Buick Century Water Pump and Headlight Problems

2000 BUICK CENTURY LTD.

Question: HOW DO YOU CHANGE/REPLACE A WATER PUMP ON THIS CAR? It is leaking and i want to do the repairs myself and save some money. Any information would be great.

ANSWER:

To get the water pump off the 3.1L v6, first release the serpentine belt by releasing the belt tensioner. Remove the four 10mm pulley bolts. Then remove the six 8mm water pump bolts.

Have a pan under the car to catch the coolant. Be sure no pressure in the system before you begin. Scrape off old gasket, and install new pump. It only goes on one way, so be sure to line up the bolts holes properly.

Open cooling system bleeder screw which is located on the top of the pipe just above the water pump. Fill the system with coolant. After a few minutes the level will go down as the air comes out. Fill again until coolant comes out of the bleeder, then close it.

Dont fill up to the top of radiator, as it will expand as it gets hot. After the thermostat opens you will feel the top radiator hise get hot, then the level will drop, then fill the coolant all the way and re-install cap.

2001 Buick Century engine size 3.1L. Warning lights- service engine light.
Question: I recently lost my low beams.. Any cause to this happening?. All of the other lights work. Can it be a fuse for both headlights?

Answer:
First off, the service engine soon light being on will not cause a problem with the headlights, but you should get it checked out before a problem gets worse.

As for the headlamps, if you are absolutely positive that the bulbs are good, you should check for an open fuse. The headlamp switch could be the problem as well and would need to be replaced. You would have to check wiring from the switch to each headlamp bulb. If you have no power coming from the switch, it is most likely bad. If you hae power to them, then next check for a good ground circuit.

Since it's the least expensive to try, I would get two new headlamp bulbs and start there.

2002 Buick Century custom.
Question: Car has engine oil in cooling system, no oil cooler, appears to have external timing cover oil leak.

Answer: A leaking timing cover gasket would not cause the oil to get into the cooling system. You most likely have a leaking intake manifold gasket. These are common for internal and external leaks.

If you are going to fix the intake, you might as well fix the timing cover gasket also. Be sure to look at the cover closely around the coolant passages. If it has been leaking for a long time, it might have eaten away at the cover, since it is aluminum. If it did, and it is bad enough, the cover would need to be replaced.