i recently made a deal to buy a 1997 camaro rs convertable... the guy told me he replaced the water pump on the vehicle and hasnt had a issue with it since.... so we make the deal and sign papers and i get halfway home and the temp shoots up and i pull over and the car shuts off... fine i had a person following with a flashlight in their vehicle... but when i popped the hood and saw water shooting out from around the timing cover area, i was hotter than the car.. it was dark light kinda worked... filled the vehicle with water and got the rest of the way home.....

now ima pretty handy guy, i have tools and i fix stuff that needs to be fixed on my own vehicles... i started by taking off the stuff to get to the water pump to check it out.... after seeing rtv all over the top of the timing cover i decided it was time to tear down into it more... i checked the oil and it wasnt milky or anything (will dbl check) and pulled all the rtv off of the timing cover... i couldnt see in the area but i have a feeling thats where its leaking from.... my question is what all is involved in this job and is it something i can do in a weekend with a buddy? i have about a week before i can buy anything and do the work but i would like to get the things i needed lined up properly before i start... i can take pics of my current progress and the rebuild.. any and all help is much appreciated, PEACE...

 

Your pretty much half way done pull off the cover and replace the gasket no rtv needed does the pump look new?? Do the blades have any play???

 

the pump houseing is clean and looks newer, the blades have no play but there is some rust build up on a few spots... do i have to remove all of the stuff surrounding the timing cover? is there anything i should look for that might be a tell tale sign of more damage inside the motor?

 

Get everything really clean as for signs of damage your not going to see too much from there if the timing chain seems loose you may want to replace that it might not need it but... its up to you

 

thanks for the replies and info BC, the car is a "island" beater that i gave a lil much for, it has less than 127k miles... is the harmonic balancer puller and a good torque wrench expensive?

 

you can rent them from autozone pay a deposit then when you bring them back you get all your money back

 

i actually want to purchase them so ill have them in the future.. I REALLY LIKE TOOLS!... sorry lol.. the more tools i get the bigger my fathers day tool box will be so im trying to stock up without breaking my bank... im going to look at the car when the sun finishes coming up and post some pics of my progress and the parts ive taken off already... i think i have (fingers crossed) 100.00 dollar budget to get the gaskets, and tools.... oh and a chiltons manual... love me some chiltons, i buy them for every vehicle and then when i sell the car i give it to the new owner so they know what their doing lol..... but back to the tools, if i cant afford to purchase i will deffinately end up renting them.... but i was thinking a Craftsman torque wrench and a semi cheap HB puller.... that should get me thru a few jobs... since this will be my first torque wrench i will be learning on it how to torque bolts and stuff... prolly have a few on my trailblazer that need it after changing the thermostat out... thanks again for the advice, ill post pics as soon as possible.. i was also wondering if i have to drain the oil to do this? the oil filter is attached to the timing cover by way of a another piece... and if i do all this how will i know its right without putting all fresh fluids in the car and starting it back up.. not a big deal just wondering...