silver94lt1

Well I put a new waterpump on my 05 vette a year ago and a few days ago I started smelling coolant from inside the car when I stopped. I did some research on the forum and people said it was the waterpump so I checked today and i have coolant leaking on the pulley again smh. I know it's not a tough repair but I would hope that it would've lasted a little longer. Has anybody else ran into this problem?

Gearhead Jim

Some people have to change waterpumps almost as often as they change their oil, others run the car into the ground on the original pump.

Ours was replaced at ~40k miles, now at 89k and still seems ok.

2006c6keller

This can help, I've been using this for decades, water pump lubricant. I have not replaced a water pump in decades, I have almost 100K miles on each of two cars right now and still the original pumps, not only do they lube the seal but also the bearing. Very few people are aware of this tip.

Cherokee Nation

Where do I get it at and what brand?

silver94lt1

Yes what is the name of this product? I don't want to change out waterpumps every year ha!

4SUMERZ

Water pumps generally fail because of seal failure from coolant contamination, from excessive drive belt pressure, and from cavitation due to worn out coolant which allows bubbles to form on the cast aluminum housing that create pits, or cavities, when they explode. The most common is just due to old age. GM water pumps seals seem to fail the most for whatever reason.

IMO, water pump lubricant is nothing more than snake oil.
Marketers of cooling system products continue to claim that they provide water pump and thermostat lubrication. We have heard this and repeated it for so long, it has become gospel in our minds.

BTW, water pump bearings are sealed, so how is the lubrication supposed to help it?

The only thing water pump lubrication lubes is the vendors pocketbooks

If you use only water instead of antifreeze in your system, then yes, coolant lubrication is required to prevent rust contamination.
If you use antifreeze and demineralized water, then there is no need for coolant lubrication because the demineralized water does not have the impurities that cause rust and contaminants in the coolant system.

Unfortunately OP, you just got a bad water pump on the purchase.

I changed out my original at 30K, but now at 75K and no issues since.

Cherokee Nation

I've never seen anything in the parts store for lubing a waterpump.The coolant should have a part in preserving the pump?

silver94lt1

That's is what I'm thinking so I will just have to buy another one and cross my fingers. Thanks for the information.

4SUMERZ

Good Luck. I'm sure you changed out your coolant to new stuff last year, but if not, it might be a good idea to start with fresh stuff.
Did you do a pressure test to be sure that it is the water pump seal? I had a top radiator hose (drivers side) leaking at the clamp, and it was finding it's way onto the pulley. If you haven't done so, check all your clamps to be sure.

silver94lt1

No I haven't but I will definitely check it tomorrow. I also put fresh fluid in and I also had my radiator replace 3 or 4 months after I replaced my waterpump the first time.

gsflyer2011

I use red line water wetter. Lot of people think it is a hog wash but i know better. I have been using it in all my cars for the last 20 years, not only it lowers the coolant temps by few degrees it also increases the lubrication. I have not had single water pump issue in over half a million miles, one of them with 17 years of ownership snd 180000 miles.

heavy hitter

You need to have the system flushed not just drained and refilled. Draining only get a small amount of the old antifreeze out. contamination of the old antifreeze is what kills the pumps.

gsflyer2011

This is correct, to do it properly requires attention to details. What I learned from pros, do not wait 5 years, do it in 3 if you drive a lot or 4 years if not. Use a reversible vacuum cleaner, after draining put the hose in the filler and that air pressure will blow out and drain quite a bit more than it would on its own. Few pounds of air does not hurt the system as the system is designed to work under quite a more than that. If you want perfection invest in some good equipment. I personally dislike introducing more water in to the system demineralized or not.

heavy hitter

I own a auto repair shop and we use a machine that exchanges all the fluid by pushing it in the thermostat and out the block until its all clean. look for a shop that has the right equipment ,

extrapilot

I've read a lot of people here having issues with water pumps leaking at low mileage.
I think the issues are caused by the lack of use.
Many cars are stored in the off season and that creates dry seals in the pump I believe this only makes matters worst.
I DD my vette with the original pump intact with 38K, and it's a older 2006 model, and knock on wood, the pump is OK.

silver94lt1

Ok thanks guys for that info. I will definitely take it to a shop to have it flushed

Gearhead Jim

One well-respected shop in my area uses "recycled" Dexcool, that doesn't sound like a great idea. I would specify new Dexcool and distilled water, or GM premix.
Last time I checked, the vacuum machine at our local dealership had to mix tap water, not distilled, with the Dexcool. GM says that's ok, but I sent a sample of our original coolant (from Bowling Green, I suppose) to a lab for analysis and they recommended I change it due to excessive hardness.

TCW

Seals dry out due to lack of use.

Tom

silver94lt1

I can see that happening but in my case DD mine and put it on the road on occasion. I think I just have a bad pump or had some old fluid that damaged it over time.

cclive

If I had to replace my water pump, I would not do another oem, I would get a rebuilt Rayloc water pump from NAPA. I believe they use higher quality seals and bearings than the oem. Rebuilding a water pump is really nothing more than replacing the seals and the bearings and cleaning it up.