LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

what's the chance of a waterpump going bad after only 2 years/radiator after 3?

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Old 09-14-2011, 08:30 PM
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Default what's the chance of a waterpump going bad after only 2 years/radiator after 3?

So i was driving my car to a cruise in tonight and i thought i smelled osmething a bit odd, and when i got to the cruise and shut off the car, it started dropping coolant under the motor somewhere. wherever it's leaking from, coolant gets on the belt and gets flung a little bit onto the passenger side shock tower. I just had $1100 worth of work done ~ 2 weeks ago including having the AC rebuilt and the master cylinder replaced. i'm wondering if maybe they bumped a hose or something and it worked itself loose and created a leak. the car hasn't overheated at all, but when it did cool enough for me to open the radiator, i didn't see the coolant at top like it normally is. The radiator was changed along with the upper/lower hose in 2008 and the waterpump is from 2009. I really hope neither of those went bad so soon. i did have some work done in june that involved taking off the waterpump/optispark for the timing seal and waterpump seal. i really hope that didn't come undone somehow.
Old 09-14-2011, 08:34 PM
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Have you gotten under there to take a look?
Old 09-14-2011, 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RamAir95TA
Have you gotten under there to take a look?
under the hood yes, under the car no. it looks like it's leaking from the middle of the car slightly more twords the driver's side, but further back than the waterpump. i was maybe thinking the TB hoses since i still have them hooked up, but i didn't see any coolant coming out there. I had coolant on the underside of my hood as well as the shock tower and i think even the passenger fender top when i had the hood open last night trying to figure out why there was condensation on the shock tower that i now know is coolant.
Old 09-14-2011, 09:25 PM
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Gonna just have to give it a good look. I wouldn't think the water pump or radiator would be bad. could be a lot of things though. Check the coolant bleed screws and make sure they're good and tight.
Old 09-14-2011, 09:35 PM
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Anything is possible. You need to scope it out in more detail.
Old 09-14-2011, 10:25 PM
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IIRC when my waterpump was leaking before i got it changed, it was dropping a few drops. this is a bit more than a few drops as there was a puddle under the car. the low coolant light hasn't come on but i can see the first set of fins in the radiator. i'm going to drive the car to a shop in the morning for a coolant flush/diagnostics of the cooling system as i am due for a flush/change anyway since i had those seals changed in may. we reused my old coolant which wasn't in really bad shape but it wasn't great either and i had to add some water to the system when i got home cause the low coolant light did come on once the system got all the air out i guess.
Old 09-14-2011, 10:35 PM
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Ive had the same hose coming off of the bottom of the waterpump split on two different cars. It would spray on the belt like yours.
Old 09-14-2011, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by IronOutlaw
Ive had the same hose coming off of the bottom of the waterpump split on two different cars. It would spray on the belt like yours.
I hope that's what it is and not the WP itself. i would think that hose would have been replaced when the WP was changed but maybe not. I guess i'll find out tomorrow when i go in for a coolant flush and tell them it's leaking from somewhere.
Old 09-15-2011, 02:34 PM
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Check your radiator closely, you would be surprised how far a little hole in the radiator can **** out.
Old 09-15-2011, 04:54 PM
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well the good news is it was the TB bypass hose that went bad so they put a new one on and flushed the cooling system. the bad news is i found a large scratch on my headlight door after i got home after getting the car washed. i took it back to them and they said it looks like something came up off the road and did the damage. i don't think i can fix this without a repaint?

i have toned them down as much as i could with meguiers scratch x and swirl x. the mark starts at the bumper and goes about 3/4 of the way up the light with a few spots where it stops.






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