Not really any noises, just stuck on this issue.

1995 Trans AM

Recently i planned to flush my coolant and replace: radiator, heater core and lastly the T-stat.. Due to the brown mud found when taking off the radiator cap, and the car constanly overheating. After draining fluid from the radiator (very borwn) I thought all was good to continue with replacements, until i moved to the T-stat. Which was not installed (wtf), and the port where it fits was bone dry after running the car for about 30 min.

This then led me too think my water pump is bad. I then proceded to disconnect the lower hoses (2ea) where i found the fluid to be perfectly clean.

Does this mean that my pump has failed and needs to be replaced?

Thanks

 

The brown stuff was probably oxidized coolant. Time for a flush.

Once you get a proper thermostat and coolant in there, you can see what's up with the overheating. That could be caused by all sorts of things:
- Broken water pump
- Bad water pump seals pumping air in to the system
- Bad radiator fan
- Dead rodents all over the radiator
- etc.

 

You may have been over heating from a lack of coolant/ air in the system and it not flowing properly. As said flush and put a tstat in there and see where you're at.

How long have you had the car and realized there's no tstat?

 

 

Some cars run fine WITHOUT t-stat's.....I know several people here in south Florida that do it with GM cars and Fords. My engine does not like it at all, it will get hot fast.

If there's no t-stat you can't have an air bubble "stuck" in there causing the overheat like people do when a t-stat is in there, the coolant would flow as soon as you started the engine, unrestricted. But it sounds like you have a void in the system, or a large air pocket. It gets to a certain point and then it can't pump the water efficiently anymore and you overheat pretty fast.

Also....water pumps NEVER stop moving coolant....they just spring leaks in the seal and drip coolant. (unless your 1 in a million with a sheared shaft))

I would flush it properly....with a good degreaser, for a very long time. Its not easy getting the block fully clean.

You probably have a very tiny, slow leak......over time the coolant is pissing out after you shut the engine down. Then that void in the cooling system gets bigger and bigger over time, then one day you over heat because the water pump is spinning in that void and not moving coolant efficiently. Top off the coolant, put the front end up on ramps, get it up to operating temp, turn the engine off and look for leaks underneath....keep checking for 30 minutes. Actually, get under there and look right after you shut it off, then wait 15-20, then come back and look again.

.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/93-02-CHEVY-...item2ebcdd253b

 

I think GM put stopleak in the dexcool with the LS motors and probably the LTs too