It was a nice day today so I thought I'd ride out to the lake and enjoy it. About half way there I noticed the smell of antifreeze. When I got back home I popped the hood and coolant was pouring out from behind the pulley in front of the water pump. Mom said that is what her van did when her water pump went out so that is the only thing I can think of that it is. I think my dummy temp light is out so I don't know if I over heated it. I don't think I did. Lately my fan has been coming on about all the time, could this have anything to do w/ it or not? Also how hard of a job is it to change water pumps? and how much do they generally cost? I need to know QUICK b/c I need to have my car for school! Hopefully this will be the last of the things to go wrong w/ this thing.

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, rebuilt 700R4, 3.42 Posi, t-tops, 139K miles and counting, K&N air filters w/ removed air baffles, hopefully more to come!
RIP #3

 

Water pumps are pretty easy to change out..just sometimes hard to get to...you can go to a junk yard and get a good water pump there pretty cheap...

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Sgt Panther

89 Firebird..2.8/3.4 conversion

 

check the hoses first, spec. the 3 connections above the waterpump, (fill up your coolantsystem first),than check the little hole at the pump, if there is coolant coming out (could also be grey lines)you need a new one . To change it, loose the belt, hoses and the bolts than take it off. New pump and gasket all in reverse, take care on the torque!
If you havn't done it before, ask a guy with some experience for some help.

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www.marion-becker-nidda.de
91 Firebird 3.1
Modsynomax ultra flow stainless steel

 

Go get a water pump at Kragen. They go for $20-ish. BUT, Check all conections as told, first. That's to your advantage, too.
Biggest problem with a water pump are the right tools and cleaning the gasket surface.
Have that accomplished and this job is so easy!
Try dong this on a 1974 Corvette, with AC.
Heck, try it on a Big Block Corvette engine bay!
Let car cool down, investigate the oil situation. See is you see "different colored oil" now. Let us knwo.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Water pumps are cheap and easy. You can go to any parts tore and get one for $30-40 and have it changed out in 4 hours if you work slow. The last time I did one on my buddies 80 3/4 ton it took me 45 min.

 

I got the water pump for $25 w/ a lifetime warantee. I went ahead and got my o2 sensor I've needed for a while while I was at it. All that and antifreeze costed me $50. My dad took off the old pump tonight for me since I had to go to work. Hopefully we can get the new pump on tomm so I can have my car back!

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, rebuilt 700R4, 3.42 Posi, t-tops, 139K miles and counting, K&N air filters w/ removed air baffles, hopefully more to come!
RIP #3

 

Yeah, your coolant was coming out of the "weep holes", which basically means the seal for the pump pulley is shot.

Some install notes- Karl's right, cleaning the gasket surface is a pain in the butt! Remember that the motor-side of the gasket surface is the ALUMINUM timing chain cover- don't gouge it too deeply or you'll have sealing problems.

I use Permatex "Hi-Tack" gasket sealant on the water pump gasket. It's red, really sticky, and comes in a can for $5.

Coat all the bolts with blue RTV. A pipe thread sealant (Loctite or Permatex PST) is best, but I've never used it, and haven't had problems. In fact you'll have to clean the factory's PST off the bolt threads.

This is also a damn good time to replace that lower radiator hose!

Good call on getting the lifetime unit. It took me 3 tries to get a good water pump from Pep Boys; luckily I had the lifetime warrantee one so I didn't have any troubles.

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Water pump is in as of yesterday. The lower rad. hose is already pretty new so I didn't bother w/ changing it again. Hopefully this will be the last of the big things to go wrong! W/ dad and I doing it it was a pretty easy job! Hopefully I'll be home free to 200k now.

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, rebuilt 700R4, 3.42 Posi, t-tops, 139K miles and counting, K&N air filters w/ removed air baffles, hopefully more to come!
RIP #3

 

Great! Glad to hear the job went well! Save that receipt!

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

EXCELLENT!
Glad it went as well as it should have.
Not to difficult a job, was it?
This is one time, I really appreciated having an electric fan system. I didn't have 3-5 others things to remove first to get this job done.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA