Water pump madness...
 

I figured this would make a good addition to the 'Fuel pump madness' thread that Chev started in the Bitchlist a while back, but this time, I'm not bitching, so I put it here instead. :)

This morning, my truck's water pump blew a gasket on the way into work. I never smelled any antifreeze, and the temperature gauge never rose at all, but when I parked in the parking lot at work, I saw coolant puddling up underneath my truck. The usual thought "sonofabitch!" ran through my mind at that moment. I popped the hood and looked in to see if a hose had burst (because that's happened once before), but I didn't see anything wrong. So I layed down on a dry part of the ground and looked under my truck, and sure enough, it was the water pump.

I'm actually really glad this happened today when it did. My truck got me to work without leaving me stranded on the side of the road, and it's good that this happened now because of the plans that I've got coming up soon. It would have seriously sucked to have it break down then. :p I can't complain, though. That was the original water pump, and the truck is about ten years old now, so it's given me plenty of loyal service.

Anyways, so I call my dad just after I notice the leak, and I tell him what's going on. He was able to stop by the parts store today while he was on break, and he picked up a new water pump, a couple new coolant hoses, a couple gallons of antifreeze, a couple gallons of water, and some hose clamps for me while I was still at work. I was surprised that the new pump only cost $30. That's damn cheap, and it wasn't rebuilt either. :)

After I clocked out from work this afternoon, I walked out into the parking lot and started working on my truck. I keep a small tool kit with me at all times in the truck, but it didn't have a couple tools that I needed. Luckily though, one of my coworkers had what I needed in the toolbox that he had in his truck. I got everything taken apart and had the new water pump installed before my dad clocked out, and then he came over to help me finish.

This was the first time I'd ever had to replace a water pump, and I was surprised at how easy it actually was. I also replaced the fan belt while I was at it.

I'll post a picture of the old water pump sometime soon. It was lookin' kinda rough. :) But anyways, I was pretty impressed that it lasted ten years. Can't beat that. :D

I would like to know what you have in your truck. Perhaps a picture of your truck or truckbox if you have one. I'm sure what you have in your truck I should get in mine.

Ten years ?! OMG !! Most children in Africa won't last this ..

You have to be careful about working on your vehicle in a parking lot. Despite obvious reasons why it's neccesary, it's against the law in a shitload of places (my only guess to why is assholes will dump their used/unused chemicals onto grass and the asphalt).

fucking hell i paid AU$140 for a water pump for my piece of shit car.

thats an awesome price. then again, thats a pretty common engine. must be easy, too, when your engine is pointed the right way.

You beat me to it :) I've worked on engines like this, where you could literally drive the car up onto something (scaffold board and the spare tyre usually ;) ) and swap out the pump in 5-10 minutes. Having said that, I remember one particular instance where it required the engine to be unmounted, and winched up about a foot before we could get at it :igor:

on my last car you had to unbolt the engine mounts and rock the engine forward to change the rear spark plugs.

I just swapped out the plugs. them suckers are hard to get to with everything all close and everything. I got to them all though. It seems my engine compartment was designed so that it could be worked on manually with things arranged so that I would have just enough room to menueaver. Can't get that on a Honda I don't think.

You know, I've actually noticed that most Japanese car engine bays are so cramped, and you can't hardly get to anything...Even the 302 in a Fox-body Mustang allows more engine bay room (Which is kinda why I like my LX - An I4 engine in a V8 bay allows way more room than needed :D )...

My hands aren't Japanese small enough for a Honda... :p

my dad used to have an '88 Civic DX that was pretty easy to work on. good car too. nicely designed engine.

Chevy boys.
You gotta own a Chevy;)

I'm glad every turned out as easy as it did for ya, Sarge. And that was a great price on the water pump. Last water pump I bought cost me $115. :(

wow, i just checked auto zone and a pump for my car is 28.99. a reman would be 19.99 but i'd trust it about as far as i can throw it.

