2017



This project was started on 11/24, but wound up taking another day after I had the wrong water pump and was running out of daylight and it was going to get much colder after the sun set. I decided to call it and start fresh the next day, 11/25.

My truck was leaking coolant, but from where?

I poked and prodded, checked the radiator, checked the heater hoses, found it dripping off of the bottom radiator hose that comes from the water pump. I kept looking and it seemed like the coolant was coming from above the bottom radiator hose and down the back side of it, before dripping off.

I surmised either the block was cracked or it was coming out of the ‘weep hole’ on the bottom of the water pump that is it’s way of telling you : hey, my seals are broken!

I run the truck up on the ramps, this makes it easier to get to some things underneath the truck, it also makes placing buckets under it a lot easier. Also, I’m over 6 feet tall and it makes the front of the engine come up to me instead of my having to bend over to get to everything.

I start taking everything off and noticed that several things are bolted TO the water pump, great.

In the process of taking everything loose, I ripped the bottom radiator hose, the heater hose going to the heater core from the water pump, the connected on the positive wire to the back of the alternator snapped off AFTER I took it off and a washer fell apart into pieces when I took a bolt loose.

Now, the codes on my block make it a 1992 engine block. I go to the store and ask for a 1992 water pump, they pull one out, I look at the engine side holes and things, cool, I take it. I get a new heater hose too, but that store was out of the flexable radiator hoses for my size, so had to go to another parts store for that… and to the hardware store for the broken washer. I also bought some more coolant to put back into the cooling system.

I get the water pump home, put to goop and gaskets on, mount it to the truck. Then I start to put the brackets on… and the bolt holes for all of the brakets are gone. You can see pics of the two on the table side by side, below.

son of a bitch.

This is not the water pump I need.

%*#*!&&!!*!*!*!*!!!

Take it off, back to the store… with my busted water pump and the bolts and one of the brackets… they swap it out, have to do some researching and they come back with the same water pump and tell me that it shows up for a 1986 Chevy truck. I ran all of the bolts into it to make sure they would all fit right before I left.

ok, well 1986 water pump on a 1992 block in a 1965 C10, that’s nice to know… back to the house.

By this time I have less than an hour of daylight left and it was already cold out, so I decided to pack it in for the night and start fresh the next day.

Next day, back at it… water pump on, brackets and power steering pump, alternator, lining up the belts, putting the radiator back in(I took it out trying to get the hose off, other side was already ripped, I shoulda just cut it, but it was only 4 screws) putting fan shroud and fan back on, which is always an aggravation… new heater hose, new radiator hose, new washer, fixed the wire connecter on the alternator… get it all reassembled. Pics below…

Then topping it off with coolant, firing it up with the cap off the radiator to watch the coolant level as it will suck it down when the engine runs and the thermstat opens. All is happy and right with the world… top it off, put tools up and take it for a shake down cruise with two bottles of mixed coolant.

That was my water pump adventure for 2017.

-W

2017