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Normal failure, seems like a common thing on my vette
As you can see in my photos, I had a bit of an adventure last sunday. I was cruising with my Father-In-Law to my very first Cars and Coffee... made it to about 1 exit away and saw a whole lot of smoke (covered my local highway)... I got off to the side, open the hood to let it air out.... felt the upper rad hose and of course there was no coolant. Called my buddy, trailered her home, gave her a quick wash and wax to get all of the coolant off - the began diagnosis.
Upper and lower rad hoses looked good.
Poured distilled water in, and it leaked like crazy out of the water pump assembly. This is where my question comes in - I have heard of water pumps failing, no big deal - but I dont recall ever hearing of the GASKET failing on the water pump... if you see my photo - the gasket was blown out... is that normal? Anything to be concerned about?
Ordering a new heavy duty water pump from Rock Auto regardless - going to do fan clutch as well since im in there.
Another quick question - order of operations here varies from all of the different posts ive seen..
1) Fan Removal
2) Hose Removal
3) Fitting Removal
4) Pump Removal
Does this seem right? Left stranded! After the smoke had cleared. Can see the reminents of smoke here You can see where the gasket blew out here... is that normal?
I would replace the pump, hoses, gasket, clamps and belts, depending on age of belts if not known. If you plan on only replacing the gasket, you are putting in a fair amount of effort and expense of coolant.
An item fails at it’s weakest point. Do the job once and do it right.
Or tight but bottomed out before it is clamping the pump. You probably don't need a pump. You need to find and strangle the guy that replaced it. Give you a hint. Name's Bubba...
unfortunately for me - bubba did a lot of work on my car. Any way for me to test the pump to see if its still functional? $5 gasket set sounds better than $60 pump.. but either way i have to tear it all down
unfortunately for me - bubba did a lot of work on my car. Any way for me to test the pump to see if its still functional? $5 gasket set sounds better than $60 pump.. but either way i have to tear it all down
If I had to take a 40 year old pump off to replace the gaskets, the pump would get replaced too. You are in there just get it done. To be honest I would probably do the hoses also.
IMO: Replace the gasket and make sure the bolt is actually doing its job along with some locktite on the threads.
Do not let this into a full "frame off". A water pump can do only 3 things - leak at the bearing when the seal fails... fall apart completely because the bearing fails...or pump water. I have bolted on old random used water pump cores and run them for YEARS without an incident.
IMO: Replace the gasket and make sure the bolt is actually doing its job along with some locktite on the threads.
Do not let this into a full "frame off". A water pump can do only 3 things - leak at the bearing when the seal fails... fall apart completely because the bearing fails...or pump water. I have bolted on old random used water pump cores and run them for YEARS without an incident.
You dont see a need to test the pump at all (is there even a way?)?
Testing the pump visually you can look at the weep hole on the underside by where the shaft comes out. If it looks like it's been seeping , it's going bad. Turning the shaft or checking for wobble also. As stated in the above post , check the bolts for length possibly the wrong bolt was put in and it didn't compress the gasket . Another cause to blow out a gasket might be a stuck thermostat, that would build up pressure in the cooling system. I also would change out the pump just as a preventative maintenance item. Not saying that the replacement would be any better though as I have had replacements fail also in a short time. They were replaced under warranty but I still had to do the work.
I would replace the pump, hoses, gasket, clamps and belts, depending on age of belts if not known. If you plan on only replacing the gasket, you are putting in a fair amount of effort and expense of coolant.
An item fails at it’s weakest point. Do the job once and do it right.
I would replace the pump, hoses, gasket, clamps and belts, depending on age of belts if not known. If you plan on only replacing the gasket, you are putting in a fair amount of effort and expense of coolant.
An item fails at it’s weakest point. Do the job once and do it right.
I suppose this is my best course of action. Time to spend some $$... I know my belts are good because I did them less than a year ago.
Anyone have a good idea of the process though from my question in original post? does 1) Fan Removal 2) Hose Removal 3) Fitting Removal 4) Pump Removal
seem right?
Treat 'er as though she's a race car ... even local weekly series cars get a 'bolt check' ... the front runners do ...
bolt check aka routine maintenance.
If the pump wasn't leaking and turns free & smooth & tight (by hand directly on hub), it's good. I'd be far more inclined to replace an old Thermostat and fan CLUTCH before an apparently good pump.
But if you must ... do KNOW it's Not a Long pump, Not a short pump ,.. it's a Corvette pump for your year,
In this matter, I'd certainly test the bolt-fit WITHOUT a gasket to ensure they're not bottoming against a shoulder etc. New bolts are cheeep.
Of course, fresh gaskets, hoses & clamps ... but not pump unless it's obviously failing. Permatex #2 non-hardening on gaskets & threads.
The water pump bolts are NOT all the same length. If a longer-than-required bolt gets used in a specific mounting hole, it can 'bottom out' and IT CANNOT SEAL.
Make sure the bolt lengths are correct before pump installation; and put some [quality] sealant on the last few threads to prevent internal casting/machining leakage from wicking up and out at the bolt head.
Your old pump doesn't even look like a GM cast iron unit, but whatever. Your 4 steps for removal are correct, but belt loosening comes first of course.
Use great caution when ordering your replacement pump. There are:
Short W.P.
Long W.P.
And Corvette W.P.
Different distances from the timing cover.
Different pilot shaft sizes.
Sometimes different fan bolt spacing?
I hope Rock-Auto knows the difference.
Also, when you pick up your pump, grab a tube of Permatex W.P. & Waterneck RTV sealant. Its Glycol proof. Put a dab on the bolt threads too.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Feb 5, 2020 at 07:20 PM.
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To partially answer you original question, failure of anything on a 42 year old car is normal. If the hoses and belts don't look brand new I'd replace them along with a new pump. Peace of mind is worth something.
More than likely it is a replacement pump with bolts in wrong holes or from a big bin of mixed up bolts. Obviously not new bolts. Also check the sheet metal plate on the back of the pump. If it is 40-some years old, they can trust through.
Last edited by derekderek; Feb 6, 2020 at 06:03 AM.
Is this a normal failure?
