The bearings in the pulley went bad and so now its making a bad sound, i took it to a shop and they want like 400 to do it. 280 of it just for labor. so im going to attempt to do it myself and was wondering if anyone has done it and has any bits of information i should know.Going to change my water pump on my 97 dodge ram?If it's the 5.2, its no different than on my 96 Dodge B2500.
Its not that difficult, I did it when I was 19 in a couple hours. Just be sure to bring some Blue RTV sealant and a 5/16 nut driver is handy for hose clamps.
You'll probably need a clutch fan removal tool, or if you're lazy....a channellocks on the fan part, and a wrench with a long pole on the water pump pulley bolt -- turn the wrench so the handle is digging in the ground to hold the pulley in place while you break free the fan (and it's gonna suck.... wear gloves or lose the skin on your knuckles.)
Basic overview...
Drain coolant from radiator petcock, disconnect upper hose from radiator, move out of way.
Remove upper fan shroud
Remove clutch fan
Disconnect hoses at water pump (should be three of them -- one coming from lower radiator hose, one going to the intake manifold, and one that's bolted to the AC/ALT bracket -- may be blocked off, might just be for my auxillary heater)
Unbolt water pump
Scrape gasket material off
installation's opposite of removal. remember to give the RTV time to cure and add coolant.Going to change my water pump on my 97 dodge ram?that's one of the most simplest jobs you can do on a dodge is change the water pump especially on a v-8 truck, but you do need to get a good repair manual on it before you start with it,you,ll also need a tool to remove the fan with,and that can be bought or rented from any parts store,if you take your time with it ,it should take you about 2-3 hours to get it done back right, 280 was to much just on labor for installing a water pump,good luck.Going to change my water pump on my 97 dodge ram?I recommend buying yourself a good service manual for that vehicle , buy the water pump , silicone high temperature gasket maker, thermostat , anti-freeze tester and replace the anti-freeze.Be sure you check the belts too when you do the job and many parts stores will loan out speciality tools but you got to give them the full amount of the cost of the tool as a deposit that you get back once you return the tool.
Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way I'd flush the rad with water by the rad drain plug or the lower rad house and be sure you use a drain pan bec that stuff can kill animals if they drink it.Going to change my water pump on my 97 dodge ram?yes ,Ive done it and your going to need to go to your local parts dealer and Rent there Fan clutch removal tool,,, other than that, it a Peace of cakeGoing to change my water pump on my 97 dodge ram?I would try another shop for an estimate. I have done dozens of them and it only takes a couple of hours.
