Time for a new water pump & gasket?
 

Looks like it huh...

Anybody know what ray charges for these + gasket? Who's seen this happen?

I replied to your PM. IIRC the WP and gasket from Ray weren't too bad, ~$50-60.

Dave

what if i snugged that bolt up a little? even worth trying? the engine is reman so i dunno what happened when they installed the WP at the dealership (40k ago)

i think there's always been a miniscule leak here though as previous owner had noticed filler neck coolant being a couple inches low when left cold too

Snugging the bolt probably won't fix it. If it's leaking from the gasket, there is corrosion or the gasket is shot, neither of which will be fixed by tightening the bolt.

Dave

Could be originating from the Water Pump seal vent hole and runnign down. I'd pull the pump and replace it and the gasket.

tom

might as well do a new thermostat while you're there.

yeah i'm going to do em all and hope i smell no more faint coolant, least the parts are cheap :icon_tup:

lol did we not talk about this on aim? i told you the parts were cheap :)

-Lance

Yeah just ordered, pump/gasket/tstat & gasket are ~$110 shipped with $25 core on the pump

i have the FSM and it doesn't look TOO hard to change, but does anyone have a write up for reference?

Its pretty much self explanatory... drail coolant, remove anything thats in your way. Some people do not put sealant on, yet i do. Just get the gray permatex and add a very small amount around the gaskets (if he gave you the one for the back of the water pump housing). Use a torque wrench.
Take your time refilling the coolant back in. Burping can take a while... its nice if you can get a friend on a creeper below you and pumping the lower rad line when you bump the upper and fill. Once you get all the air out start the car and monitor for leaks and coolant temp. Let the car run for 5 mins, turn off, use a rag with caution when taking of coolant cap. Refill and burp if needed. Check the coolant every once and a while.

i had planned on just spilling the amount i was going to lose when removing the pump, shouldn't be that much eh?

enough to merit stuffing a towel under it to absorb it. Cats will thank you.

yeah i wasn't expecting like the whole system, i'll put down a towel, going to happen in a shop so it should be ok

i didnt mean drain it all... just a gallon should do it. just remove the coolant cap so it pulls the coolant from the tb/wax rod assembly. i just dont like doing stuff sloppy...

yeah i'll try to be halfway clean, reason i was alerted to the problem was i've been noticing the level in the filler neck to be a few inches below the top, combined with a very faint smell of fresh coolant from the engine bay, the air leak must be allowing the top portion to drain down some while off, looked down and saw what's in the picture... looks like with the airpump/alternator/ic out of the way replacement won't be too tough, any other stuff i should look at while i'm doing this?

so what's the bottom line on rtv'ing the new gasket, don't bother right? (assuring the block surface is nice and clean)

When I talked to Ray at Malloy, he suggested a thin film of RTV on both sides of the main-housing-to-block gasket. If you get the OE type of gasket (smooth and sort of a pink color, IIRC) for the impeller housing, and both of the castings are smooth and not pitted, this one does not need sealant, IMO. If you get a grey, cardboard-appearing gasket, this one will need sealant.

Dave

i had this exact leak on a reman. i sealed it up with some JBweld putty, the kind that works in wet conditions, and its been good now the past 4k no problems. nice to see that the replacement parts are not all that expensive

sealed it with JB w/o removing the pump just globbed it on the bolt housing? LOL

in post #10 i stated gray permatex should be used. just use a small amount, no need to build it up.

how do I dissasemble the pump and the housing? the ps pulley nut wont budge even with an impact gun, do i need to remove it?