hey all, i was advise to seek help on this forum by some friends on jeep forum. so first off hello and thanks for any help in advance. i am having some issues with a 96 blazer 4x4, i assume they all have the same 4.3l engine. anyway we drove about 200miles round trip last night and i had no noticible overheating issues but i was tired and could have missed a high temperature last night. this morning the wife went to the store about 10 miles round trip and said it overheated on the way back and i went out to check it. the radiator was extrememly low and the resivoir was empty. it was leaking coolant very slowly about 1 drip aevery 6 seconds from what appears to be a seal behind the crank pulley. i am not sure if that was where it was coming from but that is definately where it was pooling and dripping. it was so slow i really couldn't see where it was coming from it just appeared. i refilled the sytem and ran it up tp operating temp and found no leaks any longer. i took it for a hard 5 mile drive and it did not overheat, steady around 195. i see no leaks at this point. i am; however, concerened about another long trip if this problem is mearly hidden.

side note: the blazer has 2 different noises coming from it a very annoying belt squeakdue tothe broken a/c compressor being bypassed with a shorter belt, and a noticible whine coming from what i think may be the water pump.

i checked all hoses, thermostat area, and water pump and none appear to be leaking.

is there something i missed?

sorry for the long post but i wanted to give as much info as possible

 

okay update, i made a short trip across town and upon return it was leaking from the same area only much faster. i think it may be coming from the the bottom of the water pump. i am semi-capable driveway mechanic(i do all repairs on both jeeps), is there any problems assciated with these vehicles and changing there water pumps? is it pretty strate forward: remove shroud, fan/clutch assembley, remove pully, remove water pump, replace water pump reassemble?

 

Sounds like a failing waterpump to me as well. And yeah, the basics are as you state. It can be a bit fun to get the old gasket cleaned off of the front of the block, but it isn't that bad. The fan clutch can also take some messing around with to get it off if the specialized tools are not available to you. I have found that if you leave the belt on, using a large adjustable wrench and a hammer, put the wrench on the large hex shaft to the fan/clutch assembly and smack it with the hammer. Normal rotation - leftie loosie.

Hope all goes well!

 

thanks i will be attempting the repair tomorrow morning

 

Well, my water pump died last Monday, 3/3. Seeing as it was just replaced last fall, it makes me wonder about the quality of these parts. Just as before, it blew after I revved the engine pretty high, though I don't believe I redlined it. Since I don't have a tachometer, I don't know for sure.

Thanks to everyone who has posted how-tos. I think it will be pretty straightforward, once I get the fan clutch off. That's the main part I'm not looking forward to. I may be replacing the starter at the same time.

Edit - 3/10/2008

Well, last weekend's water pump replacement was successful! I started on it on Saturday, but I had to quit early, due to rain and hail. I could have sworn I saw a funnel cloud, so I wasn't taking any chances.

I resumed it yesterday (Sunday). As I already knew, the hardest part was removing the fan. A lot of people here said you must leave the belt on to make it easier. However, that did not help me at all, as the belt was not strong enough to keep the pulley still. I removed it, because I didn't want to risk breaking the belt, which was already fairly new. What did work for me was taking the lug wrench and placing it between the old water pump and the pulley to keep it still, then simultaneously placing the adjustable wrench on the fan bolt and banging it with a sledge hammer with my other hand. The belt did not need to be on in order to accomplish this.

After that, the rest was cake. I consulted my mechanic first, who also offered these tips:
[ul][*]The gaskets that come with the pumps have an overlapping portion. After putting on the gasket sealant, carefully trim this part with scissors, so that the gasket fits the pump as perfectly as possible.[*]Thread all the bolts by hand until you can't turn them any more, before using a wrench. This helps prevent you from breaking the bolts the next time the pump must be replaced. One quarter turn of the wrench is all you need at that point for them to be torqued properly.[*]When putting the fan back on, thread it carefully by hand by turning the fan itself by the blades. This also ensures the fan will go back on properly and it doesn't end up chopping up all your hoses or causing other damage.[/ul]After following the above tips, my job was successful on the first attempt. I also flushed the coolant and changed the oil while I was at it. Again, thanks VERY MUCH for the help, my BlazerForum compadres!

 

Admins, don't get mad...I'm bumping this because it might help somebody...