How to Replace Water Pump 2003-08 Dodge Ram
Created on: 2016-05-16
Check out this video to learn how you can replace the water pump in your 03-08 Dodge Ram 5.7L. 1A Auto will show you how!
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step 1 :Draining the Coolant
- Open the radiator drain
- Drain a bit of fluid out
- Close the valve
- Remove the radiator cap by turning clockwise
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step 2 :Removing the Radiator Fan
- Insert a pipe wrench to the radiator fan nut
- Insert a 3/8 drive ratchet into the tensioner
- Tap the pipe wrench with a hammer to knock the nut loose
- Loosen the radiator fan nut off with an adjustable wrench
- Remove the radiator fan
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step 3 :Removing the Upper Radiator Hose
- Have a drain pan ready
- Loosen the radiator hose clamp near the radiator with a flat blade screwdriver
- Pull the radiator hose off of the radiator
- Loosen the radiator hose clamp near the engine with pliers
- Pull the hose off of the engine
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step 4 :Removing the Washer Fluid and Coolant Bottle
- Remove the feed tube from the washer pump
- Disconnect the washer pump wiring harness
- Disconnect the washer fluid level sensor wiring harness
- Pull the overflow hose off the radiator
- Remove the two 10mm bolts from the washer bottle
- Pull the washer bottle up and out
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step 5 :Removing the Radiator Fan Shroud
- Remove the 13mm bolt under the fill neck on the radiator
- Loosen the upper radiator hose clamp at the radiator
- Twist and free the radiator hose up and off
- Remove the 13mm bolt on the fan shroud
- Lift the fan shroud up and out
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step 6 :Removing the Serpentine Belt
- Familiarize yourself with the route of the serpentine belt under the hood or on the radiator support
- Insert the 3/8 inch drive ratchet into the tensioner
- Turn the tensioner clockwise to loosen the belt
- Pull the belt off the alternator
- Release the tensioner
- Pull the belt off by hand
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step 7 :Removing the Water Pump
- Remove the 15mm bolt from the automatic belt tensioner
- Loosen the hose clamps from the heater core clamps
- Twist the hoses off
- Remove the 13mm bolt from the lower idler pulley
- Remove the ten 13mm bolts and one 15mm bolt from the water pump to the block
- Mapping where the bolts go might help with reinstallation
- Remove the water pump housing from the front of the engine
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step 8 :Removing the Thermostat
- Remove the 13mm bolts from the thermostat housing
- Remove the thermostat
- Check the thermostat's gasket
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step 9 :Installing the Thermostat
- Insert the thermostat into place
- Insert the thermostat housing into place
- Tighten the 13mm bolts to the thermostat housing
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step 10 :Installing the Water Pump
- Seat the gasket into place
- Clean the surface of the engine with a razor blade or gasket scraper
- Clean the surface off and make sure the passages are clear of water
- Reinstall the water pump
- Insert the one 15mm bolt and ten 13mm bolts into place
- Torque the eleven bolts to 18 foot-pounds
- Reinstall the idler pulley
- Insert the heater core lines into place
- Tighten the hose clamps with a pair of pliers
- Insert the serpentine belt tensioner into place
- Tighten the 15mm bolt to the serpentine belt tensioner
- Remove any plastic sheaths remaining on the water pump
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step 11 :Reinstalling the Serpentine Belt
- Loop the belt around the crank shaft pulley
- Bring it around the water pump
- Bring it under the power steering pulley
- Bring it over the A/C Pulley
- Bring it under the upper idler pulley
- Bring it over the lower idler pulley
- Bring it around the belt tensioner
- Pull the tensioner clockwise with the 3/8 inch ratchet
- Pull the belt over the alternator
- Release the tensioner
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step 12 :Reinstalling the Fan Shroud
- Insert the radiator fan shroud into place
- Insert the two 13mm bolts at the top of the fan shroud
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step 13 :Reinstalling the Radiator Fan
- Insert the radiator fan into place
- Start the nut by hand
- Spin the nut into place
- Tighten the pipe wrench to the radiator fan nut
- Hammer the radiator fan nut into place
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step 14 :Refilling the Radiator Coolant
- Insert the coolant reservoir into place