'bout what they run for the Camino:up:

I've got a couple pics to post, but I'm at my mom's place right now. I'll post them when I get back home. :)

That's another one of the pictures I took. And yes, you should get an engine like mine in your truck. :D


Yep, that's true. But around here, nobody cares if you work on your vehicle in the parking lot so long as you don't dump things like engine oil or transmission fluid on the ground. Coolant isn't that bad because it evaporates relatively quickly. And whenever I have to change the engine oil or transmission fluid in my truck, I always put the used oil in containers and take it to someplace that has an oil vat. :)


Yar! If I'm not mistaken, the water pump on my truck is the exact same pump that GM put on all the 350 Small Blocks. That's a tried and proven design. :) And I agree... I can't stand transverse mounted engines. I'm not a big fan of front-wheel drive anyways, and especially not of unibody construction. I need something with a strong frame that's rear-wheel drive and has the engine pointed forward. :)


Chevy's where it's at. :D


Ditto. :)

My 5.7l v8 does just fine :p

Oh, well in that case... :D You've got a great engine right there. My engine is basically the same as yours, but with two cylinders chopped off. GM's Small Block is a true marvel of modern engineering simply because of its dependability, ease of maintenance, compatibility of parts, and awesome power output.

I took a quick shot of my engine yesterday while I was at my mom's place, so I'll attach it now. This is a slightly older version of GM's Vortec 4300 series V-6. There were a couple different variations of this engine offered in the S10s, but only the SS got this high output version (VIN W). My truck is one of only 1,619 S10 Super Sports made in 1995. The only other mass-produced compact pickup truck of the 1990s that could outpower my truck is the 1991 GMC Cyclone... which is basically the same thing as my truck. Go figure. :p


Engine Type: V-6, Cast Iron Block And Heads
Valvetrain: OHV, 2 Valves/Cylinder
Engine Displacement: 4.3 Liters (262 Cubic Inches)
Fuel Induction: Central Multiport Electronic Fuel Injection
Compression Ratio: 9.2:1
Redline RPM: 5250
Power: 195 HP @ 4500 RPM
Torque: 260 Lb-Ft @ 3600 RPM

Vroom vroom! :D

Now, I've got a few pictures of the old water pump that I took out of my truck the other day. I set it in the bed of my truck on a towel and snapped these pics yesterday. I have to attach them, so please excuse the multiple posts. :)

Ten years of hard use has taken its toll, but this pump held up remarkably well.

Here's a shot of the top. Aside from the crud that built up around the areas where the hoses attach, it doesn't look altogether bad.

Here's a shot of the rear plate that's directly behind the impeller. The gasket inbetween the rear plate and the pump housing is what was leaking. It was actually a relatively slow leak.

Last shot. Here's another pic of the rear plate. If you look around the edges of the rear plate, you can see the discoloration from the leak.

except, of course, teh turbos.

Well yeah. Except for the turbocharger and 4-wheel drive system, it's basically the same. :)

Exactly the same, only different. Lots different.

like i mean they both had a bed and stuff...

Har har. :p

Same chassis, same engine, same transmission, same rear axle. My truck just has a newer body. :)


And dad and I just fixed the AC system a little bit ago. Had to replace the compressor and accumulator, evacuate the system, then charge it up. Works pretty decent now.

Hell, if I keep this up, I'll have a whole new truck soon. :D

We're gonna party like it's 1995... ;)

Oh wait, it is... :D

1. find rolled sy/ty
2. strip drivetrain
3. install in ss
4. profit

yeah, it's a bitch to get out my water pump, it's on the original, and it's 13 years old. It was having off and on leaks but now it isn't :igor:

(pump is on the left side next to the dipstick, old picture)

wrong pic there protegechris.

and if it is indeed a protege you drive, then i beleive my water pump uses more HP than your engine makes :D

lol, wrong picture indeed. And yes, the SOHC engine makes a mere 103whp :) The DOHC I want to put in only makes 123, however, when I've got a spare 900 bucks to spend I can import the ~230hp GTR turbo engine from Japan, with enough mods can run 10.9sec 1/4 miles :)

I like the car, it's cheap to work on and I like how it looks, I'm not racing it (yet, well autocross :p) so I don't feel the need to invest a few grand for a nice engine swap ;)

You sure a car with that kind of horsepower can run those kind of quarter-mile times? It's gotta be pushing it for a FWD 4-cylinder, regardless...I wouldn't expect the drivetrain to even live after such a pass... :p

*looking for the video*

video of nightwarriors... 1st gen 323s and proteges

Pay more attention to the red protege it shows the dyno of in the beginning of the video, I may be off with 10.9 but I believe there's a 10.9 or 11.2 run in there.

I think my truck could pull your car across the finish line faster than it could get there under its own power. :D jk


Sounds like a plan.