Coolant leak from PS Pump???

[wired1000]

Help! I have to drive 3 hours for work tomorrow and it looks like my truck is leaking coolant from the power steering pump? It's dripping from the front, lower, passenger-side corner of the bracket, but I can't seem to trace it. At first I thought it was coming from the thermostat so I pulled that apart and replaced the gasket, but the drips keep on coming...

Could it be from the engine somewhere? Or something else I'm not thinking of? Thanks in advance!


Edit: I should note that I just flushed the system this past summer, replaced thermostat and all hoses (except the bypass hose, which I replaced this weekend).

 

[woodywood]

water pump there is a weep hole on the bottom seal is going out. WITHOUT ENGINE RUNNING!grag fan and see if you can move it front to back of the truck it might not move but i say water pump

 

[timarr]

the left side bracket bolt goes into a water passage, either tighten bolt or remove and put on thread sealant,

 

[319]

Probably the bolt timarr suggests. Happened to me once.

 

[wired1000]

the left side bracket bolt goes into a water passage, either tighten bolt or remove and put on thread sealant,

No. Way. I will try that, though I had no idea the bracket could be loose (no clattering like when that pesky top bracket loosens/breaks)

I can't believe they had the bolt go into a water passage! WHY???

 

[wired1000]

It does appear that this is the source of the leak. I tightened it down before my drive up, but it's still dripping. I have some "thermostat gasket-maker" that I'll try next. (not sure what I was thinking when I bought that... just used an actual thermostat gasket instead)

 

[timarr]

permatex makes a thread sealant or you can use pipe dope. remember everything is wet and when you pull bolt coolant is going to start flowing so you have to be quick. two bolts on the bracket. if I recall the one that leaks is a stud with nut built in so you have to remove the bracket.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Yeah, I doubt your gasket sealant is going to work unless you drain things down below that level and let it dry. If you go that route, remember to rinse it with clear water first to get the coolant off.

That's probably the best way, rather than just trying to work really fast. I think that's probably going to be a losing proposition.

Pipe dope? Hmmm. Not sure it will be good for the high temps. Permatex is probably your best bet.

 

[bikerted86]

Ive used white teflon pipe sealer paste many times on engines with no ill effects, and you can use it while the coolant is still in the block.

 

[scottladdy]

The TM -34 specifies the use of "Pipe Sealant" for use on the threads of the stud in question, #23 on page 3-182 under "Installation".

This one I understand, as it passes into the water passage in the engine.

What I never understood was the requirement of pipe sealant to the 4 bolts #17 and 2 studs #16. These pass through the crankcase cover #18 and into air. I have always done it according to the TM, just never understood that last requirement.

 

[wired1000]

Took my M1009 to a shop hoping they'd surprise me and be able to fix the wailing bearings in my gov-bomb quick and cheap. I asked him to have a look at this leaky bolt while he was at it, and he said he'd have to take a lot of stuff off to get to it, may as well do the water pump as well (quoted me at $75 for the part... I see there are many online options for $35-ish) ... so it'll cost me $380... just to fix the drippy bolt. That's a lot, right?

Anyway, I see no reason I couldn't do this myself. A shame it didn't decide to start leaking earlier this summer, when I flushed the whole system out.

As long as I'm replacing the water pump... anything else I should take care of while I'm in there? Have folks had good luck with Cardone water pumps?

 

[timarr]

When I just changed the water pump which I got for 45 bucks of fleabay. I also changed balancer,timing cover seal, gaskets,hoses, thermostat and belts. All said under 150 bucks! Its a good time to look at lift pump! pump I used happen to be a NOS GM.

 

[wired1000]

I did the thermostat and hoses this past summer. Balancer and belts were the summer before. I'll think about the lift pump and definitely any gaskets I come across... will have to check the TM's to see which ones I'm likely to run into. Kinda leaning against the lift pump as I have an electric one to install... once I get that in, if the lift pump fails I'll just flip the electric on and use that til I get a chance to replace the mech one.

 

[319]

How is your water pump, any sign of bearing failure or leakage? If not, I'd say fix the bolt and be done.