- Tighten the two 10mm bolts to the top of the tank
- Insert the overflow tube into place
- Reconnect the water pump connector
- Reconnect the coolant level sensor
- Reconnect the upper radiator hose
- Tighten the upper radiator hose clamp into place
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step 15 :Installing the Upper Radiator Hose
- Push the radiator hose onto the engine
- Tighten the radiator hose clamp near the engine with pliers
- Push the radiator hose onto the radiator
- Tighten the radiator hose clamp near the radiator with a flat blade screwdriver
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step 16 :Refilling the Coolant
- Tighten the drain valve to the bottom of the radiator
- Place a funnel into the radiator top
- Refill the radiator with Mopar 50/50 coolant
- Turn the heat on in your vehicle and let it run with the cap off
- Wait for the air bubbles to dissipate
- Shut the heat off after the fluid level settles are the bubbles have dissipated
- Tighten the radiator cap
Tools needed
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Razor Blade / Gasket Scraper
Adjustable Wrench
13mm Socket
Socket Extensions
Hammer
15mm Socket
3/8 Inch Drive Ratchet
Brake Parts Cleaner
Flat Blade Screwdriver
10mm Socket
Drain Pan
Ratchet
Needle nose pliers
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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to remove and replace a water pump on a Dodge Ram 1500. This is a 2.7L Hemi. You'll need a drain pan, large adjustable wrench, pliers, 3/8 drive ratchet, hammer, flat blade screwdriver, 10mm to 15mm sockets with ratchet and extension, razor blade or scraper, and some brake cleaner or other solvent.
This can easily be done from the ground, but we raised and supported our vehicle and put a drain bucket underneath our radiator. Open the drain on the bottom of the radiator. Wait for your coolant to run out. Open the hood and locate your radiator cap. Remove the radiator cap by pressing down, turning counterclockwise two clicks.
Your radiator fan is located at the back of your radiator, attached to your water pump. There's a few different ways to take this off, but we're going to use a pipe wrench secured to the nut, a 3/8 ratchet to add a little bit of tension to our serpentine belt and keep the water pump from spinning, and a hammer.
We're just going to knock the nut loose and use an adjustable wrench to take the nut the rest of the way off. Then move your fan out from behind the shroud and set it off to the side.
Your upper radiator hose runs from the top driver's side of the radiator to the top driver's side of the engine. Disconnect the clamp on the engine side with a flat head screwdriver. It appears that on this vehicle the hose was already replaced, so it has these screw style clamps. You may find that you have clamps that you use pliers such as this style. Slide your clamp out of the way. Remove the hose from the engine. Loosen the clamp from the radiator side of the hose. Move it out of the way. Remove from the radiator.
Take your hose out of the vehicle. Remove the lower radiator hose from the engine with a pair of pliers to release the clamp. Remove the hose from the engine.
Remove the feed tube on the bottom of your washer pump. Make sure you have a drain bucket to catch what comes out. Lift the red safety for the connector, and release the connector from your washer pump. Release the red safety from the level sensor. Disconnect from your level sensor. Remove your overflow tube from the radiator fill neck. Remove the two 10mm bolts. Lift the reservoir out of the car being careful not to damage your sensors and pump. Set it off to the side.
Remove the 13mm bolts under the fill neck on the radiator. Remove the other 13mm bolts on the fan shroud. Lift up on the fan shroud to release it from its tabs. Put it off to the side.
Removing the radiator isn't necessary for this job. We've done so to make it easier to film and show you what's going on.
Here's your serpentine belt. Before removing, you'll want to make sure you have the diagram for it, usually located under the hood or on the radiator support of your vehicle. Using the drive from a 3/8 inch ratchet, you'll insert it into the slot on the tensioner. Remove the tension from the belt and take it off the pulley. Remove your serpentine belt from your accessory pulleys.
Remove the 15mm bolt for the automatic belt tensioner. Remove the hose clamps and the heater core lines from your water pump. Make sure you have a bucket placed under the engine to catch any extra coolant that may run out. The hose is stuck. You can always carefully grab it with a pair of pliers, twist it a few times to break it loose. Place the lines off to the side.
