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Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

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Old Apr 8, 2015 | 11:50 AM
  #1  
Blood type Z28's Avatar
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Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

I noticed the other day my car was leaking coolant, when I got home it blew the coolant everywhere. I think it's the water pump gone bad. Is there anything I should look at replacing with the pump? My Camaro is a 97 Z28 with 69,xxx miles. Any advice would be great.
Old Apr 8, 2015 | 01:30 PM
  #2  
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Re: Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

The water pump has a very small weep hole. That will not blow coolant everywhere. It would drip on the distributor, which is a whole 'nother problem.

If you can't see the source of the leak, do a system pressure test before assuming you need to replace the water pump.
Old Apr 8, 2015 | 02:05 PM
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Re: Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

If it blew coolant everywhere, I'd check all the hoses.
Old Apr 8, 2015 | 04:20 PM
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Re: Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

Originally Posted by Injuneer
The water pump has a very small weep hole. That will not blow coolant everywhere. It would drip on the distributor, which is a whole 'nother problem.

If you can't see the source of the leak, do a system pressure test before assuming you need to replace the water pump.
Sorry if this is a dumb question but how do I do the pressure test?
Old Apr 8, 2015 | 04:46 PM
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Re: Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

You borrow or rent a pressure tester from an auto parts store. The pressure tester is an air pump that tightens onto the flange where the radiator cap would normally attach. You pump up the pressure in the radiator to the pressure cap rating (18 psi for your LT1). and watch to see if the pressure drops over time. If the pressure drops, you need to start checking the hoses, radiator, water pump, heater core, etc. to find out where it's leaking.

Here's an example:

Old Apr 8, 2015 | 11:34 PM
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Re: Coolant leak, maybe water pump. Need help

Thanks for your help, I'll check it out.
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