How to Replace a 1993 Acura Vigor Water Pump

The water pump on your 1993 Acura Vigor is responsible for keeping the coolant circulating in the engine's cooling system. Keeping the coolant circulating is very important as coolant that doesn't circulate can't reach the radiator and shed the heat it gained from the engine. A faulty water pump can cause your engine to overheat, causing serious and expensive engine damage. Replacing the water pump on your 1993 Acura Vigor is something you can do in about two or three hours.

Instructions

1

Locate the cooling system/radiator drain valve and place the drain pan so as to catch coolant flowing out of the valve. Open the valve by turning it counterclockwise. Depending on the type of valve, you may need a wrench, pair of pliers or just your fingers. Remove the radiator cap by pushing down and turning it counterclockwise.

2

Loosen the two bolts holding the alternator, power steering pump and air conditioning compressor and remove the belts. Mark the belts as to which accessory they came off of.

3

Label any wiring connectors that cross in front of the engine and disconnect them, moving the two ends out of the way of the work area. Remove the valve cover (cylinder head cover) by turning the retaining bolts counterclockwise with a ratchet and socket. Remove the valve cover by pulling it straight up. Apply a gentle prying action with a screwdriver to help break the gasket seal, if necessary.

4

Rotate the crankshaft so the mark (usually white) on the pulley lines up with the mark on the timing belt lower cover. Use a ratchet and large socket to rotate the crankshaft.

5

Remove the upper and lower timing belt covers by rotating the bolts that hold them in place counterclockwise with a socket and ratchet. With the covers removed, verify the timing marks and the word UP on the camshaft sprocket are properly aligned. Use a piece of chalk to mark the outer edge of the timing belt to ensure proper re-installation.

6

Rotate the bolt in the center of the crankshaft pulley counterclockwise with the ratchet and socket used in step 4 to remove the bolt. Remove the pulley by pulling it straight out from the crankshaft. Install the bolt in the crankshaft and turn it clockwise to tighten and realign the crankshaft and camshaft timing marks.

7

Loosen the bolt in the center of the timing belt tensioner and remove the belt.

8

Rotate the five bolts that secure the water pump to the engine counterclockwise to remove them. Grasp the water pump drive sprocket and pull the water pump straight out to remove it. Check the water pump mounting location for debris and contaminants and clean accordingly. Be sure the O-ring seal has also been removed.

9

Install the new O-ring seal on the new water pump and slide the pump into place. Install the bolts by turning them clockwise by hand to finger tight. Torque the bolts: 6 mm bolts to 9 foot-pounds, and 8 mm bolts to 16 foot-pounds.

10

Reinstall the timing belt, making sure the mark you made identifying the outer edge is facing out. Pay attention to routing. Routing the belt around the crankshaft, tensioner, water pump then camshaft will make installation easier.

11

Rotate the tensioner bolt one full turn counterclockwise to ensure the tensioner can properly tension the belt. Allow the tensioner to take up tension and then tighten it to approximately 20 foot-pounds.

12

Rotate the engine through six complete revolutions to properly seat the belt and ensure the timing marks properly line up.

13

Rotate the crankshaft bolt counterclockwise with the ratchet and socket to remove it. Install the lower timing cover and tighten the bolts finger tight by turning them clockwise. Slide the pulley over the end of the crankshaft. Remove the dipstick and wipe a light coating of the oil on the crankshaft bolt. Thread the bolt into the end of the crankshaft. Torque this bolt to 181 foot-pounds. Rotating the crankshaft until one of the holes in the camshaft is above the cylinder head, allowing a socket extension to be wedged against the camshaft gear and cylinder head will assist you in achieving the proper torque.

14

Install the upper timing cover and tighten both bolts to approximately 20 foot-pounds by turning them clockwise with the ratchet and socket.

15

Remove the old valve cover gasket/O-ring and install the new O-ring. Install the valve cover in place. Install the bolts by turning them clockwise by hand and torque them to approximately 20 foot-pounds. Reconnect any electrical connectors you disconnected previously.

16

Reinstall the accessory drive belts on the pulleys. Use a pry bar to tension the belts and tighten the two bolts per accessory to approximately 30 foot-pounds.

17

Close the cooling system drain valve by turning it clockwise until it is tight. Refill the cooling system with fresh coolant until the coolant reaches to just below the radiator filler neck. Start the engine and allow it to come to operating temperature while checking for leaks. Top off the coolant as needed to bring the level to just below the filler neck. Replace the radiator cap by installing it and turning clockwise while pushing down.