engine and drivetrain Water pump question...

[Guest Anonymous]

I recently replaced my radiator hoses and refilled the system. The car started a little rough, but had sat for two weeks so I thought little of it. I drove the car a total of twenty miles over three short episodes (it ran fine), but suddenly disgorged the entire contents of the coolant system when I started it (in my garage- nice!) the fourth time. I traced the leak to the water pump (a boken hose clamp would have been so much nicer). Did I somehow have air in the system that blew out my water pump or its gasket?? If so, how does one prevent that in the future? Second question: assuming that is what happened, should I be ordering a new water pump, or is it reasonable to simply try to replace the gasket? The engine has 98,000 mi on it and will hopefully get fully reworked next year.

[Guest Anonymous]

it's living on borrowed time...replace it; not a hard job unless you have A/C with the York octopus compressor bracket...

Mike

now with a York septipus bracket on his '73...

[Guest Anonymous]

If the coolant really "gushed" out of the water pump, it may be the gasket. If it leaks steadily from a small hole in the bottom of the pump, then the pump seal is shot (this is the usual signal of a water-pump failure). Although you *can* rebuild the water pump, the part is cheap enough that it's better to replace it. If the car quickly overheats and the coolant comes out the radiator overflow, then the problem is the thermostat rather than the water pump.

I don't think that air in the system would cause the pump to fail. To be thorough, when you replace the coolant, you should remove the block drain plug, which is located on the exhaust side toward the rear. (This has been a tangent.) When I'm refilling the system, I make sure the car is level and slowly pour coolant into the radiator until it is up to the filler. Then I bring the engine up to temperature and set the heater on full hot. Then I let the engine cool, remove the radiator cap, and top the system off again as necessary.

Hope this helps.

David Roach

"Molly" (Inka 1973 2002)

"Elmo" (Diamondschwartz 1991 325ix, just back from a great weekend driving Forest Service roads in West Virginia...and filthy)

[Guest Anonymous]

...I didn't know about the plug on the back of the block though. Guess I'll look for that before I put everything back together. I think I will replace the whole pump so don't have to worry about durability. THANKS!