Coolant Leak
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 650
Likes: 4
From: Pittsburg Ca.
Coolant Leak
Hey guys ,I Havnt been here for awhile. My 97 has been flawless for 5 yrs up until this week. Got a low coolant message the other day thought nothing of it,topped it off, good to go. Well today I looked under the car after driving it and I was dpripping anti frezze from the rear part of the motor. Checked everything up top,water pump, hoses ,etc. Also checked where the two coolant drain plugs are on the front of block and nothing seeping or leaking from there. So Im guessing its one of the rear coolant drain plugs in the back bottom of the block. My question is.... If I get that thing on some ramps can I get to those rear plugs or plug from underneath and if so how difficult is it to change it. Thanks guys in advance for any help you can offer....
Last edited by Slick Rick; Sep 6, 2012 at 11:32 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,047
Likes: 2
From: Denver CO
Hey guys ,I Havnt been here for awhile. My 97 has been flawless for 5 yrs up until this week. Got a low coolant message the other day thought nothing of it,topped it off, good to go. Well today I looked under the car after driving it and I was dpripping anti frezze from the rear part of the motor. Checked everything up top,water pump, hoses ,etc. Also checked where the two coolant drain plugs are on the front of block and nothing seeping or leaking from there. So Im guessing its one of the rear coolant drain plugs in the back bottom of the block. My question is.... If I get that thing on some ramps can I get to those rear plugs or plug from underneath and if so how difficult is it to change it. Thanks guys in advance for any help you can offer....
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 650
Likes: 4
From: Pittsburg Ca.
Looks like I found it. Craweled underneath car this morning. It looks like a water pump. Leaks down onto the front leaf spring and then onto the ground. Alls I can say are these water pumps are crap. Just a little under 18,000 miles on this one. Original lasted 92,000. This was a new not remaufactured GM put on buy the dealer, that might be the problem also. Dont even know if Im gonna fix it. May just sale as is for cheap......
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 650
Likes: 4
From: Pittsburg Ca.
Well got the pump off. As suspected it was a shotty dealer install. Pump is fine. Whoever the installer was pinched one of the o-rings in the metal gasket on install. One side came off clean and the other side the round o-ring was torn. Im suprised it lasted this long. It was the drivers side, very hard to get to. Is the metal gasket the best way to go? Or paper and permatex better ?
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Well got the pump off. As suspected it was a shotty dealer install. Pump is fine. Whoever the installer was pinched one of the o-rings in the metal gasket on install. One side came off clean and the other side the round o-ring was torn. Im suprised it lasted this long. It was the drivers side, very hard to get to. Is the metal gasket the best way to go? Or paper and permatex better ?
You are correct, whoever did the "work" at the stealership did shoddy work and did not properly remove/clean all of the old gasket from the engine block, or improperly installed the new gasket(s), or both. Seems these water pumps are not "crap" after all.
Clean the block surface. Do not gouge/damage the metal surface. Make certain the water pump being re-installed is clean also.
Install new gaskets dry. Do NOT use any "sealant" or adhesive of any kind.
Ensure bolt holes are clean and no coolant residue inside. These are blind holes.
Torque the bolts to 11 lb ft (1st pass), 22 lb ft (final pass). Do NOT over-torque.......use a torque wrench and trust it.
HTH
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 650
Likes: 4
From: Pittsburg Ca.
Paper water pump gaskets were used on the '97 and '98 models ONLY. All C5s, beginning in '99, came with the newer style metal/rubber gaskets and this is now the gasket of choice. It is a very good design and seals very well.
You are correct, whoever did the "work" at the stealership did shoddy work and did not properly remove/clean all of the old gasket from the engine block, or improperly installed the new gasket(s), or both. Seems these water pumps are not "crap" after all.
Clean the block surface. Do not gouge/damage the metal surface. Make certain the water pump being re-installed is clean also.
Install new gaskets dry. Do NOT use any "sealant" or adhesive of any kind.
Ensure bolt holes are clean and no coolant residue inside. These are blind holes.
Torque the bolts to 11 lb ft (1st pass), 22 lb ft (final pass). Do NOT over-torque.......use a torque wrench and trust it.
HTH
You are correct, whoever did the "work" at the stealership did shoddy work and did not properly remove/clean all of the old gasket from the engine block, or improperly installed the new gasket(s), or both. Seems these water pumps are not "crap" after all.
Clean the block surface. Do not gouge/damage the metal surface. Make certain the water pump being re-installed is clean also.
Install new gaskets dry. Do NOT use any "sealant" or adhesive of any kind.
Ensure bolt holes are clean and no coolant residue inside. These are blind holes.
Torque the bolts to 11 lb ft (1st pass), 22 lb ft (final pass). Do NOT over-torque.......use a torque wrench and trust it.
HTH
Last edited by Slick Rick; Sep 8, 2012 at 05:16 PM.
