Water Pump & Radiator Tubes

[wheezer]

1986 K10, 305ci V8 here

It’s puking water and I can’t see if it is coming from the radiator hoses OR the pump. Having said that, i have a few questions for the SBC gurus here....

1. I am wondering what replacement product lines I should stay away from.

2. If it is the water pump that’s on the fritz, what do you recommend to properly seal the gaskets to the block prevent it leaking once it’s swapped out?

TIA.


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[wheezer]

I am looking at Autozone. I see several models of Duralast & Valucraft.

What’s the difference?

I have AC in this truck, if that makes any difference.


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[Crispy]

There is a little weep hole on the bottom of the water pump that will leak and sometime trickle down the hose then get blown around by the engine fan so you really dont know where its coming from. To verify where the leak is borrow a pressure tester from one of the big box auto stores. I know Autozone and Advance auto have them.

My suggestion is that if you determine its the water pump you go replace the water pump, thermostat, both hoses, and the radiator cap. The parts are cheap for these vehicles and you might as well once you have the system open. I always use gates water pumps since they have a lifetime warranty and stant caps. I never had a problem with a stant thermostat until recently when i repaired the head gasket on my Suburban. It came faulty from the factory so I ended up getting an AC delco unit.

Lastly, check rockauto.com for the parts. They offer a 5% discount on the order and are priced better than autozone with better quality parts.

 

[wheezer]

Thanks for the recommendation, Crispy.

It’s not exactly a trickle. It’s akin to a slow pour - if I fill up the radiator, it would lose about a foot of water when measured from cap to the level where it stops leaking. It would take about 2 hours to stop leaking, if you want to know the rate that it’s leaking.

It looks like it’s leaking down in front of the driveshaft area. I know it’s not the bottom radiator tube. I can’t tell if it’s the top tube that’s sporting a leak.

I tried slightly tightening the top tube connection at the pump & feeling around it.

I got a feeling the pump is done. 128k miles on it and it’s all original.


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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Whoa, no Duralast, Valucraft, or whatever cheapness the other stores are selling. No reman pumps either. I did a Valucraft on my Jimmy because the price looked good, but that was early in my endeavors with it. If I had to make that decision today, I’d go another route. I did a NAPA pump a month ago on my Caprice, and I feel a lot more comfortable with that decision. If it lasts 8-10 years, I’ll be happy. Check AC Delco on Amazon, eBay, and RockAuto. The stealership will rip you off on those, but if you find a deal online, go for it.