Continuous Water Pump Issues, Really Need Help!
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Sep 2023
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The leak is distinctly coming from the bottom of the pump. Even if I did have a small leak elsewhere, it would be hard to tell because the fluid gets flung around in the belts and leaves residue all over the place. Going to try to get a pressure test done this week.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Sep 2023
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I was just going to suggest replacing the tension clamps. I had a tension heater hose clamp fail, but nothing catastrophically. It lost just enough tension that when the engine was up to 185°-190°, it allowed a very slow drip. Nothing under the car. I was ready to pull the heads for a gasket replacement, when I saw it drip on a still warm area, and almost immediately evaporate!!! Tension clamps can be damaged by removing them improperly, as in squeezing them with channellock pliers, past their elastic limit. Wish I could help more.....
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Wilmington, De
Off the top of my head, you have three spots above the the water pump that could leak onto the pump and make it look like it is weeping. The first is the steam crossover pipe, which has gaskets on each head that are known to weep with age. There is also the hose running from the pipe to the cooling system. This hose most likely needs replacement after 25 years. I also wouldn't rule out the crossover itself developing a fracture. The second spot is the coolant hose running through the bottom of the throttle body. GM ran coolant through the underside of the throttle body for a couple of decades. Most people removed the throttle body from the circuit, but if your car is original, then chances are good that the hoses need to be replaced due to age. The third spot would be the freeze plugs on the cylinder heads. Again, due to age, freeze plugs can lose their seal, but I would say this is the unlikeliest of the possibilities. I would be looking at the rubber hoses going to the throttle body and steam pipes, then the steam pipe gaskets, then the steam pipe itself, and finally the freeze plugs.
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Joined: Dec 2017
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If the back (smooth) side of the belt runs on the WP pulley, it spins CCW. Putting a CW pump on such a setup will not pump diddly. Personally I've never seen or heard of any setup for these motors that the ribbed side of the belt runs over the WP and thus would turn it CW instead, butt if indeed there is such a thing, it would certainly create the possibility of confusion.
The thermostat housing is also notorious for warping and leaking where it fits into the back of the pump. On the truck motors at least, that fails as often as the pump does. Of course if you physically see coolant coming out of the weep hole then that's clearly a WP fail; butt you might have 2 leeeeeeeks going on at the same time.
The thermostat housing is also notorious for warping and leaking where it fits into the back of the pump. On the truck motors at least, that fails as often as the pump does. Of course if you physically see coolant coming out of the weep hole then that's clearly a WP fail; butt you might have 2 leeeeeeeks going on at the same time.
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Joined: Jun 2016
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From: Central Cal.
If the back (smooth) side of the belt runs on the WP pulley, it spins CCW. Putting a CW pump on such a setup will not pump diddly. Personally I've never seen or heard of any setup for these motors that the ribbed side of the belt runs over the WP and thus would turn it CW instead, butt if indeed there is such a thing, it would certainly create the possibility of confusion.
The thermostat housing is also notorious for warping and leaking where it fits into the back of the pump. On the truck motors at least, that fails as often as the pump does. Of course if you physically see coolant coming out of the weep hole then that's clearly a WP fail; butt you might have 2 leeeeeeeks going on at the same time.
The thermostat housing is also notorious for warping and leaking where it fits into the back of the pump. On the truck motors at least, that fails as often as the pump does. Of course if you physically see coolant coming out of the weep hole then that's clearly a WP fail; butt you might have 2 leeeeeeeks going on at the same time.
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Joined: Oct 2016
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From: PDX-OR-USA
FWIW,, I worked on a boat this summer with a LQ4 and it had the grooved pulley on the water-pump..
Kinda makes sense since all it had was crank/alternator/water-pump pulleys, with alternator being the tensioner.
Kinda makes sense since all it had was crank/alternator/water-pump pulleys, with alternator being the tensioner.
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From: Central Cal.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
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From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
I replaced my water pump the first time at about 105k with a Dorman or some such part and it lasted for 75k and about 10 years.When I went to replace it, I talked to some people and did my research and decided to go with the GM GENUINE 251744 Water Pump Kit with Housing, Seals, Bearing, Impeller, Pulley, Gasket, and Bolts from Rock Auto. It costs about $100 more than the ACDelco unit, but I was advised it would be worth it.
