I just finished this job - took me all day. Had to start with a trip back to the dealer to get the RIGHT parts
. Then I couldn't find low-profile ramps anywhere in the area, so I had to make my own.
To say the space is tight is a vast understatement. After attaching the new water pump it occurred to me that it may have been easier to pre-position the thermostat in it's general area first, rather than try to wrestle it up through that tight space between the fan shroud and the frame. Anyone ever tried that before? At any rate, I took a slight detour from the OP's directions in order to get the new thermostat into place:
Many thanks to the OP for the excellent tutorial. And a HUGE, HUGE thanks to TCW for COMPLETELY saving my weekend
. If he hadn't noticed my part numbers were wrong, I wouldn't have realized I had the wrong bolts until after the dealer's parts department had closed for the day, and they don't re-open until Monday.
So the car is still on ramps because I've got to replace the oil filter housing gasket tomorrow, so can't refill the coolant until that's done. But for now, I have a sixtel of Firestone Walker Double Jack that I tapped last night, and it's calling my name....
edit: One last thought. It seems to me that this job goes hand-in-hand with the replacement of the oil filter housing gasket. If you do this job and find little black bits of rubber in your drained coolant, then replace the gasket. I think that the failure of the OFH gasket is at least partly responsible for all these water pump failures. See my DIY for the OFH gasket replacement:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=791674