Remove the ten 13mm bolts and the one 15mm bolt securing your water pump to the block. Make sure you pay close attention to where each bolt comes out to ensure it goes back in the same place. You'll have to remove the lower idler pulley to access one of the bolts. Remove your water pump housing from the front of the engine.
A couple of things that don't come with a new water pump are going to be the thermostat housing and the thermostat, so we're going to change these over. We recommend that you do a new thermostat any time you lower the coolant level, especially when doing a water pump. Ours is brand new from our last video, so we're going to go ahead and put it back into our new water pump.
Use a 13mm socket to remove the two bolts from the thermostat housing. Make sure the gasket on your thermostat is still in good condition if you're not replacing it.
Reinstall your thermostat housing onto your new water pump. Install your preformed rubber gasket into the water pump. Make sure that you line up all of the corners and joints appropriately, and that the gasket is properly seated into the groove. Otherwise, you can get excess gasket hanging out. It can become pinched or folded, not allow it to seal up properly.
Once you have it seated where you want it, go ahead and give it one more quick check over to make sure it's in all the way before we install it into the car. Use a razor blade or gasket scraper to clean the surface of the engine where we'll be mating our new water pump gasket.
Remove any kind of corrosion or debris. File any burrs if necessary. Clean down the surface with brake clean or carb cleaner on a clean paper towel. Make sure all the passages have all been cleared of water so they don't leak down while our gasket's trying to seal. Allow a few minutes for that to dry.
Reinstall your water pump, being careful not to displace the gasket. Begin installing your new hardware, again being certain to check that everything goes back exactly where it came from. We made a bolt map before removing our water pump by tracing the new part onto a piece of cardboard and punching holes through. That way we could ensure that as every bolt was removed and stored in the corresponding hole that they could all go back into the exact same place. Torque these bolts to 18 foot-pounds.
Reinstall your idler pulley, also a 13mm bolt. Reinstall your heater core lines and clamps. Reinstall your serpentine belt tensioner, a 15mm bolt. Many of these parts are packaged with a little plastic sheath to protect the threads of the radiator fan. Make sure you remove that before trying to install.
Loop your belt around your crankshaft pulley, over the water pump pulley, under the power steering pump pulley, over the A/C compressor, under your upper idler pulley, the other side go over your lower idler pulley and around your tensioner. Using your 3/8 drive ratchet, remove the tension from the tensioner pulley. Install the belt over the top of your alternator pulley.
Your fan shroud has two tabs that'll slide into this hook, and the matching one on the opposite side. These tabs will slide into the hooks. Install your two 13mm bolts at the top of the shroud. Reinstall your cooling fan into the shroud. You should be able to start the nut by hand, spin it down pretty close using the fan.
Finish tightening, adjust your pipe wrench or pliers to the nut, some water pumps are reverse thread. This one is not, so we'll give it a few taps clockwise to finish putting it on. Reinstall the two tabs on the bottom of the expansion tank and washer reservoir into the corresponding slots at the bottom of the fan shroud. Install the two 10mm bolts at the top of the tank.
Reinstall your overflow tube to the back of the filler neck on the radiator. Reconnect your washer fluid line and your electrical connectors. Make sure to snap the red safety tabs back into place.
Reinstall your upper radiator hose. Attach this side to the engine and tighten the clamp. Reconnect the upper hose to the radiator, slide your clamp back into place, tighten it down with a flat head screwdriver. Reinstall your lower radiator hose to the engine. Squeeze the clamp with a pair of pliers to reinstall.
Refill your washer fluid. Fill your radiator with Mopar approved 50/50 coolant. Any time you drain the coolant from your vehicle, you're going to want to properly bleed the system. To do this, fill your radiator and your expansion tank. Turn the heat on in your vehicle and let it run.
With the cap off, wait until you see all the air bubbles come out, constantly checking the fluid level until the fluid level remains stable without any bubbling or draining. Then you're safe to re-install the cap, ensure that your heat's blowing hot air. You're ready to go.
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