water pump on LT1

[94conv.]

ok, so I look on top of the water pump on the vette and it looks like the thermostat is on top of it, so after Im driving for about ten minutes, probably time enough for the thermostat to open, when it does, is this when Im smelling the radiator fluid? Any explanation as to why it goes away after a few minutes? But Im still almost postive this is what killed the optispark. This is driving me nuts having a broken down vette in the garage, but I need to fix the truck first since I drive it to work mostly, now the darn radiator is supect of leaking on it. just replaced the water pump and intake gasket and brakes and still need to have the back glass resealed, now this with the radiator, seems like the vettes never going to get done. The trucks paid for or I would have traded the darn thing in.

 

[I_R_DA_ONE]

I had a problem like this on my 86 and it was the radiator.....It had a small leak in th plastic resevor next to the coolent level indicator...it would leak a little when it was cold then stop leaking when it warmed up....it just about drove me nuts trying to find the problem..
Mike

 

[UB2 SLOW]

Are you smelling the fluid inside the car or outside? Is it a strong smell? How many miles does your car have on it? I ask, because it may be your heater core, which is under your dash.

 

[94conv.]

Are you smelling the fluid inside the car or outside? Is it a strong smell? How many miles does your car have on it? I ask, because it may be your heater core, which is under your dash.

Well, I thought of that, I do smell it inside the car but only after I driven it for about ten minutes or so and after a few miles the smell goes away, if it was the heater core wouldnt it smell all of the time and the carpet would be wet?
Someone did just mention something about his radiator leaking when its cold and quiting when it warmed up.

 

[94conv.]

By the way, this car has only 29k miles but sits in the garage alot.

 

[UB2 SLOW]

Your heater core can still be going bad and not get all over the carpet. Since the car only has 29K miles on it, I would not think it was a core. Do you have any leaks on the floor/drive way?

 

[94conv.]

Your heater core can still be going bad and not get all over the carpet. Since the car only has 29K miles on it, I would not think it was a core. Do you have any leaks on the floor/drive way?

Not one drop, and I only smell it about ten minutes into the drive then it goes away. When I saw that the thermostat was on the waterpump, I was thinking maybe when it opened, it may have been coming out the weep hole that I have heard people talking about. Im not sure how all of that works, I was just looking at the symptoms and trying to figure out what is going on. I hope its not the heater core.

 

[94conv.]

"into the drive" is refering to after I take off driving, not sitting in the driveway. Just wanted to clearify that.

 

[jmccloud]

Antifreeze aroma

The water pump weep hole is on the bottom of the pump, you'll need a dental mirror and a lot of twisted neck to find it. It's common for the failed water pump to smell after 10 or so minutes of running since that's about how long it takes to build pressure. It may stop smelling due to seal swelling (and stop leaking).
You mentioned a failed optispark. Did the pump get serviced (replaced or repaired) at the same time?

 

[94conv.]

no, it hasnt been touched, its all still the original, I havent fixed any of it yet. So far I just walk past it and occasionally open the hood or start it to see if its still broke. I need to just dig into it and start taking off hoses and pulling it apart but I cant seem to take that first step. What you said makes perfect sense to what its doing.

 

[redc4corvette]

Check the back of the heads ,it's an Lt1 reverse flow and the hose conectoins at the heater core.

Mine did the same thing and the water pump was bad.

Yes opti went also!

 

[94conv.]

Check the back of the heads ,it's an Lt1 reverse flow and the hose conectoins at the heater core.

Mine did the same thing and the water pump was bad.

Yes opti went also!

Was your heatercore bad also? how about your connections on the back of the heads and heaterhoses?

 

[redc4corvette]

Heater core was fine just had one of the round gaskets at the back of the head leaking where the 5/8 nut screws into the rear of the head and water pump.

 

[94conv.]

Heater core was fine just had one of the round gaskets at the back of the head leaking where the 5/8 nut screws into the rear of the head and water pump.

Are you talking about the front of the engine or rear of the engine by the firewall, the water pump is in the front, right? Did you notice any antifreeze on the floor while it was sitting?

 

[redc4corvette]

The pipe at the rear of the head on passside was leaking and I never saw a drop.

With the water pump I never saw a drop of coolent eather .

I removed the pipe at the rear of the motor and fixed the water leak which I thought was the heater core but was not.

A week later I still smell coolent. Then the car had a slight miss at around 12 or 1300 rpm,not bad but I got out my mirror and under water dive light,drop light was usless.
I used my mirror for the tank inspection at the shop ,Saw no coolent leaking put I did see white drip marks.
That told me the coolent had been leaking so rolled up my sleeves and went to work .
It took about 30 cuss words and an oh **** took the pump back loose and installed the shaft for the water pump into the timing cover and all was well after that been 2 years now.

 

[94conv.]

I havent even looked for the pipe on the back of the head. Im going out to the garage now to see what pipe it is and where its coming from. Is this where the smell was coming from or was it the waterpump? Or both?

 

[redc4corvette]

Both!

Your lt1 has reverse flow cooling and the pipe above the head on the pass side is where the water goes into first ,then to the back of the heads ,a large nut in the center of the head on each side center firewall is where your water goes into your engine.

 

[94conv.]

is the pipe about a 1/2 in. diameter?, I looked a little damp, kind of a dirty oily film but no puddles of coolant or anything that looked like it was definately leaking from that point, looks like the manifold is seaping around the edges.

 

[94conv.]

The more I look at it, the more Im thinking I need to take it to the garage but man, I know their rates, Ive heard horror stories about the crank pulley to, I guess sometimes they stick and theres not much room to pull it off.

 

[redc4corvette]

You need to get the factory book not the Himes or what ever they call it.
Mine cost(2 of them me over) $100.00 if you want to start working on your car.
The water pump and dist is about $1400.00.The sore nuckles and back are free.
By the way my 94 intake started leaking coolent around 70,000 miles and that had to be replaced.
I would buy some carb choke cleaner and spray that area ,clean it up and see what happens.