By Steve Hatch on Thursday, July 26, 2001 - 08:33 pm: Edit

I have already performed a keyword search for information, and found very little. I would like to know if I should see coolant above the water pump, on the block, as a sign of a blown bearing in the pump. I overheated once, and I have already replaced the thermostat, before noticing the coolant pooling, in the hope that it was the culprit. I am sitting on a new pump, and I would like to justify the replacement with more information.

P.S. How does the tensioner work on the serpentine belt, ie; belt removal for water pump replacement..

Thanks, Steve

By Moe on Friday, July 27, 2001 - 06:25 am: Edit

Steve, my waterpump was recently replaced under warranty. The signs of failure were noise and movement on the pulley--there was no coolant loss. I'm not sure if these waterpumps 'leak' before they blow. Are you sure that the coolant is not coming from the thermostat housing or the top radiator hose? When I replaced my hoses and thermostat a couple of weeks later a few leaks developed as the hoses settled--just retighten all the clamps and you might fix your leak. Check that the thermostat housing is not the culprit--did you replace the gasket, tighten the bolts sufficiently, or pinch the thermostat by accident during install? Best of luck.

By jason mack on Friday, July 27, 2001 - 01:33 pm: Edit

could be the intake manifold gasket as well. These have a history of being faulty

By discoman on Friday, July 27, 2001 - 02:36 pm: Edit

The water pump is fairly easy to re and re I did mine in under 3 hour's. When the bearing's go it will start to make noise. When the seal wear's it will leak coolent out the hole on the pump. Just remove the rad fan assembly and make note of where the bolt's came from. The belt tensioner is spring loaded, so put a wrench on it and turn against the spring pressure. The job look's difficult but the more you look at it the harder the job get's.