Got a new gripe with my '88 XLT. Walking up to her after work, I noticed a damp spot on the ground under the engine bay. Drove home, temps are looking fine... until about 2 block away from the house. Then, they climbed. Got parked, and she had coolant running from somewhere. It was dripping off the lower pulley on the front of the block, and somewhere else. Radiator hoses are less than 2 months old, as is thermostat. Radiator itself is maybe 2 or 3 years in age. Heater hoses *SEEMED* to be in good shape... will give them a good eyeball a bit later. Checked the Haynes Manual, and gave me the short list of probable causes for external coolant leaks. She's been running cool and dry since I replaced the thermostat... and she's not making any odd noises. Wouldn't the H2O pump make some racket if it was crapping out? If the pump HAS committed sepuku, how much of a PITA is it going to be to yank and replace?

 

Odds are it's the water pump. There's a weep hole on the underside of the shaft housing that you can see from underneath. Check and see if it's wet.

Replacement isn't that difficult, but odds are high that you'll break a bolt or two either removing them or reinstalling them. If you get lucky, and none break on the way out, do yourself a favor and get a set of new bolts to put the new pump back on.

If you've got a lot of miles on your truck, this would be an excellent time to replace the timing chain and gears, too!

 

Yup... it's the pump failing. Ran to get gas, and she threw up again. Got home, and looked good, and saw coolant running from the bottom of the pump shaft. For a second there I was starting to think that maybe the front main seal of the block was going! Guess I know what I'm doing Wednesday.

 

Don't forget to buy a new set of bolts!

 

Well... looks like I go get bolts AND an extraction tool. Snapped one (one out of a bunch is good, I guess) of the things this morning, so now I have to figure out how to get the remnants out. Any suggestions? Drill? Extractor tool? C4? Also, how in the name of God does the AC/power steering pump bracket come off, and why did they bolt it to the sodding water pump? At least the bad pump still manages to keep the thing from red-lining the temp. So far.

But on the bright side, at least I won't have to bust a gut getting the damn bolts loose again!

 

Ok. I wussed out. Took it to a Mom 'n Pop to get the damn pump installed. Runs great now, not leaking like a sieve, and running cool. At lwast I'll know what NOT to do next time.