Replaced my water pump today

[zbane]

So I had been loosing coolant for some time, and I had tried a couple things to slow or stop the leaking. I had thought that the problem was in the radiator, but the more it leaked, the more clues I found to lead me to the actual problem-the water pump. When I replaced my belts several months ago, I had a heck of a time loosening the alternator enough to sway it; I ended up forcing the belt on, and it was the extra tightness on the pump that caused the problem.

I pulled out the radiator which was easier than I thought, and disassembled the fan blade and water pump stuff.

The pump I had purchased came with a gasket, but I applied a conservative amount of blue silicon to both sides of said gasket as an added measure of protection.

Considering the amount of ick that was (is) in the radiator, I was expecting the pump to be all gunked up as well, but to my surprise, it wasn't. Even though the internals are clean, I am certain the pump is bad-I can move the outer rotating bit (that the pulley attaches to) in a side to side movement, the bearings are definately bad.

[Ed]

I hope you took a minute to lube your bolts with some anti-seize. This will prevent the bolts from rusting onto the block and breaking in the future. Also you should remove your alternator while your down there and make sure that all the bolts and pivots are lubricated so she will loosen up easy next time.