Seeking advise/opinion

[Highway Man]

Okay here goes. I have a 92 LT1 with a little over 120,000 miles. As far as I can determine the water pump has never been replaced and after reading some of the horror stories about the water pump going out and taking the opti-spark with it I am contemplating going ahead and changing out the water pump before it goes out on me. I know the saying if it ain't broke don't fix it has some credibility to it but I also believe in preventive maintenance. I have no signs of leaking but I have had water pumps go out on me before and it usually happened all at once. Your thoughts, comments, suggestions would be appreciated. If I go ahead and do it I am also going to replace the thermostat and possibly the hoses also. Okay gang-let her rip.

 

[93Rubie]

Given the mileage, age of vehicle, and not knowing when it has been changed. I would go ahead and change it. If you are doing the work yourself I would recommend it even more. Many Opti-Sparks are still going strong well over 100K, you just have to keep them dry.

FYI, I have also seen posts, where someone has made a hose connection to the water pump weep hole and routed it away from the Opti-Spark. Thus, when a water pump starts to fail, it does not drench the Opti-Spark with coolant.

 

[Highway Man]

Thanks

Given the mileage, age of vehicle, and not knowing when it has been changed. I would go ahead and change it. If you are doing the work yourself I would recommend it even more. Many Opti-Sparks are still going strong well over 100K, you just have to keep them dry.

FYI, I have also seen posts, where someone has made a hose connection to the water pump weep hole and routed it away from the Opti-Spark. Thus, when a water pump starts to fail, it does not drench the Opti-Spark with coolant.

I have only had this car about three weeks and I want to keep it in the best shape possible. That is a great idea about routing a hose from the weep hole away from the opti. I thought about some kind of shield to do the same but haven't had the time to pursue it.

 

[boomdriver]

I have only had this car about three weeks and I want to keep it in the best shape possible. That is a great idea about routing a hose from the weep hole away from the opti. I thought about some kind of shield to do the same but haven't had the time to pursue it.

My rule of thumb tells me to replace any and all parts that are normally inaccessable when there is reason to have them within reach...and changing ALL the radiator hoses certainly qualifies as a preventitive maintinence plan, and since that means going 3/4 of the way to the pump, so yes, go for it.The consequences of waiting for a failure are more than just a pump as you already know. Waiting always ends up costing more.
I just went thru a bunch of s*** with a hose section less than 4" long that was hidden under the a/c bracket, and I was in there 4 mts ago mounting a new a/c compressor and did not change that hose because it looked ok......it came back to bite me hard recently.

Do any flushing before swapping pumps so the abuse is not on the new one. Look for an upgrade pump with a cast impeller for improved cooling performance. Its a better pump than the stock replacement. Edelbrock has them, other performance shops. I installed a flush valve/air bleed in my system that has been a big help.

Installing a drain tube from the weep hole is an outstanding idea, and could easily be done prior to mounting.

 

[Highway Man]

Possible solution

I picked up my new water pump today and began looking for ways to install a drain line from the weep hole on the bottom of the pump if it fails. What I came up with is a brass barb fitting like they use on various lines. I haven't got the old pump off yet but I will let you know how it goes. Well I hope.

 

[boomdriver]

I picked up my new water pump today and began looking for ways to install a drain line from the weep hole on the bottom of the pump if it fails. What I came up with is a brass barb fitting like they use on various lines. I haven't got the old pump off yet but I will let you know how it goes. Well I hope.

If you plan on screwing a fitting INto the weephole, just be VERY careful with any metal shavings that may get pushed into the shaft seal/bearing area.

I was thinking of a small piece of vaccum fitting that had a good fit, and use JB weld on the end and just inside the hole and a little on the fitting and into the hole. That should secure it for what its gonna be doing. If the pump were apart, heck, dril & tap that sucker out! screw a real fitting in place and go for it, just be sure that bearing assy and seal is clean when reassembled.

Helluva good idea,,

 

[Highway Man]

More good ideas

If you plan on screwing a fitting INto the weephole, just be VERY careful with any metal shavings that may get pushed into the shaft seal/bearing area.

I was thinking of a small piece of vaccum fitting that had a good fit, and use JB weld on the end and just inside the hole and a little on the fitting and into the hole. That should secure it for what its gonna be doing. If the pump were apart, heck, dril & tap that sucker out! screw a real fitting in place and go for it, just be sure that bearing assy and seal is clean when reassembled.

Helluva good idea,,

Your post has got me looking at the option of the vacuum fitting. Thats a good idea. What I was initially thinking of doing was using the brass fitting that I have and machine it down to where it could be tapped into the hole and be a snug fit. The brass being a soft metal could easily be installed and then a small hose could be connected to the other end. I am not going to do any machine work on the pump itself as it would probably void my life-time warranty and I don't want to run the risk of getting metal shavings inside the pump. I am hoping to get this done sometime this week and I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Hib Halverson]

A 92 with 120,000?

Good call on the water pump. Here are some other cooling related maintenance you can do...

Change all the coolant hoses, too, along with the thermostat. Pull the top off the cooling stack and clean all the debris out of the space between the hvac and the radiator. Make sure the front air dam is in good condition.

Before you change the pump, drain the system, fill it with tap water, run the engine for a while, then drain it again and flush with water a second time. After the second flush, then change the pump and the hoses.

Refill with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water.

Don't forget the bleed the air out of the system.

Good luck!

 

[G Winter]

Something I have found really helps keep cooling systems clean is to use distilled water. I have a small water distiller we use for our potable water so I keep a good supply on had. With the distilled water you get no deposits from hard water. I have been doing this for quite a number of yrs now and it really does make a difference. Not sure but maybe the reverse osmosis water would also work.


Glenn