2011-2015 Chevy Volt - How to Replace Engine Water Pump

This is a tutorial on how to replace the engine water pump on a 2011-2015 Chevy Volt. Torque specs included.

OEM Water Pump: https://amzn.to/4oJAKNP

I didn't "need" the cherry picker, but one of the steps to remove the right engine bracket is to "install engine support fixture." These install from above, so I chose to use the cherry picker instead of jacking up/down the engine from the oil pan.

It wasn't too difficult to get at the 3rd lower engine bracket bolt, but to break it loose was difficult and even more difficult to remove it. The engine needed to be lowered as far as gravity would allow it and then the coolant lines along the passenger frame rail need to be moved down to squeeze the bolt through. The frustrating thing about this whole job is that belt is supposed to be changed every 150k miles/10 years and short of replacing the water pump, the steps are identical. Reinstalling the belt was also way more difficult than it should have been too. The manual says to turn the crank shaft, but there's no room to reach it from above to also guide the belt onto the water pump pulley. I opted to turn the water pump pulley instead with a crescent wrench and it was much easier.

Reassembly was challenging as well, but I believe it was easier than disassembly because I knew what I was doing.

Estimates for this job costs $800-$1,000 in my area. I would say you don't need a highly mechanical aptitude to accomplish this task, but it wasn't particularly easy either. It took me 3-4 hours.

#CarMaintenance #DIYCarRepair