• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

Water pump bottom right bolt

the o ring will fail sooner or later with the metal elbows. they may even corrode in there and pit up the lim and timing cover and the alt bracket.

you know how much 2 different type metals like to be touch and what happens when they do.
 


Scottydoggs said:
the o ring will fail sooner or later with the metal elbows. they may even corrode in there and pit up the lim and timing cover and the alt bracket.

you know how much 2 different type metals like to be touch and what happens when they do.
Click to expand...

I don't think you have much to worry about corrosion, the orings are crap on all of them, but I would never install plastic ones again.. I had a plastic elbow explode on me at WOT on the the highway, that wasn't fun. Such a crappy design, that's why on my other car with 3800 swap I tapped the hole with threads and just used a hose.
 
Thanks, I'll get one ahead. That way the plastic one I just put in will last forever!

Okay, I didn't look, and thought the end of page 1 was the end of the thread. As to electrogalvanic corrosion, I thought the elbow joined two chunks of aluminum castings, so I would think it wouldn't be a problem. But like I said, if I just BUY an aluminum one, the plastic one I just put in will last until you see Ol' Scratch pulling on his overcoat and lacing up his ice skates! BTW, I wonder if we could source better O-Rings...
 
Last edited:
Great thread to all !!! I am getting ready to do my waterpump (WP) on my 2004 GTP.

Questions ..... what do you torque the #9 pulley bolt to on reassembly ?

Does the WP need any sealant on it or the gasket that I am sure comes with it ?

So what is the correct torque on these WP bolts? 25 or 13 ftlb for the 13mm ones ??? 16 or 10 ftlb for the 10mm ones ??

BTW,, I replaced my coolant elbows with the metal ones recently [ used BillBoost37's procedure for that,,, Great Job !!!!] .... fixed that leak I had,, but turns out my bigger problem is the WP... strange how they can happen together like that .... I think I have had a slight elbow leak for a while, but now the WP is a much more noticable one !!!!

Thanks to all,,, this Forum can be a lifesaver,,, or at least a time and cussin' saver at times !!!
 
One other question while I am at it ......
The Permatex teflon thread sealant paste mentioned above for use on the long WP bolts ... is that same as Permatex High Temp Thread sealant ?
I have some of the latter........
 
sounds like it will work.

the bolts, i have no clue what the torque is but snug, then 1/4 turn more is more then enough. i used no torque wrench for mine and its leak free for 2 years now.
 


If you follow my torque specs and have a clean surface. Do not use RTV on the gasket surface or gasket, all it does is make it a billion times harder to do a pump down the road if the new one fails. On the thread sealant, thread sealant of any type should do. The teflon one is more suited to water/oil sealing...I'm sure either will work fine though.

I say the above about the torque specs, because..I've done that many that the experience is there. At those specs you won't break the smaller 10mm bolts and you won't crack the timing cover with the 13mm bolts.
 
Well I have both Blue RTV and Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant ....... I did do a WP on an older GTP I have but I can't recall if I used anything on the gasket or not .... You have done them before without putting any sealant on there ? Thanks for the sharing of your "know-how" :th_thumb-up:
 
I learned from a mechanic that worked at dealerships for about 15 years before opening his own shop of another 14 years. Unless you know you have a surface issue being uneven etc, you don't use RTV when the manufacturer says to do a dry install. On the 3800 water pump, it's a dry (no goop) install. The bolts however do go into the water jacket and do need a sealant, teflon based seem to work the best.

I probably replace 2-3 waterpumps a year on cam installs etc and I have never used RTV yet. Also never had a leak with a good clean install and the above torque specs. I like to clean all the surfaces with a wipe of brake cleaner on a clean rag.
 
BillBoost37 said:
I learned from a mechanic that worked at dealerships for about 15 years before opening his own shop of another 14 years. Unless you know you have a surface issue being uneven etc, you don't use RTV when the manufacturer says to do a dry install. On the 3800 water pump, it's a dry (no goop) install. The bolts however do go into the water jacket and do need a sealant, teflon based seem to work the best.

I probably replace 2-3 waterpumps a year on cam installs etc and I have never used RTV yet. Also never had a leak with a good clean install and the above torque specs. I like to clean all the surfaces with a wipe of brake cleaner on a clean rag.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but is that 13 ftlb + 40degrees on the long bolts and 10 ftlb + 80degrees on the short ones?

I used 13 ftlb on the longs and 10 ftlb on the shorts and I seem to have a slow leak when the engine warms up.... and I know I did a real thorough job
at cleaning up the gasket mating surface... did not use any sealant on it .....
I am thinking about going back in and retorquing the bolts to what I found on other sites....
15 ftlb + 40degrees on the longs and 11 ftlb + 80degrees on the shorts .....

Comments ??? What have others done ? Thanks.....
 


I don't degree. The numbers I gave you are what I use. I'll be interested in your results if the retorque does the trick.
 
BillBoost37 said:
I don't degree. The numbers I gave you are what I use. I'll be interested in your results if the retorque does the trick.
Click to expand...

Well,, here is the latest..... When I put the pump on I used no sealant on the gasket,, used sealant on the 4 long bolts, I used BillBoostL37's recommended torques on the WP bolts [ 13 ftlb on the long 13mm bolts and 10 ftlb on the short 10mm bolts ]..... So I ran it for about 20 min after install and coolant fill.. All seemed fine. But the next time I used the car, a couple of days later, I saw steam/ smoke coming out the grill when I parked and engine was hot .... I figured, uh-oh,, leak somewhere [ I also changed the coolant elbows a couple of weeks ago ] ...
Last night I ran it for 30 min at idle.... NO steam/ smoke... Took it out on the road for 20 min... again nothing ..... I DID NOT re-torque the bolts on the WP.... Brought it to work today, about 40 min.s on the freeway .... and so far so good.... No steam/ smoke or odor.... I will check under car at lunchtime... but I have not seen dripping when parked ..... I am thinking that maybe what I was seeing and smelling was some of the coolant that poured out under the engine and into the nook and crannies in the frame when I pulled the old pump off ...... That stuff just had to burn off ...... Stay tuned........ :th_scratchhead:
 
Last edited:
You probably just had a pocket of coolant that was sitting somewhere and then got on something hot... I know anytime I mess with coolant under the hood I smell it for weeks under there afterward. If you dont see it again I'd just call it happy, take a flashlight and visually inspect the elbows, you can see pretty obviously if it's leaking out of the lim or bottom of the tensioner bracket. Look through the grill and make sure nothing hit you on the front and punctured a fin on the radiator, I guess.

Look at where the hoses connect to the radiators, you'll see white streaks and drops if there is leakage there.

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that where the coolant elbows plug in are aluminum and wont mess with the aluminum elbows, is that true? I was concerned about my aluminum ones corroding. I mean if the connections there are steel, why wouldnt Dorman just make the metal elbows steel?
 
UPDATE .... Well, so far so good ... I drove the car 6 hours to San Diego... all freeway.. with no problem !! I did not retorque any of the WP bolts, so I used BillBooostsL37 torque values of 10 and 13 ftlb, that's it ...... No leaks. I was probably smelling anti-freeze spillage from the WP chang-out burning off........ I will check the coolant level tomorrow when it is cool,, but lookin' good !!
As far as the aluminum coolant elbows go ... I'm not worried about corrosion... I would be more worried about the plastic ones cracking. You should have seen what the ones I took out looked like... I can see why they started to leak... they cracked at the O-Ring groove...
 


You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top