Minor leak around new water pump when hot. (1 Viewer)

[YoshiMan]

Hey all, whats happening?

Been reading this forum for years but never really have gotten active on it. Figured I should start considering I shelved my Toyota Cressida and can't really talk on that message board anymore, but anyway....

So I just completed a full cooling system service on my 89' FJ62. New radiator, OEM Belts, hoses, thermostat, fan clutch, Waterpump, and a complete system flush. The Aluminum radiator looks purdy....

So the first time i fire it up, i let it get up to operating temperature and let it sit for about 30 minutes before i back it out of the garage. During that time not a SINGLE DROP came out of the whole truck. Figured i was gold, but then when i pulled it out and parking it in front of the house (maybe moved it 15 feet) i notice the drip trail heading down the driveway following the path the truck went... uhg.... well, it suddenly got a steady drip from SOMEWHERE around the waterpump/outlet, but since its 2AM I said screw it, i'll check it out in the morning..

So apparently the leak stopped shortly after i shut her off, because it barely lost any coolant at all and the pan i put undernieth it didn;t look any more full from when i shut it off...

So i fire it up... of course nothing, so i take it out for a drive and when i return, its got a steady slow drip again.

Problem i'm having is that i can't determine WHAT in particular is leaking... Those familiar with the 3FE know that Toyota completely BURIED the waterpump so theres no real way to inspect it.. all i can tell is that the leak only is there when its HOT and that it runs down the lower radiator hose, and down the timing chain cover... I have tried poking a paper towel around in an attempt to find it, but no luck.. My guess it its the lower hose on the pump or the pump gasket itself... Grr..

I guess what i'm trying to get at is has anyone else had this happen? I took a good two hours cleaning up the block mating surfaces and used OEM gaskets and the FSM for the work, but im HOPING that since its only during certain times that maybe its one of the hoses and not the pump itself? i would hate to tear it back out if i could avoid it, but its gonna need another minor teardown of some sort just to get to those hoses...

I've never had a waterpump leak on me afterwards, so i guess i'm just trying to get some pointers to see if anyone has had similar results...

If not then i'm going to double clamp the hoses and get some sort of gasket dressing i guess. anyone have experience with those? not so much silicone, i am avidly against it unless it is required, but i would hate to have to do this a third time... Thanks in advance

 

[rchalmers3]

Every now and then a newly manufactured water pump does not seal, allowing a leak while the shaft is rotating.

My recommendation: Do whatever you have to do to gain visual access to the underside of the pump. I usually can make visual contact using a step stool, creeper, flashlight and a small spot mirror on an extension handle.

It may help to partially disassemble the motor far enough to gain visual access, but leave the cooling system intact so you can start it and commence the leak.

Finally, there is a tool that allows you to pressurize the cooling system by replacing the cap with a pressure pump. You can then pressurize the system to operating pressure, while the motor is static.

Good luck with solving the issue,

Rick

 

[roscoFJ73]

Hey all, whats happening?

Been reading this forum for years but never really have gotten active on it. Figured I should start considering I shelved my Toyota Cressida and can't really talk on that message board anymore, but anyway....

So I just completed a full cooling system service on my 89' FJ62. New radiator, OEM Belts, hoses, thermostat, fan clutch, Waterpump, and a complete system flush. The Aluminum radiator looks purdy....

So the first time i fire it up, i let it get up to operating temperature and let it sit for about 30 minutes before i back it out of the garage. During that time not a SINGLE DROP came out of the whole truck. Figured i was gold, but then when i pulled it out and parking it in front of the house (maybe moved it 15 feet) i notice the drip trail heading down the driveway following the path the truck went... uhg.... well, it suddenly got a steady drip from SOMEWHERE around the waterpump/outlet, but since its 2AM I said screw it, i'll check it out in the morning..

So apparently the leak stopped shortly after i shut her off, because it barely lost any coolant at all and the pan i put undernieth it didn;t look any more full from when i shut it off...

