03 Ram 4.7 Water Pump

Thinking about doing a water pump on an 03 Ram 1500 with 4.7 motor. How long does the job take? Anything to be aware of or is it straightforward? Does the cooling system have to be burped/bled after reinstalling the pump?
Im sure the radiator can stay in...

They are gravy. No gasket to scrape off. O-ring seals the pump. Radiator stays put. Once you get the fan knocked loose its downhill. Bleeder screw is on the aluminum housing where the upper radiator hose attaches. Loosen it till coolant comes out then tighten it up. Top of the radiator and you are done.

A few more questions:

Do you need to put any sealants on the rubber o-ring seal? What about a little Permatex brush on red high tack to hold it in place?

I know you have to drain radiator...it is easy to get to the drain cock? I heard its difficult to get to. If accessing the drain cock was a pain,or you had to remove a ton of stuff to get at it, couldn't you always take off the water pump and have it drain out at the pump housing?

Will I need a clutch fan wrench for the large nut or can you get away with using a large adjustable wrench?

Can we use the mid 70s truck black plastic door panels in 78 Ramcharger without modifications?

Anyone use aftermarket OEM style front buckets- tilt forward with folding arm rests that they are happy with?

What other year grills will fit 78 Ramcharger with out mods?

thanks for help

The fan I use my air chisel to loosen.Just get it on a flat and bump it.Once loose they spin off.On install I just reverse taking them off.Did hundreds at work that way.Nothing on the ring to seal it.I use a bit of grease to make sure they dont move on install.Just scrape any crud off before the install.Rocky

No sealant needed for the water pump o-ring. It will fit tightly in the groove in the pump and will stay in place. The drain cock for the radiator is easy to get to. The fan may come loose with an adjustable wrench. Seem like the nut portion of the fan clutch is about 2 inches or so wide so this shouldnt be a problem. May have to wedge a prybar something behind the water pump pulley to keep it from turning to get it loose. It WILL be tight. Right hand threads on the clutch BTW.

Almost all are rh threads.Ive only seen a few LHs.For sure some were Ford diesels abd they had a tag that said LH threads.One guy at work broke a wp on one trying to get the fan off rh.After he broke it he asks for help.I look and say I hope you were going the opposite direction.Nope.That was costly at around 350 bucks for the shop.It was on an ambulance.Rocky

I personally don't mess with peacocks they sometimes don't reseal. just remove pump the coolant will come out. I have a old big wrench for fan removal that I just wrap a rag on and smack with a hammer to the pass side. A few hits and it should come off. I believe diesels go the other way.