96 impreza 2.2 water pump replacement help

[Bigsky]

So the gasket around the water pump seems to of gone out.  At first it was a slight leak. Then last night it gave up the ghost and is now leaking  even when the car is cooled, i poured some coolant in and it started dripping out.   The pump is working fine but the gasket seems to be gone in it.  So time to replace both.    My usdm impreza booklet as well as the chilton seem to be giving me different info.  Its a cheap car so i cant afford paying a shop to do it for me. 

Prior to this i tried adding Gasp... K seal to it,  the next day it started over heating quicker then without the k seal.  So i flushed the system and it was good another few days.  Until like i said last night when it pissed all over my driveway. 

What is the easiest way to get to this damn pump?  Most places say i gotta remove the fans , radiator, timing belt,  then some say  the tensioner, cam shaft angle sensor left side camshaft pully and left side rear timing belt.....     holy hell is there not an easier way? 

Is there a better way to use the stop leak without it gunking up the system?    At my wits end with this car.  And at most i only drive it 4 miles  or 10 at the most if its grocery day.    Can i just dump water in it before driving to hold me over a bit longer? 

Any and all help is appreciated. As most of my friends dont know anything about subarus.   Thank you

[moosens]

We are all going to suggest you do the timing , and re-seal the whole front of the engine while doing your water pump.

 

Yes , I remove the fans at least. Can and often do remove the radiator since they are thin and easily damaged. Allows you to inspect it better. The thermostat is down there too so get a fresh one of those with its gasket , and might consider the small hose off the water pump which is pre-formed and best gotten at the dealer or dealer online. Used to be called the bypass hose. 

 

More to follow. Lots of good folks here.

[moosens]

And there is no way around removing the belt and thereby needing to reset the tensioner afterward. You’re in it good but don’t sweat it. Lots of us are NOT mechanics but do most of our own wrenching. Others did it , you can too. 

[lmdew]

Yep lots of info out there.  Easy to do, just take your time.  Check out you tube has many videos that show timing belt replacement.

Since you have to drain the coolant anyway, may as well pull the radiator and fans.  More room to work.

[Bigsky]

Thank you for the tips.  In order to do the timing belt do i need a timing light or whatever?  And some said i need a special tool to hold the cam shaft in place and such as well

Edited March 22, 2020 by Bigsky

[Bigsky]

Thank you both. I have replaced the thermostat already but the hoses and the actual pump have not been as of yet.  This pic is what has me spooked, it seems to say alot without really saying anything at all

1 hour ago, lmdew said:

Yep lots of info out there.  Easy to do, just take your time.  Check out you tube has many videos that show timing belt replacement.

Since you have to drain the coolant anyway, may as well pull the radiator and fans.  More room to work.

 

1 hour ago, moosens said:

And there is no way around removing the belt and thereby needing to reset the tensioner afterward. You’re in it good but don’t sweat it. Lots of us are NOT mechanics but do most of our own wrenching. Others did it , you can too. 

 

[idosubaru]

No special tools are needed, but a noob that’s never held a wrench before would certainty get frustrated. 

remove radiator fans, but not the radiator.   Radiator gives you more room and you’re already puking coolant. and less chance of damage if you’re a first timer or tend to go crazy.  But it’s easy to do without pulling the radiator so I never do it.

Loosening the crank bolt is one of the trickier parts.  the engine turns over so you gotta stop it form turning. If it’s an automatic, Place a large screwdriver in the bellhops if access cover through one of the 4 rectangular holes in the flex plate. Hold that with one hand while loosening the 22mm crank bolt. 

if it’s a manual - put it in gear, have someone smash the brake pedal and smack a long breaker bar fast with a hammer = ghetto impact wrench. 

or place breaker against frame rail and crank engine for one second to use the starter to loosen the bolt. Be careful but it worms.  

or if you can weld or can hack things - make your own pulley holder.  Just need a king stout metal object with rods that insert into the empty holes in the crank pulley and leaves space for a socket wrench. 
 

turn the cams with a 10mm 6 point socket.

paper water pump gaskets routinely leak - would be no surprise to see a paper aftermarket gasket in there.  Get a Subaru OEM gasket and install it clean and dry.  I have some extras I could mail you one for whatever Subaru charges. 
 

if you’re trying to save a dime you could just try to replace the gasket and not the pump.  But I’d be hesitant and worried that maybe it is the pump and you can’t tell if it’s coming from the weep hole or not.  I’d replace the pump with Subaru OEM but I understand circumstances dictate otherwise sometimes. If it’s an OEM pump just leave it and replace the gasket. They fail but not often enough I’d be worried about it in a situation you’re describing. 
 

