Anyone ever change a circulation pump on a 4.3 v6 merc? I notice some dripping last time I was out on the lake. It was dripping from in behind the pulley. Not much but enough that I want to fix it before I winterize it. Perish the thought!Snow! YUCK! Anyway, I was just curious how much time I will have wrapped up in this. The Admiral has me doing other projects so my time is kinda limited. I assume that it is just a matter of unbolting it, scraping the old gaskets off, and then putting the new gaskets and pump on. It looks fairly simple to get to. Any suggestions?

That about covers it...it's probably one of the easier "hard parts" you can do on a marine engine.

Suggestions- disconnect the battery, as you may also have to remove the alternator and power steering pump (if you have one). Just a couple more bolts is all.

Make sure it's fully seated and flat against the engine before you start tightening bolts. You can break the casting with the mounting bolts if the pump is not seated.

Assuming decent access, it might take 40 minutes if you work slowly.

Don't buy an automotive pump, the impellers are stamped steel. The marine pump will have a cast bronze impeller.

On the VP ( V8 small block) one I changed a few years ago, the backplate was also stainless steel. It's worth checking the pulley alignment once it's fitted, in case the pulley flange position on the shaft of the new pump is slightly out ( as mine was; not VP OEM). Pretty easy job, apart from one rounded off seized bolt on the power steering pump.

Graham

Yeah it is pretty much what everyone else has said. Just unbolt all the stuff infront of it and do the same with the pump. Should be all bolt off/on and not hard to do by any means. Also like frantically said its always good to unhook the battery when working on stuff like that because you never know when you can get hit w/ some electricity. Good luck!