If you don't find the source of the problem elsewhere, you may want to take the dive and have this unit installed. It is the OE piece, not a reman or aftermarket piece.
If you don't find the source of the problem elsewhere, you may want to take the dive and have this unit installed. It is the OE piece, not a reman or aftermarket piece.
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Launching!
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 286
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From: AZ
TLDR AT END
Hello everyone, I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time but I'm at a total loss on this issue and have finally decided to make a post. Two summers ago, my 1998 A4 began to smell like coolant and sprung a coolant leak shortly after. After a quick trip to a reputable garage that my family has dealt with in the past it was determined that the car needed a new water pump. The original factory water pump was still on the car at the time so it was not surprising that it would need to be replaced. The garage replaced it with a NAPA unit along with new upper and lower rad hoses and a new thermostat. Unfortunately, this is where the problems began. Although the car seemed to have stopped dripping, the scent of coolant never totally disappeared. This happened near the end of that season and I ended up storing the car for that winter before any leaks occurred.
Unfortunately, when I pulled it back out the next spring, within a month it was leaking just like before. At this point I was able to identify that the leak was coming from the weep hole on the bottom of the water pump. I quickly brought the car back to the garage and had a new NAPA pump installed under warranty, as the mechanic was convinced that the first replacement pump was defective. Fast forward another month or so and surely enough this second replacement pump also began to leak. I once again returned to the garage and they installed yet another new NAPA pump. There were some minor intermittent leaks that occurred with that pump for the rest of that summer but at that point I was quite frustrated with the car and hoping that perhaps it was a leaking hose or something else causing these leaks that we hadn't noticed. I was able to store the car for that winter without any major leaks occurring but was skeptical about the issue being solved.
Almost immediately upon pulling the car out of storage this summer the leaks from the weep hole once again began, this time occurring nearly every time I drove the car. I brought the car back to the garage once more in late April but this time demanded that they install a different brand of water pump. They installed an ACDelco water pump and it seemed as though the issue was finally solved. About a month ago, I began to smell coolant again and surely enough the car began to leak from the weep hole, just like before. Since then, I began to notice that whenever I left the car slightly below the full coolant level it would leak much less than if I filled it to the full line. Eventually, the coolant got low enough to trip the low coolant message and I finally refilled the reservoir.
The next night while out for a drive the car blew off the upper rad hose as I was returning home. I was able to limp it home without overheating, reattach the hose and back the car in for the night. That night I read that faulty reservoir caps could cause pressure issues in the coolant system and ordered a new OEM cap. The next day I installed the new cap and refilled my reservoir while the car ran, letting the car hit operating temps so that the thermostat would open and I would not get air pockets in the system. Since then, my coolant leak has gotten significantly worse. Up until this point the leaks had always been a few drops after heavy acceleration or when shutting off the car. I would smell them, hear the belts squealing and could see evidence of leakage from the weep hole on the rail directly underneath the pump when they would happen but it was never a substantial amount of fluid being lost. Now, the car is leaking a significant amount. I constantly smell coolant while driving, there is a visible amount of coolant underneath the pump on the rail and there are puddles of coolant on the ground whenever I shut the car off. As well, I think I can see multiple drips now. I still see the drip from the weep hole (which is much faster and longer lasting now) as well as a drip from somewhere around the middle of the pump. To make matters worse, coolant is getting into my belts and getting flung around the front of the engine bay, making it harder to track leaks. What's really bizarre is that I have not had a single cooling issue throughout this entire debacle, the car has never ran hotter than normal operating temperatures despite all the leaks and issues.
At this point I am at a total loss for what to do next. In all fairness to the garage, they are very well respected in the community and their mechanic has been working on sports cars and muscle cars for decades. Is it really possible that this is yet another bad pump? Is there a chance that the pumps are being installed incorrectly or is there another underlying issue causing these leaks that I'm missing? I'm extremely frustrated with this issue and desperate to find a fix before winter rolls around again. If any of you guys have any ideas or have dealt with anything like this before, PLEASE let me know, I greatly appreciate any help that I can get to reach the bottom of this.
TLDR: Car is on it's 4th replacement water pump in 2 years. All four have leaked from the weep hole. Are the pumps really all defective or do I have an underlying issue?