Just for scope - ive changed those belts in 45 minutes before. They’re easy. You’ll take longer first time just like I take forever when I work on something non-Subaru.  But it’s not bad. Pump is another hour to remove and mainly clean surfaces. Have good scrub pads ready for aggressive cleaning. 

[idosubaru]

You don’t need to remove cam shaft pulleys or sensor or any timing pulleys. The sensor is 1 10mm bolt and pulleys are one 14mm bolt each so they’re not hard anyway.

line up your timing belt marks before you remove the belt just in case it’s an inference engine. It shouldn’t be being a 96 but that engine is a plug and play swap for 97 and 98 engines which are interference and it’s not altogether impossible to have an interference 1996.  
 

remove rad fans - 4 10mm bolts, 2 top and 2 bottom   And electrical connector. Passengers side pulls out first  then drivers  

remove hoses 

remove drive belts for air and power steering  all 12mm bolts. Remove the AC belt tensioner bracket - 2 12mm bolts.

remove 22mm crank bolt  

remove 10mm timing cover bolts.

line up timing marks on can and crank sprockets. 

remove lower pass side timing pulley 14mm.  Remove drivers side tensioner pulley (14mm) and tensioner bolts (12mm)

remove water pump bypass hose  

pull belt. Remove 10mm water pump bolts   And pull water pump off  

scrape and clean off old gasket, get a clean finish on the mating surface of block  

install gasket dry on pump.

skowly compress timing tensioner with a clamp or vice  and place Allen wrench through holes to hold it retracted. The wrench needs to be flush on the engine side and stick out towards you standing in front of the engine so you can pull it once the belt is installed. 

install in reverse order.

ensure timing marks are exact and keep all slack out of the belt except for the last pulley you’re wrapping it around. Don’t install the lower passengers side pulley until the belt is installed. I usually aim for installing it’s last around the install lowered toothed pulley then install the Lower pass side timing pulley.

that lower toothed pulley is by far the most  failure prone part of the timing components that will strand you. I’d buy a new one for $30 from Subaru. Well worth it.  
 

 

 

 

 

[idosubaru]

28 minutes ago, Bigsky said:

Thank you both. I have replaced the thermostat already but the hoses and the actual pump have not been as of yet.  This pic is what has me spooked, it seems to say alot without really saying anything at al

that pic is the overhaul section so it’s going to include more steps than you need. You want just the timing belt section if it exists. After that the water pump is only like 6 more 10mm bolts, bypass hole and clean the block surface. Done. 

I’m sure I missed something but what I just wrote is fairly comprehensive and detailed. You’re also using a fanatic forum for getting help. Very talented and experienced folks on here. I’ve never seen this high of a density of shop owners/workers who generously help others. Very cool folks on here. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by idosubaru

[Bigsky]

17 minutes ago, idosubaru said:

No special tools are needed, but a noob that’s never held a wrench before would certainty get frustrated. 

remove radiator fans, but not the radiator.   Radiator gives you more room and you’re already puking coolant. and less chance of damage if you’re a first timer or tend to go crazy.  But it’s easy to do without pulling the radiator so I never do it.

Loosening the crank bolt is one of the trickier parts.  the engine turns over so you gotta stop it form turning. If it’s an automatic, Place a large screwdriver in the bellhops if access cover through one of the 4 rectangular holes in the flex plate. Hold that with one hand while loosening the 22mm crank bolt. 

if it’s a manual - put it in gear, have someone smash the brake pedal and smack a long breaker bar fast with a hammer = ghetto impact wrench. 

or place breaker against frame rail and crank engine for one second to use the starter to loosen the bolt. Be careful but it worms.  

or if you can weld or can hack things - make your own pulley holder.  Just need a king stout metal object with rods that insert into the empty holes in the crank pulley and leaves space for a socket wrench. 
 

turn the cams with a 10mm 6 point socket.

paper water pump gaskets routinely leak - would be no surprise to see a paper aftermarket gasket in there.  Get a Subaru OEM gasket and install it clean and dry.  I have some extras I could mail you one for whatever Subaru charges. 
 

if you’re trying to save a dime you could just try to replace the gasket and not the pump.  But I’d be hesitant and worried that maybe it is the pump and you can’t tell if it’s coming from the weep hole or not.  I’d replace the pump with Subaru OEM but I understand circumstances dictate otherwise sometimes. If it’s an OEM pump just leave it and replace the gasket. They fail but not often enough I’d be worried about it in a situation you’re describing. 
 

