New water pump?

[Alberto Armendariz]

I’ve been leaking coolant and my water pump is covered in it, does that mean I’d need a new one or would it be a fitting on it? I’m sure the orange fitting isn’t supposed to look like that.

 

[Vanishing Point]

Have you noticed the Temp gauge readings being a little high? So first, we need to know a couple of things like mileage, Year, Make, Model, and size of the engine. It's probably a 5.7L judging by the jpg image of it, and it seems to have been leaking for sometime, judging by the 1st jpg image. Coolant appears to be leaking on the back of the water pump backing plate, or fitting has spread coolant all over it. Clean off the fitting to see if that is the problem (it will need to be replaced anyway) before condemning the whole water pump (which will have a new fitting on it!). Then try and pressure test it by renting a coolant pressure tester at your local Autozone or O'Reiley's and check to see if it is not leaking from the water pump fitting and or weep hole located on the bottom of the casting. And if so, then you have found your problem (which means you are going to need to purchased a new one, preferably a Delco Remy). Good Luck!

 

[454cid]

WOW! I've never seen crustiness like that on a water pump or connector before!

First thing I'd do is probably pressure wash it, to get a better look...but it may leak more. That fitting may break during removal. Is that a heater hose, or a bypass? I'm not so familiar with the small blocks.

There's a good chance you'll need a new water pump, and you may want to just go ahead and do it all. However, there is some reason to not do the pump, if it is still good. OEM pumps last a log time, and the aftermarket pumps tend to be short lived.

 

[Alberto Armendariz]

Have you noticed the Temp gauge readings being a little high? So first, we need to know a couple of things like mileage, Year, Make, Model, and size of the engine. It's probably a 5.7L judging by the jpg image of it, and it seems to have been leaking for sometime, judging by the 1st jpg image. Coolant appears to be leaking on the back of the water pump backing plate, or fitting has spread coolant all over it. Clean off the fitting to see if that is the problem (it will need to be replaced anyway) before condemning the whole water pump (which will have a new fitting on it!). Then try and pressure test it by renting a coolant pressure tester at your local Autozone or O'Reiley's and check to see if it is not leaking from the water pump fitting and or weep hole located on the bottom of the casting. And if so, then you have found your problem (which means you are going to need to purchased a new one, preferably a Delco Remy). Good Luck!

The temperature has stayed around 210 when hot. It’s a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado c1500 with a 5.7. I’ll go ahead and rent a pressure tester to see where it’s leaking thanks!

 

[Alberto Armendariz]

WOW! I've never seen crustiness like that on a water pump or connector before!

First thing I'd do is probably pressure wash it, to get a better look...but it may leak more. That fitting may break during removal. Is that a heater hose, or a bypass? I'm not so familiar with the small blocks.

There's a good chance you'll need a new water pump, and you may want to just go ahead and do it all. However, there is some reason to not do the pump, if it is still good. OEM pumps last a log time, and the aftermarket pumps tend to be short lived.

I’ll most likely test it first since the engine hasn’t overheated what so ever and go from there, thanks!

 

[GMCTruck]

If the water pump and fitting are the original ones, there is a very good chance that the fitting will break pretty easily. I replaced my stock water pump on my 1995 GMC K1500 a few years ago and even though the fitting looked good, it broke off surprisingly easily.

 

[Alberto Armendariz]

And that’s exactly what happened lol

 

[GMCTruck]

My buddy who owns the local NAPA gave me a good tip when replacing the water pump. Jack the front of the truck up a few inches to stop the coolant from leaking out of the block passages. Then you can have a clean and dry surface to mount the new pump.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

There's a sticky thread on the engine forum that covers the water pump replacement very well. You'll want to be sure to clean the bolts and mounting surfaces, and I recommend Aviation Permatex for the gasket surface to stick them on and seal any irregularities. Not sure if the TBI engines have the bolts going into the water jacket that require sealant ( my Burb is a vortec).

 

[Alberto Armendariz]

My buddy who owns the local NAPA gave me a good tip when replacing the water pump. Jack the front of the truck up a few inches to stop the coolant from leaking out of the block passages. Then you can have a clean and dry surface to mount the new pump.

I wish I had seen this earlier my driveway is drenched