I noticed some coolant all over my engine bay today. Looked at the water pump and it seems to be leaking. Is there a possibility that the pump is fine, and just the gasket went out?

Anyone else had this problem?

any info would be great

 

Doubt it. Plus, with as much of a pain as it is to pull the water pump, really, it'd be dumb not to just replace it.
You will need some special tools to pull the fan. NAPA SER3472 works perfect. It's $77 though. Basically, you need a thin, long, 36MM wrench. And something to hold the pully bolts in place. These are both included in the kit. I bought the kit when replacing my water pump... really makes it simple.

Whatever you do, make sure you replace that bypass hose (it's a short hose mounted between the top of the water pump and the engine block). There's no way to easily get to it without removing everything you need to to replace the water pump. And it's only a few bucks.

 

i put some bolts in the water pump pulley and use a prybar and big cresent to get it off. i have changed out reman water pumps several times too, spend the extra money and buy a new one with a warranty, you will be glad you did. and x2 on the bypass hose. i would do the thermostat and hoses if hey are needed too.

 

Ok, so i dont want to spend more money buying the tool for the fan, but i will replace that hose. Also the thermostat was just replaced, less than 500 miles ago. The water pump just started leaking after i did that. The temp gauge when i replaced the thermostat was between 1/4 and 1/2 in the normal. Is that where it should be?

 

The worst part is removing the clutch. Mine was on so tight the only way I got it off was to pull the pump, remove the impeller, grind two flats on the shaft, chuck it in a vice, & hit the nut with an air hammer. Still took a 2' cheater bar on a big crescent wrench.

 

Maybe the thermostat housing is cracked or the gasket isn't seated properly. Since you say it started doing this after the therm replacement, I would check everything real good before tearing it apart for the wrong reason.

 

Yah thats what i was thinking too. I will check it out first. cause its not coming out from the actually water pump, its coming around the tops of it so im guessing its leaking down?

 

well i just looked over my water pump again and its not leaking. Drove it around till it got to operating temp, then checked it and its dry. Then shut if off and looked at it and no signs of leaking.

What could it have been?

 

Maybe an air bubble purged out of the system. Make sure you check the coolant level again, in the radiator, not the reservoir . And don't open while hot.