Just for scope - ive changed those belts in 45 minutes before. They’re easy. You’ll take longer first time just like I take forever when I work on something non-Subaru.  But it’s not bad. Pump is another hour to remove and mainly clean surfaces. Have good scrub pads ready for aggressive cleaning. 

Holy cow thank you very much. Ill order the parts i need then

[Rampage]

No timing light, you use the marks on the new timing belt. If you get them set right the first time, the engine will start up like new.

Take a look at this. Save it and print the pages you need.

http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Impreza/1996/1996 Service Manual/ENGINE SECTION/Engine/Service Procedures/Timing Belt.pdf

First, I remove the fans and radiator. I tend to bump the radiator with tools and my knuckles. Unplug the connector to the coil. Then to break loose the crankshaft pully bolt, use a breaker bar with a short extension and socket. I have a long breaker bar, but you can put a piece of pipe on yours. Put the socket on the bolt with the handle and pipe under the passenger side of the frame. Pull the pipe up against the frame and have someone use the ignition key and bump the starter. Done. A friend and I made a tool to hold the pulley so I could torque it on assembly.

Remove the front timing cover on the drivers side and turn the engine over clockwise until you see the timing mark on the cam sprocket line up with the groove behind it as shown in the pictures of the pdf file. That cam is holding valves open, so if you bump it, it will rotate off the mark. Just use a wrench to put it back on the mark. The other cam will turn free, so you have to watch both on assembly.

I also use Hi Tack to hold the water pump gasket in place on assembly. Put a thin coat on the pump and apply the gasket making sure the bolt holes are lined up. Do this before you start removing things so it has time to set. It does not get hard.

[Bigsky]

Do i need one of the kits that have all the extra stuff included or could i just get a water pump / gasket and a new timing belt?  Im trying to find one that is rated well and has the parts i need.    My old camaro i could of did this no problem or my old chevy truck lol, but these subarus have me not knowing whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt.   (Or whatever my wife says when shits confusing lol)

[idosubaru]

Can of worms youre opening.

bare minimum is:

belt, toothed pulley and pump gasket. 
Add pump if needed/wanted.

 

water pumps have a short no visible shaft so they’re not axially loaded like long shaft pumps which are prone to fail more often (at least OEM pumps don’t)

ideally they’re subaru parts but it’s a noninterference engine and the cheaper aftermarkets May look too appealing to pass up.

The other stuff has low failure rates and isn’t necessary.

That probably has the old style tensioner such rarely fails, I never replace those and almost always replace the new style. 

[forester2002s]

All good advice.

Two suggestions:

1. After you've exposed the old timing belt, and before taking it off: make marks on the belt and on the pulleys (use a yellow wax crayon or something similar). Then take PHOTOS! They'll help you to get the new belt on correctly.

2. It only takes a few bolts to remove the radiator. Well worth doing to get it out of the way. Only takes a few minutes.

[heartless]

also a good time to thoroughly inspect the radiator hoses.

When I got my 02 Forester, the lower hose was about to blow it was so thin.. in a half dark shop with a work light under the car & I could see light thru the hose.

Quote

That probably has the old style tensioner such rarely fails, I never replace those and almost always replace the new style. 

I have replaced the old style - the one on my old 90 Legacy was shot and allowed the timing belt to jump under heavy throttle - most likely cause was someone previously compressed it too fast. (the car had around 175K when I got it)

@Bigsky - when compressing the tensioner, it needs to be done S-L-O-W-L-Y and in the horizontal position. Place it in a vise if you have one, and snug the vise until it just holds the thing in place.. then 1/4 (at most) turn more to start compression. walk away & do other things, periodically go back and give the vise another slight turn tighter (1/8 - 1/4 turn at most - if you feel resistance, stop), then leave it again for several minutes. You do not want to rush this

[Rampage]

@heartless - Please take a look at the FSM pdf file I posted earlier page 23. It shows the new style tensioner. It is compressed Vertically at no more than 66 pounds. Must be because it is a 96 Impreza. The 95 and 97 Legacy 2.2 that we have use the old style tensioners.

Of course, there is a chance someone may have installed the old style tensioner. In that case you are very correct in how to compress it.

[heartless]

5 hours ago, Rampage said:

@heartless - Please take a look at the FSM pdf file I posted earlier page 23. It shows the new style tensioner. It is compressed Vertically at no more than 66 pounds. Must be because it is a 96 Impreza. The 95 and 97 Legacy 2.2 that we have use the old style tensioners.

Of course, there is a chance someone may have installed the old style tensioner. In that case you are very correct in how to compress it.

ok, so orientation depends on the style of tensioner.. I am most used to the old style, so.. yeah.. point taken.