Hi again. Checking in after being away from the group for a while. My last adventure was a $1600 clutch replacement.
Until the past weekend, I wouldn't have considered myself a "newbie", but humbling experience will do that to ya...
I had the same trouble last week. I looked down and saw the temp gauge off the scale. Yikes! So I baby it home, then check in here. I suspected the thermostat or water pump - then I learned of the plastic impeller on the water pump. Doh! I bought both, just in case.
Folks said here that the water pump is a 45-60 minute job. Let's be clear about this - the FRONT HALF of the water pump (containing the impeller and bearings) is such a job. My local (F***ing Koons Ford) dealership wouldn't sell the impeller assembly, so I got the pump. I then thought it would be such a waste to buy a new pump and not use the housing, hoses, etc that are part of the deal. (Do I hear laughter?) If I never see another one of those "spring" type hose clamps again, it'll be too soon. I obviously don't have the "special tool".
The moral of the story: Even if you can only get the entire pump, just replace the front half. (I pray for the health of my hoses, too) Unless you want to remove the battery, air filter housing, air metering unit, throttle body, water pump belt, a mess of hoses and wires, and maybe even the upper intake manifold, just leave the pump housing alone and spare yourself the grief.
I made another interesting discovery, but that's even more off-topic, so I'll put it in another post.
<flame mode off>
Signed, Knucklehead in Northern VA
