You say you aren't losing any coolant then why replace the pump? If I replaced every part on my truck that had "residue" of some sort on it I would be working on it for a week straight.

 

I understand how stupid this sounds, but I need this truck to be reliable and I don't want to be concerned about it knowing that it is already leaking. There is a small amount of coolant leaking from it now and it is getting worse. I am taking 21 credits at college and the only time I have any real time to park the truck for any repairs is during breaks. This truck is going to need a new water pump soon and I don't need this one failing when I have final exams in a few weeks. Plus I commonly take this truck into remote places in the mountains where there is no cell service and AAA would be hours away. Plus since I am still able to drive it an hour away to this shop that is very honest and professional and reasonable, it is cheaper in the long run. Especially if any shop that I have it towed to AFTER an incident happens would charge $500 for just the pump and not any other damage that happens as a result of overheating before I can shut it down. My standards for maintenance are very high. I have never had a breakdown related to anything I did or didn't do. I did have my brakes fail twice in one weekend due to a caliper that went bad and a mechanic said was fine just before that. But otherwise this truck may have it's problems from time to time, but at least I keep an eye on things so when there is a problem, I can drive it to the shop instead of calling AAA.

 

I would replace it too if you noticed more leaking!!! Coolant system is pretty important in my book..
my 2cts

 

My apologies. I was under the impression from your first post it was not leaking any coolant and you did not notice it losing any. If you have confirmed that it is infact leaking and getting worse, then you are right for taking care of it now.

I commend you for being methodical about your upkeep. Hopefully this repair will be the last of your worries for a while.

 

I had the pump replaced earlier. They did a great job. The owner of the shop was actually commenting on how well this truck runs (obviously he doesn't know my secret with which oil I use which makes that happen. See my signature). He test drove it himself after they replaced the pump. They even ran it for like 20 minutes and revving it in the shop (obviously with the hose connected to the tailpipe to vent the fumes outside) to check for leaks and to wait for the thermostat to open. They only charged me for a half gallon of antifreeze because they reused what was in there (not a problem since it was changed in July). The only issue I found (after driving 150 miles this evening after it was done) was that the safety lever on the radiator cap was not closed properly/all the way and I don't think the radiator was completely pressurized (It did not overheat at all. Stayed around 190-200 as usual). I opened it and found about 3/4" of open space, which means I just need to top off the radiator with antifreeze tomorrow when the truck cools.


The brake issue I probably mentioned earlier (or in another thread) was not really an issue. He can tell from the brake pedal position and feel that there is no air. The noise coming from the brakes is just heat causing parts to expand, but he didn't feel it was needed to check again (I brought it in for the same thing a few months back and everything was normal. Another mechanic said the same thing). So I guess there is nothing that can be done about the brake noise short of replacing the pads and rotors, which is next when they get to a certain point.

Well since this truck is getting up there in age and mileage and with the amount of traveling I do and with college making it impossible to do any heavy maintenance unless it is a break (there were no classes today), not maintaining the truck is not an option. If I see a problem brewing, I deal with it then. That way I can drive it to the shop instead of being at the mercy of wherever it ends up from a tow. Because if I let this go and had it towed, whoever would be fixing it would probably charge $500. The cost of this whole repair today was not even 1/3 of that. Maybe a bit more since I had to drive an hour to get there, but considering the quality of the work and parts used and the reasonable price (expecially compared to the shop down the road known for lower prices who works on this thing at other times wanting $250 and another shop I normally use wanting $300 or more to do this). The next maintenance work I will be doing is an oil change when the temperature gets above 50F this week. It will be early (about 500-750 miles early), but since I have too much homework to do for my classes, it will all work out well with scheduling. During Christmas break I will be draining and refilling all the other fluids that were changed last Christmas break that I can do myself (both axles, transfer case, transmission (deep pan has drain plug. Filter was changed last year and will wait until next year. I just want to refresh the fluid for now (15k intervals).).

 

They usually cry if they don't get their way.

 

If your see condensation around the weep hole on the water pump, I'd suspect it might be faulty or need to be replaced soon. I had a new defective water pump drip drop from the weep hole for a year before it started spitting out large amounts of coolant

 

id wait to change your axles, save yourself some money they really only need to be changed every 60000 miles or 100000kms under normal driving conditions

 

Already had the pump replaced and there are no problems at all. Only issue I had after was the thermostat was letting the temp go above 220. Replacing it solved the problem. I even did it in a parking lot between classes so I didn't have to start it up and have to wait again for it to cool. Only real issue now is my belt. Tensioner and idler pulley are only a year old and yet this belt makes a ton of noise on a cold start until it warms up. I tried every brand of belt I can get at 3 different auto parts stores over the past 2 years. I am looking at ordering a Goodyear Gatorback on Amazon to replace the belt again since I think the water pump had a minuscule amount of play that glazed the belt. Also the lowest cost belt in this town is 1.5-2x the cost of the belt on Amazon and they are made cheap.

Axles can't wait that long with all the snow and tire spinning and short trips. My rear axle has some play in it and I want it to last as long as possible. I do both every year when I have the truck home for Christmas Break. I do the front one myself and have the rear one done professionally since this truck sees alot of salt and the covers only last a year even doing the best job possible of washing the car at the earliest opportunity after snow and salt. The front one is cheap for me since I would do it the same time I do the oil so the additional cost is minimal (1 qt of Lucas gear oil plus some of the reserve I keep in the truck is cheap). The rear one is also cheap if I know where to go since the cover has to come off and the brake line is in the way, but once a year isn't much. May seem like much by doing it every 15-20k, but it is cheap insurance for an aging truck.

 

FWIW I ordered a Goodyear Gatorback belt from eBay and it was $16 shipped. Came as advertised and works flawlessly. Mine had the dreaded squeak ALL the time before the belt. She's completely quiet now.