Hi folks
My 96 Blazer with 190k miles started leaking water out of the weep hole on the water pump, so I replaced it with a new one. In the process I noticed the leaky water pump was only 6 years old (date stamped on it) and after I fastened the fan to the pump there was about a half inch of play when i wiggled the fan blades. I'm wondering if the loose fan has worn out the water pump bearing, causing it to fail prematurely.

Also the truck has always run at about 160 degrees when warm. I've replaced basically every component of the cooling system, so I'm wondering if the clutch fan has a problem. I can buy a decent clutch fan at the scrap yard for $10 or so, should I replace it hoping to avoid a $40 water pump job in the future?

Thanks!

 

Yes, a bad fan clutch can kill water pumps (plural).

I've also had vendors refuse to honor the warranty on a water pump without proof that a new fan clutch was installed with the water pump.

Your operating temp seems low. That's actually low enough that you might also notice the transmission won't go into torque converter lock.

Between 1/3 and 1/2 of the inexpensive/aftermarket thermostats I've bought in the last 5 years have been bad out of the box. The one in the 4.3L is designed to fail open. Mine was open or missing when I got my "new to me" 1996 Bravada, and I bought an AC/Delco 131151 (exact original equipment replacement) for it. I've had much better luck with a policy of "no substitutes accepted" for thermostats.

 

The trans definitely goes into lock up within a couple minutes of driving. Also the thermostat is working good because the truck heats up as far as the middle of the temp gauge (210 I think) and then cools off to 160 when the water starts flowing to the radiator. Tomorrow I'll put a new used fan + clutch on it and see how she runs.

 

I converted mine to an electric fan years ago. I still have my fan and clutch sitting in storage. If you were close to me I would say you could have them.