water pump?

[jv68gt]

hi guys.

my 68 gt 302 needs a new water pump, i think. i'm not sure about this diagnosis, though, and i'm hoping to get some feedback before i try to change the water pump (i've never done it before)

engine runs a little rough sometimes, occasionally it feels like there's less power than there should be when i hit the gas. white smoke coming from tailpipe.

i had an incident the other day where coolant had pooled under the car, so i changed the bottom radiator hose, which appeared to be leaking. after changing the radiator hose, i went out for a drive and the motor got hot, when I got back steam was coming out of the engine,and coolant leaking out near the top of the radiator hose.

hose is on tight. that's why i think it must be the water pump.

what do you think?

changing a water pump seems to be one of the simpler things to do, but i haven't done it before and wondered if someone could point me to a good step by step webpage that shows it being done well. i found some instructions online, but they were of various cars, not a classic stang.

thanks guys!

- jim

 

[golf4283]

White smoke from the tailpipe usually means that coolant is leaking into the internals of the engine and being burned off. This isn't good and might require replacing the head gaskets. Not a terribly hard project but not the most fun.

As far as the water pump goes it might not be a bad pump but once again new gaskets might do the trick.

 

[jv68gt]

thanks, golf.

any other comments anyone? i was thinking about doing the water pump installation this weekend. any comments are appreciated.

best,
jim

 

[D.Hearne]

If the pump is bad, there will be coolant leaking from under the center hub of the pump. There's a "weep hole" in the casting there that will let coolant out when the bearing goes bad. But you also need to verify that the head gaskets aren't blown. Usually when they do go, you'll also get coolant in the oil too. Pull the dipstick and see if the oil looks milky.

 

[Edster]

Did you replace/put the spring in the bottom radiator hose? If you did is it positioned in the hose to where it won't get sucked flat anywhere. As far as the white smoke it may be head gaskets. One way to check is to take off the radiator cap, start the engine and get it to operating temperature, then look for bubbles in the coolant. You may have to rev the engine a bit. You may even see oil floating in the coolant. If so then you will need to replace you head gaskets.

 

[jv68gt]

thanks, guys

yes, during the hose installation i took the old spring out of the old radiator hose and pushed it down into the new hose b/c the new hose did not have a spring in it.

i'll check radiator for bubbles and dipstick for milky color. will also look at that weep hole. thanks again for all your help

my best,
jim

 

[jv68gt]

hey, guys.

today i took off the radiator cap, started the engine and got it to operating temperature, then looked for bubbles in the coolant - it was bubbling.

so, it seems i definitely need to take it to the shop and get the head gaskets replaced. (way too challenging of a job for me, that's for sure.)

when i shut off the engine, i saw a white smoke coming from behind the waterpump pulley. do you think that's coolant burning off? coolant is definitely leaking either from the water pump or from where the hose is attached to the water pump.

there's no milky color in the oil.

i'm also going to change the water pump while i'm at it.

question:

the parts store said $189 for an edelbrock waterpump, or $50 for a "stock" water pump. now, if it was the carburetor, i'd go with edelbrock. but for a water pump? does it really matter?

money's not really an issue on something of that price range, but it's more just not wanting to be wasteful. i don't do any racing, just basically a weekend driver. any thoughts would be apprecieted.

my best,
jim

 

[D.Hearne]

I personally shy away from the aftermarket for a waterpump. The stock pumps come in three flow ratings and you get the same performance for less than $50. What you want is a "police/taxi" or "extra cooling with A/C" pump. This will be a high volume pump, same as an Edelbrock.