99 blazer 4dr, 2wd, not sure about the displacement... V6.

We just took ownership of this blazer that my parents have had for the last 140,000 miles without any problems whatsoever and after only driving about 60 miles the darn thing starts leaking coolant, enough to leak all the fluid out and stop leaking altogether within about 30 minutes.

Last time I saw this much coolant on the ground it was because a water pump went out, unfortunately I'm unable to actually verify that it's the waterpump this time. I can see where the hose attatches to the water pump and it's not leaking there, I can see the front of the water pump and it looks dry but what I can't see is where the water pump might be leaking. I just see water dripping off some wiring and water running down the front of engine in the general area of the water pump. From what I could actually see it looks like the water pump is not bolted directly to the engine rather it is mounted to a bracket and sits in front of the engine and has a hose that comes from the radiator and then another hose that goes to the engine, does that sound right to anybody? I honestly can not see the entire water pump area with all the hoses, wires, pullies and serp belt in the way. I don't have the time or a garage to tear apart the whole engine just to find that I'm looking in the wrong place and I certainly don't want to buy a new water pump if all that needs replacing is a gasket. I'm planning on taking the truck to a shop tomorrow and letting them tell me for certain what is wrong but if somebody can convince me that it's the water pump or something else I might be motivated to do the repair on my own.

 

it could be anything....could be the water pump could be the heatercore might well be one of the 4 coolant hoses........or maybe the rad itself......

 

Get the engine to normal operating temp. Shut it off. You would have to remove the upper fan shroud and fan. Now you'll have more room to diagnose. Yo don't need a garage to work on the truck. Unless it's raining out. It can be done anywhere. If it is leaking:

You can replace the pump yourself. Get a water pump, some coolant, repair manual, and a torque wrench. Might as well replace the clutch for the fan too.

It'll save you some $ and you'll get the satisfaction of doing the job yourself.




scott

 

I know I don't need a garage to work on the truck but the apartment complex has some rules about working on autos in the car ports so I'd have to work out on the street which may be against a city ordinance. I'm sure I could get away with working on the truck in the car port or the street but it's just not worth the hassle should somebody complain. In the past I've done always done work on my own cars except for replacing CV joints, I know I can do it and I've got all the tools I need or I know where to borrow them but at this point I just don't have a lot of time to troubleshoot, I hoped that somebody would say they had the exact same problem and it ended up being ________. Anyway the truck is at a shop now for a cooling system check.

 

there should be a little hole on the water pump called a weep hole. When the bearing of the pump fails, it will start dripping out the weep hole. It is hard to see where it is leaking from, my water pump went about 2 years ago. Follow the path of the water back up, and eventually youll get to the source.

If it is the water pump, it is not a hard job to do yourself. With the coolant cold, remove the radiator cap, this will let air enter and make draining what little is in the radiator less sloppy. Youll need to remove the fan shroud, then unbolt the fan from the studs on the water pump. Youll want to leave the belt on until after you have the bolts for the fan off, it gives some extra resistance from the fan spinning. Then you should be able to get the water pump off relatively easily. I would recommend giving the radiator a good flush while you have the coolant drained. If the radiator hoses are stock (140,000 miles), go ahead and replace them too, theyre not expensive and it prevents problems down the road. Do not reuse the stock clamps, buy some new hose clamps, theyre much easier to work with also. Replace the radiator cap while youre working with the cooling system, a Stant cap is like $5 and is again cheap insurance. They wear out over time and will not give the cooling system the correct pressure.

EDIT: My development has the same rules, it says "minor car repairs are allowed" The only thing I would consider to be major are pulling a motor, trans, or axle; so you should be fine. It should only take a couple of hours.

 

If you were a water pump the first place you would leak is the weep hole. However I have never seen a weep hole drain the cooling system in 30 minutes. Sounds more like a hose leak.

Let us know what they find out, and tell them you want to see the old parts. The water pump will (should) have a core charge so they will have to return it. However they can return it after you see it.

 

yeah, it does sound more like a hose leak, my water pump only weeped out a little at a time, hardly lowered the level

 

Dry rotted hose. Has to be gone at a tight bend/spot. Heater hose? Never had a waterpump drain an engine that fast. Only other choice would be a cracked waterpump, which DOES happen with some of these new aluminum monsters. Would never have happened with any of the regular metal ones.

 

yeah, Ive heard of them completely failing or cracking. I had a friend whose water pump failed all at once, the bearing cracked or something, and then of course once the fan was loose, it chewed up the radiator....ended up costing about $500

 

Yeah bearings can crack and on timing cases made that way the seal section could easily crack and blow an engine if it suddenly lost all oil too, right? Even a crack at a bolt hole in the case could destroy one of these motors in a hurry.

I have been looking at a 89-92 2.8 with aluminum timing "case"??? and waterpump. Am rebuilding one and waiting for crank to come back from shop. I am completely amazed at the trash that we are accomplishing in the name of modernization. The timing case is cast aluminum? Now why would that ever be considerred to begin with? Is plain steel to hard to find? Casting aluminum must be some sort of weight saving thing.

Problem I see with all this trash is real simple. Once you take it apart to do partial work here or there, its probably never quite the same again. In other words, as long as its never in an accident and never taken apart the whole thing is fine till it breaks, which CAN BE many many miles. BUT IT IS TRASH. Its not built to be maintained at all.

All the brackets are the same trash, dont ever take them apart cause theres enough possibility of not getting the right torque in the right place you'll never get it back right. At least this is what the design criteria must have been.


Hint here is this. The reason for the above part of the post is this. BE CAREFUL. When removing things off the front of the motor, do not hurry or get things in a bind or skip proper working steps. If you take your time and perhaps even take a picture of what you are doing before taking it apart, you MAY be able to get it back together without breaking it. (now or later) Good/n/tight is not a serious option on much of this stuff. Only good options are checking for proper torque specs and using at very least, a medium loctite and lock washers that are NEW in the factory places.

Do NOT throw away flat washers or any possible spacers used in certain places. They are a MUST in any place the factory might have used them. The bolts used are often of a special variety also and be sure not to substitute wrong bolts.

MANY folks do their own repais and have no problems, but if you do have a problem with a small thing, it may lead to serious expenses. Follow some of the basic hints here and save a bunch of grief in the future. One of the reasons many folks have no problems is because they have never done older cars where things actually had to be tight enough to not shake apart. REAL metal will cause these problems. It has to be tight because real steel or metal will PASS the vibration through it to its furthest end, the joint, or bolt. Aluminum, on the other hand, will not pass vibrations as readily. Sorta absorbs it. Well, in a way? Actually this metal tends to find its own weakest spot and self destruct. This weak spot may be at the bolt hole, the smallest part of the cast or thinnest part of the cast. Or, if not designed properly the main open space of the cast that is designed too thin.

So a crack can apear in any number of places and a clean break can often result in places designed to thin or to narrow or whatever.

The only proper way to keep your own end of the job from causing a problem is to work with a very even handed wrench hand and good, even tightening procedures. The bolts have to be clean, the threads have to be clean and a thread lubricant, sealant or loctite has to be in there somewhere. Plain old dry metal bolt on plain old dry aluminum is not good, so to speak. Make sure you know what ought to be used where you are working and do it properly.

Learned a bunch of this trash when first handling aluminum manifolds of different varieties. Heads are fun. But manifolds and heads are manufatured to higher standards that waterpumps, timing covers and brakets of all sorts.

What do you think is next?? A combo of all belt driven accesories in just one unit? Wanna put some money on it? Costs more that way dont