ejhoggard

Any ideas,,,,,my 4.0 is draining coolant from below the water pump somewhere, even when the car is not running I pour coolant in the res. and it drains out,,,I can't see under the water pump so I can not tell where it is leaking from,,,therefore I can't drive the car because it overheats very quick,,,if anyone has any ideals please let me know so I can get it fixed,,,thank you!!!

joe_padavano

Uh...

I'll go out on a limb here and say it's the water pump...

The fact that the leak appears to be BELOW the pump just means that coolant (among other things) flows downhill.

oldcutlass

As Joe says, probably water pump.

ejhoggard

yea thanks I already bought the pump,,,but havnt put it on yet,,,,and you can't see much but do you think the water pump casing could be busted or maybe the gasket is blown because the water just pours out or is that because the pump is bad?

Redog

Is the pump that expensive?

If you're pulling the pump to see if the gasket is shot, 3/4 of the work to replace the entire pump is done at that point anyway

I was lucky when mine started to go. Gave me enough notice so I could plan a day to do it.

ejhoggard

no the pump was only 40.00,,,,,, so not expensive i suppose you are right,,,I will have to pull it apart no matter what!

Redog

IDK how tight that engine bay is, but I had fun pulling my water pump off the Alero Even though I was awake for 26 hours at that point.

Just a little messy, but I took my time and it still only took an hour

Yellowstatue

And you need a special socket to remove the W/P from a Northstar engine...

Tom442

Every Aurora owner needs one of these. This one isnt mine. Just an example for you! If you were close you could borrow mine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KD-Tools-Sol...item3f17507c85

Tom
68 442
70 F85
95 Aurora

joe_padavano

A couple of things to consider, as I went through this exact problem on the Northstar in my Allante (yes, the N* and Aurora are the same). First, as noted, you need the special tool to remove the pump. I was unable to break it free with a breaker bar and ultimately had to use an impact wrench. Second, the thermostat housing that covers the pump is sealed with an O-ring. Be sure the surfaces are free of corrosion and are flat. Also, the early housings were aluminum and were prone to cracking. Later ones are composite and work better, so if you have an aluminum one, consider replacing it. Be sure to lubricate the sealing O-rings with silicone grease before installing the pump and the t-stat housing.

ejhoggard

I thought something was strange,,,,but I was trying to replace the water pump and could not break it ,,(I only took the outer side of the housing off the side where the tstat is located) so I decided that the entire side of the engine would have to come off,,,,if you got it off with a impact wrench that should probably work for me,,,,,but as I was looking to see what all has to come off I noticed that the dang freeze plug behind the pump housing is gone and the coolant is leaking out of the head,,,so now my question is how in the world can a man get access to that $1.00 freeze plug with out having to dismantle the side of the engine!