Cerwin Vega Fan

I have been trying to figure out why I have such weak power steering. Well, today I found what was the problem. I have water on my belt and the under side of my hood which is either coming from a hose or the pump (most likely the pump). This is the first real mechanical work I will be doing on my car (besides basic maintenance). I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks to changing the pump and would be worth trying to upgrade to en electric water pump?

Nova5

uh oh.... waterpump leaking... Opticrap crapout probablity just rose a good mark.

outdooricon

When I discovered water spraying around in my engine bay a couple of weeks ago in my winter beater, I found out it was the head gasket. I hope that isn't your problem. Good Luck with the fix though.

FIREHAWK #07

iTrader: (1)

just make sure that you DO NOT keep runing it while its leaking water, b/c opti will crap out shortly....

Depending on how much cash you got.... an electric water pump would be nice.... but if i remember correct.... you work at a autoparts store.... so you can probably get patrs real cheap ****wink wink****

Cerwin Vega Fan

Yep, I can get a new water pump for $86 plus I can have it changed on Tuesday, if I wait for an electric pump it would be about the weekend before I could have it changed.

Z95m6

iTrader: (1)

I suggest removing the air pump while you are at it. You will gain some room and have one less bracket to take off the next time you need to get to your waterpump/opti.

Cerwin Vega Fan

Tried removing the water pump but something was holding it in, I just left in it's place, not like it would be to hard to get to it again anyway.

BRENTT94Z

iTrader: (3)

Its been a while since Ive mest w/ the water pump but I believe you have a total of 5 bolts holding it on. One studded bolt that holds the air pump bracket also needs to be removed. When all that is removed, you can use a small prybar and slightly pry against the block and the water pump. Sometimes the waterpump gear will rust and be hard to get off.
Hope this helps.

GodHand

Why don't you pinpoint the leak first instead of diving right in and changing your water pump? Perhaps your water pump is just fine and a hose has a slit in it somewhere.

Start the car, let it get warmed up and get under it and see if you can see dripping coming from the water pump. If there are no leaks coming from the water pump then you know the leak is coming elsewhere and from there I'd check the oil to see if there's any coolant in it. If there's coolant mixed with oil it will look like a light brown milkshake and most likely one of your head gaskets is shot. I had a friend who had a leak where he bypassed the throttle body as well so check the hoses.

In any case, a water pump removal / installation isn't difficult. Just make sure you cover your opti so it doesn't get wet and drain out as much coolant as possible before you start the job.

SAPPER

iTrader: (10)

CV fan, if you need some help on the disecting of the pump exchange, I have an LT1 out of an Impala SS right now and can email you in-depth pics of the ordeal. I got his cam in and getting ready to put the Timing cover back on so I could snap a few of the front of the block depicting w/p instructions. If this is what you want, pm me an e-mail address and I can shoot it to you. Also, let me know on the ISP you use, If it's dial up, I will have to send you, like, 2 pics at a time so it doesn't take forever to d/l.