I've been using Monzaveo's writeup on how to change the timing belt, and I"ve gotten to the point where he left off, but I"m having a terrible time removing the water pump. Can anyone offer any advice on how to remove it? I have a brand new pump with gasket but I can't seem to twist the old one off.
I managed to get the water pump out yesterday. Once you remove the the three hex-bolts (and watch all your coolant drain out!) and remove the 4 bolts that hold in the inner timing cover (including 1 each behind both cam sprokets), you can move the inner timing cover away from the engine just enough to remove the water pump.
When I did mine, I didn't want to take a chance that I would crack the inner cover, so I broke down and removed the cam gears and camshaft position sensor to get off the inner cover. After that it was a cake walk.
GM actually recommends doing this in their service manual.