How to Change the Water Pump on a 1996 Nissan Maxima

The water pump in your Nissan Maxima is responsible for sending the engine coolant through the engine. You need to replace a bad one to prevent the car engine from overheating. The 1996 Maxima uses a dual-overhead-cam engine. This particular engine type has the water pump concealed by parts of the timing chain cover, which is going to make removing and replacing the pump much harder than with some other models. Consult with your mechanic before beginning.

Instructions

Disconnect the car's negative battery cable.

Drain the engine coolant by opening the drain fitting at the bottom of the radiator with pliers and letting the coolant drain into a large container. Move the container to the drain plugs at the engine block and drain the rest of the coolant from there.

Remove the drive belts by loosening their tensioner lock nuts and adjuster bolts with a wrench and slipping the belts off the pulleys.

Remove the drive belt idler pulley bracket and the right side engine mount with its brackets--support the engine from above with a hoist or engine support fixture, remove the upper mount bracket and through-bolt with the wrench, raise the engine higher and remove the lower bracket and mount.

Remove the timing chain tensioner cover and the water pump cover from the timing chain cover.

Press the timing chain's piston inward. Insert an appropriate size pin into the tensioner hole to lock it in place. Rotate the crankshaft 20 degrees counterclockwise with a breaker bar and socket at the pulley to loosen the water pump sprocket chain.

Remove the pump's two mounting bolts with a wrench. insert two M8 bolts that are three to four inches long into the bolt holes and tighten them evenly until they force the pump out of the engine.

Clean off any corrosion and sealant using a rag with acetone or lacquer thinner. Clean and remove all traces of gasket material from the engine surface.

Install new O-rings onto the replacement pump and apply a light coat of grease to the rings.

Attach the pump to the engine and tighten the bolts by hand first, using a small amount of RTV sealant on the bolt threads. Tighten the bolts in quarter-turn increments to between 61 and 86 foot-pounds.

Rotate the crankshaft 20 degrees clockwise with the breaker bar and socket to tighten the timing chain around the water pump sprocket.

Remove the pin from the timing chain tensioner. Clean off the water pump cover and tensioner cover, apply RTV sealant ot them and install them back on the timing chain cover.

Reinstall the right side engine mount with its bolts and brackets and then lower the engine off the hoist. Reinstall the drive belt idler pulley bracket.

Reinstall the drive belts--check the owner's manual for the routing path--and tighten them with the wrench on the bolts/nuts.

Refill the engine coolant at the radiator filler neck, using a fresh mixture of water and antifreeze if the old coolant is contaminated.

Reconnect the battery cable.