How to Replace the Water Pump in a Plymouth Neon

The water pump is the heart of the Plymouth Neon's cooling system, circulating the coolant. Serious damage can be done to the engine of your Plymouth Neon by not changing out a faulty water pump.

Instructions

Place a drain pan underneath the radiator. When the engine is cool, drain the cooling system from the radiator into the pan.

Disconnect the negative battery cable.

Remove the right inner splash shield along with the accessory drive belts.

Support the engine with a jack underneath the car and remove the power steering pump bolts, along with the pump and bracket assembly.

Remove the lower and upper torque isolator struts and the right engine mount with the bracket.

Take out the timing belt tensioner along with the belt, the inner timing belt cover and the camshaft sprockets.

Loosen and remove the water pump bolts and take out the water pump. Remove the o-ring from the pump and discard.

Clean all the mating surfaces of the pump, using a scraper if needed.

Replace the o-ring with a new one on the water pump. First place a bit of silicone sealant on the grove before installing the o-ring in order to keep it in place.

Install the new water pump and tighten the bolt to 105 inch pounds (12 Nm). Pressurize the cooling system to 15 psi with a pressure tester.

Rotate the water pump by hand to make sure that it can move freely.

Reinstall all components in the order in which they were removed.

Refill the cooling system with coolant and reattach the negative battery cables.

Attach the DRB scan tool to the DLC, which is near the steering column under the instrument panel and turn the ignition switch to the on position.

Go to the miscellaneous screen on the DRB scan tool and select "re-learn cam/crank." Follow the directions on the screen of the scan tool to perform the crankshaft and the camshaft timing relearn procedure.

Start the car and check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.