VIN C?
No on the hoses, but you need to drain the coolant if you haven't already, or it will make a mess when you take off the water pump. There is a petcock valve on the lower driver'* side of the radiator.

If the bolts are off the pulley the only thing holding it on is corrosion. If it is stuck that hard it may be unusable anyway so go ahead and do whatever it takes to get it off. I recommend soaking it in PB Blaster overnight and then prying it away from the water pump as you smack it with the hammer. Use a rubber mallet or coated dead blow to wail on it to reduce the chance of damaging the pulley.

yep, VIN C.

Before I picked the car up last month,
it setup mostly for 8 years (only driven occassionally).
Guess I shouldn't be surprised the pulley is welded on,
especially on a 20 yr old car.

I'll give PB blaster a try. Also, I'll call the dealer and
see if they can get me a new pulley.

thanks,

jasper

Good news.
Finally got the pulley off last night.
It took a little persuation as bastard suggested.
I used a 2x2 with a hammer and pounded around
the perimeter of the pulley until it broke free.
The pulley was not damaged so it won't need replacing.

Once I got the pulley off, I could see the water pump was
leaking at the bottom most bolt, so I think it was
just a gasket failure. I attempted to tightened the bolt, but it
was already torqued on pretty good.
I was thinking about just replacing the gasket, but I guess I should go ahead and replace the pump just in case.

I drained the radiator and then removed the water pump.
Again, it took a little persuasion but it gave way.
I spent a few minutes trying to scrape off
the old gasket material, but I was tired and quit.

This morning, I compared the new water pump to the original.
One thing I noticed is the original water pump has two guide posts that help
you align and position it correctly during installation. The new pump does not. Even
worse, they drilled holes thru where the guide posts should be.
This creates an opportunity for leaks in my opinion.
I think I'll give the dealer a call and price a OEM water pump. If its not too spendy
I think I'll go for it.

Oh, one other thing. The guy at AutoZone suggested I replace the thermastat while I was at it. I really don't want to venture into something else right now.
Plus, the radiator hose didn't have to come off anyway. You think it'* worth doing?
My serpentine belt looks a little worn, so I will go ahead and replace that.

Overall, I feel things are progressing well. I did spill some coolant, but it mostly dried up by this morning.
I'll post back soon.
Also, any suggestions for easy gasket removal would be appreciated.

thanks,

jasper

NAPA sells the best water pumps aside from actual OEM. It sounds like you got a dud if it doesn't have the alignment dowels.
No easy way out of the gasket scraping. Just think of all the money you are saving by doing it yourself and not paying a mechanic to do it.
Replace the thermostat and all the gaskets and o-rings in that area and replace all the hoses. Run the garden hose through the radiator and the block to douche it out really good. Run fresh water through it until it comes out clean. Dump the antifreeze and use fresh. The old stuff is full of rusty floaties and has lost the best part of its corrosion inhibiting properties.

I called NAPA and CarQuest and their water pumps (for my car) don't have the alignment pins either. The dealer part cost $150 and its a special order.

CarQuest does carry remanufactured water pumps. I suppose theres a chance of getting an OEM unit? I just hate getting reman parts though.

By the way, my coolant system was flushed couple months ago. Go figure.

Why do things have to be so dificult.
thanks,

jasper

Hey guys.
Just wanted to follow-up and say I got her done.

I used the $30 water pump from AutoZone.
$150 for a Delco part seemed way too much.

I'm sure I made the job harder than it had to
be, but I feel good getting it done right.
The hardest part was scraping off the old gasket. I tried to
get it perfect, but it probably didn't have to be.
A small putty knife works best in my opinion.
Also, I cleaned all the bolts with a wire brush.

I put the water pump on, using generous amounts of RTV sealer
on the gasket and bolts. I let the sealer cure overnight before refilling
the radiator with coolant.

This afternoon, I filled the radiator and started her up. Not a drop
came from the water pump. Hurray!!

Thanks everyone for all your help.

jasper