I have a weird intermittent small coolant leak a bit far back in the water pump/gasket area I'm guessing it has to be judging from the pool when it does leak, the radiator and hoses are fine and in a totally different area than the leak, looking at new water pumps online some companies claim its normal for pumps to leak some from the weephole, they said the oem didn't even have a weephole and leaked water would just stay inside the chamber and get burned off as the engine heated up? I can link the products that said so, but several 2nd gen waterpump product infos said this...

if it's "normal" for the pump to leak, how much is considered normal to lose?

My 2nd question being, I see the reservoir tank has a curved opening at the top, so the cooling system in these trucks isn't truly a "closed" system like I had on other vehicles in the past, being in the hot and humid south, wouldn't some coolant just naturally evaporate over time? How much would be considered normal in that case?

It wasn't an awful lot lost and I've been measuring it lately and it hasn't been as bad, went from the full marker to the low marker in a bit over 200 miles.

I suppose next time I see it leaking I'll just take a pic with my phone and upload it so I can show the exact area.

Thx for any help or info on this matter, I'd rather it be an obvious bad leak so I'd know exactly what to change out honestly.

 

Your water pump shouldn't leak at all. The weephole is there to let you know it's failing because of the bearings inside. Yes some can evaporate out but it's very minimal you should be able to go a couple thousand miles before you lose enough to register. Your water pump is bad.

 

do you have any experience with the cheapo ~40 dollar oreilly or autozone waterpump or should I spend the ~75 for the lifetime warranty one? They're supposed to last for many thousands of miles and if I get a good one, a cheap one might last the rest of the life of the truck, I looked at some on rockauto but if I get a bad one I'd like to be able to just take it to the store for a replacement and not deal with the hassle of mailing returns in.

 

Sometimes, spending a bit more at a local store, and NOT paying shipping, is actually a better price.... Not to mention having warranty issues..... and paying shipping again... Etc.

Spend the money on the quality part. Don't worry about it again.

 

yeah, the more I think about it the more I might as well go with the lifetime warranty one for a little more, should last the life of the truck in all honesty, I don't put many miles on a vehicle per year as I live in close proximity to most major things in town. I'm guessing the timing chain is still good, heard it's common to go ahead and replace it too when doing the pump, but mine doesn't make any noise and no misfire or check engine light or anything. I sadly don't know the maintenance history on the truck, got it used a couple months ago

 

Don't bet on it! I been threw several pumps, I had a new Bosch that lasted almost 5 years to the day before i had to replace it(under warranty). It wasn't leaking but the bearings where shot. I'm working on the second one so see how long this one lasts. Definitely get the lifetime warranty!!! With 224K it would be a good idea to do the timing chain.

 

my 96 ram 360 had a timing chain cover gasket leak. that leak is hard to identify because it is well hidden. I was able to remove the alt, ac compressor and support bracket without draining the coolant. then test the system with a pressure tester and then that (and other) leaks are easy to identify.

 

Any recommendation for timing chain and gear set brand? I might as well do them too, I looked around online and watched a vid on how to do it, one guy did it really quick and easy but his dots were already lined up, I'd need to turn the crank till they are? Comments on the vid said to make sure it was at top dead center before replacing the chain and gears. I didn't know changing them out could result in a good performance increase, that'd be nice. For all I know it's an old one in mine, or it could be a new one, sucks when you get a used vehicle with no maintenance history at all,lol

I hope I don't have to remove that whole bracket, that seemed like a real pain to have to do if that little upper hose that connects to the water pump goes bad....I'll need a torque socket too to get these bolts to the right amount, I can just drain and reuse my oil before doing the chain and gears, it's only 3 month old synthetic blend without many miles on it....with as few miles as I drive a year I only need to do a yearly oil change for good measure...think I have some black rtv sitting around somewhere too

 

Get a decent double roller timing set. I used the SA Gear set from advanced auto. (.25 chain pitch please.) You can align the dots once you get the cover off, then just swap 'em out. It really is that easy.

Just be careful of the oil pan gasket......

 

oh is it easy to hit and mess up that oil pan/gasket? ;o
just came across this vid, I hope that harmonic balancer bolt isn't hell to get off or hard to put back on like I saw in one vid ;o

I remember reading the coolant side of the timing cover can get pitted/corroded over time and can even be a source of leaks, maybe that's actually where mine is, hmm. I'll have to watch more to be sure, but I read to make sure to put extra rtv there.

I've heard different things online, do I really need to drain the oil out before? Some claimed no oil ever even came out when they took the timing cover off, lol. Ahh and I'll also need that new timing cover seal/crankshaft seal added to my shopping cart I suppose...