Water pump, how long do I have?

[steved]

Couple more things...

Mine did not leak from the weep hole... it was leaking from the front seal. The weep hole was actually dry.

Mine actually went bad sitting at Lloyd's last month. When I got it back from him, I noticed it had a strange "whistle" that sort of matched the turbo at higher RPMs... it was the water pump bearings failing. Replacing that pump cured my mystery "whistle"... all I can imagine is the bearings had just started going and possibly corroded from sitting for several weeks? That was my only indication of a failing pump, and I actually put over 3k miles on it before it actually started leaking.

 

[lmills]

oh yeh, blame it on me lol

 

[steved]

oh yeh, blame it on me lol

I figured it was sabotage... you just wanted to replace that pump. :-laf

 

[steved]

265k, its leaking again. Have a Bosch replacement from Genos sitting at the (toasty) house... and hoses. Guess what I get to do today?!



I know its been done, does anyone know the thread size offhand for the feed/return nipple at the water pump housing? I'm planning on eliminating that steel line/silicone hose assembly with just a single 5/8 hose. It looks like maybe 1"NPT?

 

[steved]

Changed pump... uneventful. The old one had just ever so little play in the inner bearing, almost imperceptible.



Changed all the hoses... uneventful. Even deleted the hose/pipe deal under the exhaust manifold... its now a single piece of 5/8" hose from the pump body to the firewall. The OE steel pipe had rusted to the point it was paper thin (from the outside), so this was needed.



One note... pull one of the pipe plugs in the head (the Allen-head plugs above the exhaust manifold) and make sure you get the block filled with antifreeze when you are filling the radiator... I had it air lock this time, and (even though it had lots of antifreeze) get hot. If you do a refill, and don't get heat from the cab heater after a short drive, you're probably not pumping coolant!!!



I have drained and refilled a couple times before without a hitch, this was the first time I had it air lock on me... I knew something wasn't right when I was reading a coolant temp at which I normally had heat in the cab.

 

[RPosey]

Look at the old pump again, I believe you will find a groove in the face of the pump where it fits against the block, it will be full of gunk. That is how mine was. Like you I did not see a weep hole until I looked closer.

 

[DFark]

Mine was leaking and the fan was wetting down the belt causing it to squeal. There was play in the bearing. Napa had the pump, while I was at it I replaced the lower rad. hose and the idler pully and the belt. This was at 95 K. .

 

[Prairie Dog]

Watch that Napa idler pulley. I've had terrible luck with them on other vehicles. They only last a year or so. It's so bad that I've decided to only buy OEM next time I need one.