On a 2000 2.4 how do u tell the water pump is going? If it leaks will it go into the oil??

don't knwo about that specific pump ubt in general there is a weap hole, if its bad there will be coolant leaking out of it, another way to tell is remove the belt going to it (some engines its driven off the timing belt, on those its not worth it to check it this way) and feel for play in the shaft. Easiest way to find a coolant leak is have the system pressure tested and no a leaking water pump will not put coolant into the oil, if there is coolant in the oil your 99% likely needed a head gasket, the other rare %1 percent is things alot worse so don't feel to bad

I thought that on the 2000 2.4 it had an internal water pump??? and if it leaked wouldn't that go into the oil because the it would be on the inside of the timing chain housing? i dunno myself just askin... i know a bit about cars just haven't played around with this engine that much yet... do these water pumps go very often because everyone seems to replace it if there doing cams etc..?

liek I said I'm not farmiliar with the setup on that engine, water pumps don't usually go bad but when they do its alot fo work, thats why people typiclaly do water pump and timing belt whenever its all goona be apart for something, just kinda replace it while its apart rather then wait for it to go bad and rip it all apart again, especially since they are relatively cheap

On the 2.4 the water pump is driven by the timing chain. I have never seen one where the coolant leaked into the oil. The general failure of these pumps is that you get a leak that comes out of nowhere, near the weap hole. It is not the weap hole that leaks, it is the water pump housing. You will leak little coolant when engine is cold, but it will leak heavy once warm. Easiest way to tell is to put the car up on jackstands and turn it out, let it get warmed up and lay under and watch near the weap hole. Coolant will just appear and drip. To replace you have to go through alot.

Quote:

water pumps don't usually go bad

sorry but on the quad 4's that is very un-true many of us 2.4 guys have had this nightmare happen, one tip is change the timing chain and tensioner while you're doing this it will save you a headache I`m going through now. The 2.4L's are notrious for timing chain and waterpump problems. You will know if the pump is bad, symptoms include over heating, coolant leaking out rapidly, it is fairly easy to assess the problem if the leak is by the serpentine belt its either the thermostat or the notoriously bad waterpump GM screwed us with.


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How tough of a job would it be to replace a water pump yourself?

That depends on how much you know and can do. (2.4 only)

A dealer will want $600 to do it. The part is about $70 - $120 based on brand.

To do it yourself you have to do the following (off the top of my head with tips, but follow a real service manual), and you need a decent set of tools for this.
1. Drain the coolant/disconnect battery/take hood off/take the belt off, etc - easy.
2. You have to move/take off the coolant recovery tank -easy.
The reason this is such a pain is the following: You have to take the right motor mount off, and get into the Front engine cover.
Here comes the big choice: Can you support the right side of the engine with the vehicle in the air (and you under it), or do you have to work from the top with a strut tower engine brace. Also you have to take the right wheel off, so if you have a hoist you still have to jack the right front off the hoist to get the wheel off.
If you can support the engine in the air (with a cherrypicker/chainfall) then can skip step 3.
3. Remove the exhaust manifold cover and the exhaust manifold, dont bend the pipe with the big spring on it more then like 5 degrees. - Slow, but not to bad to do.
4. You have to support the engine (with car on jackstands so you can get under it) and take the right motor mount out. More on this bottom of post. - Pain in the a$$, need 2 guys at least.
5. Take the right wheel off, and the splash shield (wheel well) - pretty easy.
6. Pull the harmonic balancer. - need a puller and pry bar to hold the engine.
7. Take the front cover of the engine off. - Slow, but pretty easy.
8. Stop and turn the engine clockwise by hand til it is in the timed position, no one says to do this but the chain always jumps a gear when you put the pump in, if you don't you have to time the engine the long way. - Complex - not hard, but you need to know how to do it or be able to follow instructions.
9. Take the timing chain tensioner out, there is a thread about this in the last few days, this is a fun little piece to play with.
10. I like to take the chain off (don't put it back on backwards - it will strech badly, mark it), but you can remove the shoes and leave the chain on (BTW, now is a good time if it needs replacing.) Don't kid yourself in thinking that dumb thing won't jump a gear on the exhaust cam when you put the new pump in. - Complex, not hard.
11. Remove the pump and put the new one in, there is a tightening order - follow it. You have to put the pump together and sneak it in if your under the car, but tighten it in the right order. - Tough.
12. Time the engine, which will be easy, since you set the car to TDC in step 8. - Complex, but not hard.
13. Put it all back together. (Note, if you took the exhaust off, you need new gaskets, and you really should have new motor mount bolts or some good locktite (red))

Taking the motor mount off is the real pain with doing this, you have about an inch from the motor to the inner fender and the bolts are 1-1/2 long, so you need to take a piece of oak (or something weaker then the engine but strong enough to move it) and move the engine to the side to get the bolts and mount out, you will curse the car out while doing this, also breaking the bolts is only possible with a blow torch to heat them (and a six point 18mm wrench, cause once the bolts get out far enough you can only use the open end. A good trick is to tighten them a little to break them first and then take them off. Don't break the bolts or you will want to die.

Figure it will take you about 12 hours the first time, have a good friend to help.

would it be the same type of proceedure for a 1997 2.4? I'm having the same problem with mine right now