Water Pump Bad? - Need help fast

[AwdMikey]

My car is leaking antifreeze where the coolant line goes into (or maybe out of) the water pump. It is in the front of the engine bay right underneath that part of the water pump. Is the pump bad or is there a seal that has gone bad for some reason? If this is the case do I still have to take everything apart to find out.

Some quick responses would be nice, I already bought a water pump and am going to put it in tonight when my friend gets back in town. I would love to be able to return it if something else is the case.

Thanks for input,

Mike

 

[BUCK]

There is a big O Ring there, but even getting to it is a TOTAL PITA even if you pulled the Pipe instead of the W/Pump - A Water Pump job on a 90 is a BIG job - You might as well do a full Timing Belt Component job along with the WP at the very least.

 

[AwdMikey]

Oh man, you are scaring me! I have the balance shafts removed, so there is one less belt I have to worry about. I did plan on changing the alternator belt and timing belt while I was in there.

The only instructions I have are those on vfaq. Do these not apply to 90's? Are there better instructions elsewhere? What extra work is there?

 

[luv2rallye]

Nope he's right - in fact the water pump is the same PITA on all DSM years - and the O-ring is most likely your problem. Your timing belt is at http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-1G.html.

 

[BUCK]

Not to hammer you Mikey but I'm surprised you didn't install a new Water Pump, & Water Pump O-Ring while you had the Front Case torn down for BSE - I know you don't have to change the WP but IMO it's the labor on these things that kills you - so I changed every damn thing on the Front Case & the WP when I did my BSE.

 

[AwdMikey]

Not to hammer you Mikey but I'm surprised you didn't install a new Water Pump, & Water Pump O-Ring while you had the Front Case torn down for BSE

I bought the car with almost everything done to it. It ran like ass when I got it because of some electrical problems, the most ridiculous of which was the ISC not being plugged in (idled at 2200 rpms).

I have managed to get the water pump pulley, alternator pulley, and crankshaft pulley off. The stupid freaking morons that put the motor mount in last time must have used an air gun to ratchet in the bolts because the top bolt that holds the motor mount in place was stripped beyond repair. After unsuccessfully trying to get by applying pressure with a crowbar for about 30 minutes we headed to Home Depot to get something to just cut the bi*** in half. That wasted almost 2 hours of my time.

With that said, I would like to slap the **** out of the guy that did all this stupid stuff to my car, but then again, it beats an ss, so I will deal with it. Thats all for now, I'll let you know if it was the o-ring or if the water pump was bad tomorrow.

For now its time to get a beer and a shower.

Mike

 

[luv2rallye]

Not to provide more bad news but rather a tip. On most 2G DSM's you will crack the middle timing cover trying to get it out if you don't remove the forward engine mount stud (the forward vertical one) first. Don't know about 1G's. Just a heads up (and a solution if you have the problem).

 

[AwdMikey]

Thanks for the help everyone. The install was successfully completed on Friday. A word of warning - don't go to Auto Zone for belts, they are morons, or maybe I am a moron for getting the belts there in the first place.

Anyways, the problem was the water pump. I changed the oil and the spark plugs while I was working on everything and it runs 20 times better. The plugs had been burned from running rich for too long ( CEL was on due to faulty Knock sensor leading to stock fuel trims ).

I am swapping the clutch next weekend, so if anyone has any helpful hints they would be appreciated! Can't wait to get it in and take it to the track. Corvettes beware!

 

[paranoidTSi]

Just adding a comment, if anyone is having this situation and can't repair it immediately at least do yourself a favor and run some stop leak through your radiator.