 bolts are only 10 N-m (7 ft lbs).

 

Wow I've had my water pump off 6 times and never broken a bolt........be a little easier on the tightening. It mates well without a lot of clamping to get a seal.

 

ala_xfire good to know. grip grip I did see the torque specs in the manual, but did not see any lower specs for the smaller bolts. Just a general 26 lbs. rmaier...noted.

 

You can call me dumb but if there was aluminum alloy screws in the engine when new then I would replace with aluminum alloy screws now.

Aluminum and stainless steel are too far apart on the galvanic corrosion scale and should not be used together. Stainless steel treated with a plated coating would be acceptable.

Stainless steel is -.10, aluminum is -.90, magnesium and magnesium alloys are -1.75, the worst on the scale is beryllium at -1.85. I have mentioned this before when replacement screws for the valve covers have been discussed, you will note that magnesium alloy is even worse with stainless steel.

Galvanic corrosion needs an electrolyte and I'm thinking the front of an engine sees a lot of moisture, salty road water and possibly radiator coolant.

When pieces off corroded aluminum fall of it is too late.

I doubt Mercedes specified aluminum alloy screws for their lower price.