[2450]

i'm getting ready to pitch this heep in the lake, and jeepwife is not impressed...though i guess at 200000 kms parts start to go south for the winter...

yesterday i got to a friend's place and saw coolant pouring out of the front at a pretty good clip...opened the hood and most of the engine compartment was covered (must have blown somewhere down the road)...the source seemed to be behind/below the fan/water pump pulley, and was flowing down over the timing chain cover and the crank pulley...all the coolant hoses are attached and fine, and there wasn't a whole lot of coolant above the pump (i.e. i'm pretty sure it's not coming from the tstat housing area)...i checked the oil a few times after this and it was fine - no obvious signs of coolant...

not knowing much about water pumps (yet), my questions are:

1. is this much coolant pouring out the front a sign of the pump failing somehow?
2. would it be coming out the weep hole, or a seal where it mates to the engine, or a shaft seal where the pulley goes in?
3. OR...could it be a catastrophic failure of the head gasket near #1 cylinder?

i'm hoping for the pump - much easier to fix i reckon...i'm also inclined to think that's what it is...i may have overtightened the alternator belt when i reinstalled everything after my timing chain replacement...

 

[jdoggmoney]

Yeah sometimes pumps can do that. But are you sure there's not a cracked or ruptured hose (lower radiator)? Either way, it's just telling you that it is time to not only replace the pump, but take a good look at the hoses, t-stat, etc. Most of these items should be reasonably priced. I hear ya about the wife though. It's a Jeep thing, be very nice to her and maybe she'll try to understand.

 

[LEVE]

1. Yep, it's likely the water pump...
2. As to:

In reply to:

...i'm also inclined to think that's what it is...i may have overtightened the alternator belt when i reinstalled everything after my timing chain replacement...

[/ QUOTE ]3. You Southern Boys ain't so dumb, [*](Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 46:32:24N 80:51:36W)[*](Rockford, WA 47:27:04N 117:07:45W)
[*]Sudbury's south of me!
4. You got two in a row!
5. An over tightened belt will apply too much torque,
6. To the water pump pulley,
7. And wear it out VERY quickly!

 

[CJ7Taz]

When the bearing goes bad, the pump seal can no longer do it’s job so it lets coolant leak out the weep hole which is in exactly the location where you are describing the leak. Too much tension on the belts can cause the problem but it’s doubtful that anything you did very recently would have been the root cause. It was on it’s way already and you just caused it to show up sooner rather than later.

 

[dfjeepster]

Sounds like the water pump to me too. The one on my wife's YJ decided to do the same thing the other day just after I finally got it through inspection.

I just picked up a new one this morning and hope to get it in as soon as it warms up a little.

 

[2450]

In reply to:

3. You Southern Boys ain't so dumb,
(Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 46:32:24N 80:51:36W)
(Rockford, WA 47:27:04N 117:07:45W)
Sudbury's south of me!

[/ QUOTE ]

LEVE, that made my day and made me laugh out loud...so how do you like your "northern winters"?

while i'm thinking about this problem, a couple more questions came to mind...

1. When i start the jeep, more often than not i hear gurgling through the heater core...does this just indicate low coolant, or something else?

2. After i filled the cooling system after my timing chain install, i started the jeep with the rad cap off to try and work any air out...it shortly reached a point where the coolant started pouring out of the rad fill hole...as i'm looking down the hole, shouldn't i just see the coolant circulating, and not making like linda blair in the exorcist?

up until yesterday, i had great heat, and stable temps while driving (around 90-100*C), so i didn't think that #1 and 2 above were anything serious to worry about...

 

[LEVE]

1. When I refill an engine...
2. I usually remove the thermostat,
3. And pour the coolant into the block,
4. Then reinstall the thermostat.
5. And continue to refill the radiator, etc.
6. This way I know the block's as full,
7. As I can physically fill it.
8. Then the thermostat's not measuring air,
9. That makes it mighty tough to open.
10. A gurgling heater core may mean low fluid.
11. Glad I made your day!

 

[MOX]

A lil O/T but when my water pump went out it also sounded like I had a rock caught up somewhere under my hood, also kinda sounded like a spray paint can being shook up under my hood. Turned out it was my water pump. Prob. didn't help ur prob, but if ya here that noise anytime soon, don't think its something else. Thats what I did.

 

[2450]

i had no clear warning that mine was going...a little bit of belt squeal (which i now attribute to the flying coolant as i drove down the road), and the power steering was feeling stiff and jerky, again, due to belt slippage from the coolant spraying everywhere...no other noises...

i changed it all yesterday/last night...turns out that it was probably the original pump - it had the old AMC/Jeep symbol cast on it (the triangle/vertical bar)...once i got it out, it wasn't seized, but it also wasn't rotating smoothly...i could feel it sticking in a few spots...

haven't started it yet as i was waiting for the RTV on the pump and thermo housing to cure a bit...one word of warning for anyone doing this: check EVERYTHING on the new pump...mine was the same size, shape, same openings, and the proper direction impeller (forward)...however, after putting a thin bead of rtv on the block and getting 3 of the bolts in, i realized the 4th bolt (bottom one on the passenger side of the pump) was too short...it seems that the pump housing was thicker in that spot on the reman. pump than on the original

...make sure all your bolts will fit! just when i thought i could get through a repair without the customary mid-job run to the parts store...

also, you may want to pick up a new set of studs for the pulley/fan side of things...mine wouldn't come out without destroying the threads...