Are we still doing this based on the factory temp gage? Cause if we are we might as well cook Potatoes in the intake and see if we can figure it out by the taste. There is a reason there is no numbers on your gage. The Factory knows they are not accurate!

Make sure you have no leaks
Confirm your fan is kicking on as it should with a scan tool. After the second time the fan kicks on note how hot your temp gage is reading. Mark it if you have too. In normal use if it goes 3/16" past the fan kick on point you have a flow issue problem (pump or blockage).

Fan on pump can rust out but it is normally on cars that have sat with coolant in them. The coolant becomes an acid as it breaks down over time. Acid will speed up rusting at an insane rate. Normally these cars have a ton of other issues after being restarted. Including, headgaskets, hoses, radiator caps etc....

 

Alright, I was just out working on her and found a leak that isn't noticeable unless you are looking for it apparently. it took every cubby and back road all the way down. I just happened to notice it when it dripped on me.

Now the car has been parked all night and all day. So it cant be something that leaks until its drained and done unless its that little of a leak which it might be. But Im thinking even a slow leak would have leaked out after all that time. So it should be something that the coolant drains into.

I took pictures of everything top to bottom so you can see what I see. Im thinking it might be the water pump gasket thats leaking honestly. It seems to be coming from about there.

First I thought it might be these, they are a little wet but doesnt seem wet underneath them.





This just shows its dry up top.



Now the little cubby in the middle between the belt and the heater hose, that little dark spot is some fluid. not much but a little.



This is farther down on the left side of the water pump. Again, the cubby area, this one is drenched though.



Here are 3 pictures from underneath the engine







So now that I have pictures that should help, what do you all think? Water pump gasket?

 

Looks like everyone took a break from the forums for a while. Everyone just up and disappeared. haha.

Anyhow, I had an update. Im going to just buy a water pump gasket, replace it, and hope that works. If anyone thinks the leak is coming from somewhere else judging by the pictures I put up, then let me know. Ill update again after I replace the gasket.

 

hay, i missed your last post somehow. yep and while your changin the gasket check the pump shaft for play, bearing noise and such to make sure its not on the verge of goin south. check hoses for stifness, cracking and oldness in general, lol, and replace if needed.

 

If your engine has a good amount of miles, it would be smart to replace the water pump anyway, while you have it off and in your hand. You know what will happen, the old pump will go bad shortly after you replace the gasket. Cars and their parts are sneaky that way.

 

Alright, Ill check everything out while Im in there. I know the blades aren't known to go bad unless under extreme conditions but Im curious of that as well.

And yea, I wanted to get the whole pump, but I dont have the money for it right now. But I need to fix the leak asap. I drive too much being out in the sticks to save for the whole pump first. Honestly, I am just going to have to go through it twice. I want to change the pump anyhow. So even if this gasket works and it doesnt go bad, Ill end up replacing it anyhow. If I still lived in the city I could save myself the headache.

Well Im glad I have confirmation that leak appears to be from the gasket. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Also, side note. She has 140k miles. So she is getting up there.

 

Oh that's right, your car is a "she". All the more reason to anticipate getting kicked when you're down!

 

Pretty much. Haha

 

rock has pumps from 35 to 95 bucks for the 3.4 top price being the acdelco, cardone was 50 or so bucks

 

Id be surprised if the gasket was the problem. I would think its more like the weep hole leaking from the pump itself. It might just look like the gasket. Do yourself a favor... buy the whole pump and get it over with.