did my water pump fail? and why?

[jamesejam]

So just today my 87 Cutlass Supreme with 55k original miles started leaking coolant. It's dripping from behind the water pump? (the upper pulley in the center of the engine block.) I recently replaced all the belts (AC, PS, alt, AIR pump) and tightened them (by hand) so they have about an inch or so of "give" in between pulleys. So here are my questions -

1. Do I need to replace the whole water pump or just the gasket?

2. Could the belt tension have caused the water pump to start leaking? If so, how do I know how to tighten the belts without overdoing it?

3. Is this an easy fix or should I just take it to the shop? I don't want to spend more than 4-5 hours on this.

4. Could this be caused by a problem I haven't addressed?

 

[outsider_27]

The pump is over 20 years old, be glad it lasted that long. You will have to replace the whole pump and it is not that hard. You will have to pull the upper fan shroud, fan and pulley, but that is all. Should take maybe 1-2 hours with a few beers in between. Just make sure when you fill the coolant back up you let it "burp" all the air out. It could be just a gasket, but if you have to take the pump off anyway, it is not that expensive to get a new pump.

 

[SLICK79WGN]

I'm with outsider on this and they are cheap I just did mine and with coolant and gasket sealer it was only 40 bucks

 

[Phoenyx]

Yup your pump is gone. When a SBC water pump leaks from back there, it's time to replace it.

 

[jamesejam]

When draining the radiator, what should I use to capture all the coolant? Most bottles/jugs are too tall and not big enough; should I use one of those oil-collector things? Also, how much coolant will drain out and how much will I have to add to fill it back up again?

 

[gp355]

water pump

Just use a clean oil catcher if the coolent is still clean make shure to take the rad cap off to.then when your done installing the water pump make shure to tighten the petcock on the bottom of the rad fill the rad up.then start the car with the cap off to burp out the system and add little by little till it is full. and dont forget to check for leaks.

 

[JESSE]

pump

don't forget to replace your thermostat when you do your pump, after you replace the pump pull the thermostat an clean the old gasket .
before you put it back together fill the cooling system until the water comes out of the intake, then put the stat in and finish the job....this will keep the motor from running hot......jesse

 

[outsider_27]

You can get a cheap oil pan and drain the radiator. There will be enough capacity to hold what will drain. And leave it under the engine where the pump is so it will catch whatever drains from there. You should be able to reuse the coolant that drains out if you use a clean pan.

 

[jamesejam]

Do I fill the actual radiator with coolant until it's full, or should I fill it from the overflow tank? How do I know when all the air bubbles have been burped out of the system?

 

[JESSE]

leak

the easy way to get the air out of the engine is to do it with the thermostat...jesse