How to Replace the Water Pump in a Dodge Durango

The water pump is like the heart of the cooling system in your Dodge Durango. If the water pump is faulty, it could cause a lot of problems in your vehicle's engine. Make sure to change a leaky water pump to keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly.

Instructions

Place a drain pan underneath the radiator. When the engine is cool, drain the cooling system from the radiator into the pan and disconnect the negative battery cable.

Take the accessory drive belt out of the engine and disconnect the heater hose from the water pump.

Remove the lower radiator hose from the engine (unless you are working with a diesel engine).

Disconnect the heater hose from the pump, remove the upper radiator hose and take out the fan and shroud assembly.

Loosen and remove all 4 bolts from the water pump pulley and take out the pulley (except on 4.7L engines) and loosen and remove the bolt to the heater hose pipe.

Loosen the clamp to the bypass hose attached to the water pump (except on 4.7L engines) and remove the 7 bolts connected to the water pump. Remove the one nut in the 4.7L engines. Take note of the bolts locations, as they are of varying lengths.

Clean all mating surfaces and install the new water pump with a new gasket and o-ring, lubricating it with petroleum jelly. Tighten the bolts to 40 foot pounds (54 Nm) on the 4.7L engine, and 30 foot pounds (40 Nm) on the other engines.

Install all components in the reverse order in which they were removed. Use sealant on the heater hose pipe when installing and tighten the nut to 12 foot pounds (16 Nm), making sure that the pipe bracket slot is against the mounting bolt. Tighten the pulley bolts to 16 foot pounds (22 Nm) on the V-10 and 20 foot pounds (27 Nm) on V-6 and V-8.

Reconnect the negative batter cable, and refill the engine's cooling system with coolant. Start the car and check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.

Place a drain pan underneath the radiator. When the engine is cool, drain the cooling system from the radiator into the pan and disconnect the negative battery cable.

Take the accessory drive belt out of the engine and disconnect the heater hose from the water pump.

Remove the lower radiator hose from the engine (unless you are working with a diesel engine.)

Disconnect the heater hose from the pump.

Take out the power steering pump.

Loosen and remove the four bolts to the water pump, taking note of their locations as one is longer than the other bolts.

Install the water pump, making sure to install a new gasket, tightening the bolts to 22 foot pounds (30 Nm). Apply a bead of silicone to the gasket making sure the silicone is facing toward the water pump when installing.

Reinstall and reconnect all components in the reverse order in which they were removed.

Reconnect the negative batter cable, and refill the engine's cooling system with coolant. Start the car and check for leaks when the engine reaches normal operating temperature.