I recently got an 87 non-turbo that suposedly needed a clutch and waterpump. I started to look into the water pump problem and found that the waterpump was fine but the inside of the housing was rusty. The coolant was overflowing when the needle was at the line by the C on the temp guage. Do I need a rebuild? Or do I just need to do a really good coolant flush?

 

Is it ever hard to start after running? As in flooded with coolant? Have you pressure tested the cooling system? Pressure test the radiator cap. If the cap does not hold pressure it will push coolant out through the reservoir. Although, it is not uncommon for a blown coolant seal to also push coolant out of the reservoir.

That being said, it is not a bad idea to flush the cooling system. Try flushing it while running with a garden hose in the radiator with the intermediate housing drain plug out. That will push out any loose debri. Then fill it up with water and run it with Cascade for 50 miles or so (or any non-foaming dish washing detergent). DO NOT use Dawn or those types. It must be a non-foaming type like Cascade.

Then flush with the garden hose again and fill with 50/50 coolant.

 

It was hard to start one time but I pulled the egi fuse, cranked it, put the fuse back in and it started right up. How can I pressure test the system?

 

 

Ok, I might have to try that. The cap seems to have fixed it for now.