If you are able to remove the hood easily that would be the first thing to add rom to work.
drain the radiator and cooling system into a catch pan and set aside away from any pets.
then decide if you need to flush the radiator and coolling system if dirt and debris is apparent in the antifreeze mixture.
use lots of old newspaper under the beast and under the old water pump mount to catch and drips and then properly dispose of it etc.
I would replace the thermostat as a matter of principle in any case.
The radiator hoses would be my next issue as as any cracking seen on the hoses or if the rubber does not flex easily I would not keep them or the radiator clamps, repalce the clamps with the good gear type hose clamps for zero wories.
use a 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch socket if you have clearance or a metric gear wrench - but be very careful in dismantling it because you do not want to round off the bolt head.
The purchase or ownership of a bottoming tap of the metric size for the water pump bolts is something to borrow or buy as you want clean threads-wash out the thread bore with a blast of air or WD 40 or use a vacuum attachment to remove and debris.
I personally have replaced hex head bolts with the grade five socket head allen bolts with tight space repairs as there is much less of a risk of damaging the bolts by changing the bolts to the allen type-you need to obtain allen head bolt washers to replace the originals as they are smaller in size.
Be sure to borrow a small torque wrench if you do not own one to properly torque the bolts whether you use the socket head allen bolts or new hex head bolts- you should use new bolts and washer in any case.
The replacement pump should come with new gaskets. After draining and dismantling the pump housing use fine emery cloth to touch up the mating surface of the engine with the water pump and gasket and wipe evrything down with isopropyl alcohol to clean it.
I would use a small bit of blue permatex gasket sealer to attach and seal both sides of the gasket to the water pump and the engines mating surface.
I would also use ONLY ONE DROP of the blue Loc-Tite thread locker on each bolt to ensure it does not loosen- the blue Loctite is formulated to allow easy removal of the bolts when neeeded.
use the torque wrench to properly set the torque on the bolt heads
using the torque values recommended by the kubota service and repair manual ONLY AFTER they are tightened by hand.
I have forgotten if the water pump is passively belt driven or not but I would look at the belt and if it has even one crack or the belt showing signs of wear replace it as its going or near gone.
leon:thumbsup: