Q: How do I replace the water pump housing gasket?

The water pump on your car is bolted directly to the engine block. The only housing is the water pump itself. To fix your leak, you will need to replace the water pump and timing belt. The water pump is driven by the timing belt so the timing belt needs to be moved to replace the pump. I would advise you to purchase a timing belt kit which comes with water pump, timing belt and cam and crank seals. Not every kit will come with the seals, but most do.

This means you are doing a timing belt job with water pump replacement. To do this you will need to remove the plastic cover on the front of the motor, remove the harmonic balancer on the crank shaft, support the motor and remove the engine mount attached at the timing belt area. The front of the motor is located on the passenger side of the car towards the right front fender.

This is a fairly extensive repair that requires and understanding of camshaft timing and it would be good to have some experience from prior work such as this. If you’re not comfortable in doing this repair, I recommend booking an appointment with an experienced technician, such as one from YourMechanic, to come to your location and service your water pump as necessary.

Good luck!