Hello everyone, I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time but I'm at a total loss on this issue and have finally decided to make a post. Two summers ago, my 1998 A4 began to smell like coolant and sprung a coolant leak shortly after. After a quick trip to a reputable garage that my family has dealt with in the past it was determined that the car needed a new water pump. The original factory water pump was still on the car at the time so it was not surprising that it would need to be replaced. The garage replaced it with a NAPA unit along with new upper and lower rad hoses and a new thermostat. Unfortunately, this is where the problems began. Although the car seemed to have stopped dripping, the scent of coolant never totally disappeared. This happened near the end of that season and I ended up storing the car for that winter before any leaks occurred.
Unfortunately, when I pulled it back out the next spring, within a month it was leaking just like before. At this point I was able to identify that the leak was coming from the weep hole on the bottom of the water pump. I quickly brought the car back to the garage and had a new NAPA pump installed under warranty, as the mechanic was convinced that the first replacement pump was defective. Fast forward another month or so and surely enough this second replacement pump also began to leak. I once again returned to the garage and they installed yet another new NAPA pump. There were some minor intermittent leaks that occurred with that pump for the rest of that summer but at that point I was quite frustrated with the car and hoping that perhaps it was a leaking hose or something else causing these leaks that we hadn't noticed. I was able to store the car for that winter without any major leaks occurring but was skeptical about the issue being solved.
Almost immediately upon pulling the car out of storage this summer the leaks from the weep hole once again began, this time occurring nearly every time I drove the car. I brought the car back to the garage once more in late April but this time demanded that they install a different brand of water pump. They installed an ACDelco water pump and it seemed as though the issue was finally solved. About a month ago, I began to smell coolant again and surely enough the car began to leak from the weep hole, just like before. Since then, I began to notice that whenever I left the car slightly below the full coolant level it would leak much less than if I filled it to the full line. Eventually, the coolant got low enough to trip the low coolant message and I finally refilled the reservoir.
The next night while out for a drive the car blew off the upper rad hose as I was returning home. I was able to limp it home without overheating, reattach the hose and back the car in for the night. That night I read that faulty reservoir caps could cause pressure issues in the coolant system and ordered a new OEM cap. The next day I installed the new cap and refilled my reservoir while the car ran, letting the car hit operating temps so that the thermostat would open and I would not get air pockets in the system. Since then, my coolant leak has gotten significantly worse. Up until this point the leaks had always been a few drops after heavy acceleration or when shutting off the car. I would smell them, hear the belts squealing and could see evidence of leakage from the weep hole on the rail directly underneath the pump when they would happen but it was never a substantial amount of fluid being lost. Now, the car is leaking a significant amount. I constantly smell coolant while driving, there is a visible amount of coolant underneath the pump on the rail and there are puddles of coolant on the ground whenever I shut the car off. As well, I think I can see multiple drips now. I still see the drip from the weep hole (which is much faster and longer lasting now) as well as a drip from somewhere around the middle of the pump. To make matters worse, coolant is getting into my belts and getting flung around the front of the engine bay, making it harder to track leaks. What's really bizarre is that I have not had a single cooling issue throughout this entire debacle, the car has never ran hotter than normal operating temperatures despite all the leaks and issues.
At this point I am at a total loss for what to do next. In all fairness to the garage, they are very well respected in the community and their mechanic has been working on sports cars and muscle cars for decades. Is it really possible that this is yet another bad pump? Is there a chance that the pumps are being installed incorrectly or is there another underlying issue causing these leaks that I'm missing? I'm extremely frustrated with this issue and desperate to find a fix before winter rolls around again. If any of you guys have any ideas or have dealt with anything like this before, PLEASE let me know, I greatly appreciate any help that I can get to reach the bottom of this.
TLDR: Car is on it's 4th replacement water pump in 2 years. All four have leaked from the weep hole. Are the pumps really all defective or do I have an underlying issue?
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Seems like on all the forums owned by this company, a blast of spam has landed in the last day or 2. All of it with this AI-generated-looking DRIVEL that says NOTHING, ALL of it with random userIDs consisting of a first and last name with either 4 or 5 characters all mashed together like this one. Some men's names, some women's, always the same CRAP of useless mouth (keyboard) diarrhea.
And I used to think TROLLS were bad...
And I used to think TROLLS were bad...