So i fire it up... of course nothing, so i take it out for a drive and when i return, its got a steady slow drip again.

Problem i'm having is that i can't determine WHAT in particular is leaking... Those familiar with the 3FE know that Toyota completely BURIED the waterpump so theres no real way to inspect it.. all i can tell is that the leak only is there when its HOT and that it runs down the lower radiator hose, and down the timing chain cover... I have tried poking a paper towel around in an attempt to find it, but no luck.. My guess it its the lower hose on the pump or the pump gasket itself... Grr..

I guess what i'm trying to get at is has anyone else had this happen? I took a good two hours cleaning up the block mating surfaces and used OEM gaskets and the FSM for the work, but im HOPING that since its only during certain times that maybe its one of the hoses and not the pump itself? i would hate to tear it back out if i could avoid it, but its gonna need another minor teardown of some sort just to get to those hoses...

I've never had a waterpump leak on me afterwards, so i guess i'm just trying to get some pointers to see if anyone has had similar results...

If not then i'm going to double clamp the hoses and get some sort of gasket dressing i guess. anyone have experience with those? not so much silicone, i am avidly against it unless it is required, but i would hate to have to do this a third time... Thanks in advance

I would buy a telescopic mirror and see if you can spot the leak that way.

One clamp on the hose should make it leak proof. I use some gasket sealant for extra measure

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

The Aluminum radiator looks purdy....

I have no advice beyond what is given above, but... That IS a purdy radiator!

Butt

 

[YoshiMan]

thanks for the comments! i'm just glad i decided to fire it up before i put that pain in the ass split fan shroud back on. I will have to get myself one of those mirrors and then go to town. The coolant capacity went up as well with the new radiator, it almost took 4 gallons where it usually only took a bit above 3.

I guess on the plus side everything will actually come apart this time around. It almost was like the original pump was superglued onto the freaking block!

I've had a slow radiator leak since I bought the truck in 2003, so I almost can't imagine how it will be to NOT have to fill it up constantly once i get this rectified..

 

[macko]

It COULD be as simple as a defective or wrong radiator cap. When a hot engine stops, the temperature (and pressure) of the coolant rises somewhat. This has to escape via the radiator cap into the overflow bottle. When the radiator cap doesn''t work properly, this pressure has to go somewhere. Most likely it sips tru the mechanical seal in the waterpump, but other weak spots reveal themselves also :-(

 

[YoshiMan]

Hmmmm, that sounds plausible.... the radiator seams to be of very good quality, but i'm not impressed with the cap that came with it, it seems to be flimsy and cheap... Think i'll just throw a different one on just to rule it out.

 

[62LostInMn]

I would check all of the hose clamps first. I did all the same work last fall and hose clamps were the biggest culprit. If you did a good job cleaning the pump mounting surface and torqued the pump properly I'd be very surprised if that's where it's leaking. If the shaft seal is leaking you'll see a spray coming of the pulley while the engine is running.

Good luck.

 

[62LostInMn]

One more thing. Did you put an OEM pump on? You don't want to be doing this again in 18 months

 

[DOGMARLEY]

Have you looked at the backside of the thermostat housing? Where the upper and lower housing comes together, not the block. Even though you used a new gasket, it may still leak. I recently did the same job and that's what happened with me. I haven't had time to fix it. I'm actually going to put the grey silicon around it. I also had problems with the thermostat housing bolts bottoming out. I realized I was missing washers and the housing wouldn't get tight enough. Also wanted to mention that your reservoir overflow may leak out some fluid when the engine gets hot. Good luck and feel free to come fix mine once your done!

 

[Elbert]

pressure test system to find leaks.

 

[YoshiMan]

Yup, it's an OEM Aisin pump, and from what i can tell its either leaking from the left side of the pump near the block, or the radiator lower hose where it connects to the pump itself. Havent had the chance to pick up a mirror yet, but i'll probably try out the pressure test once i get it torn down a bit. The thermostat housing is bone dry all around (which is suprising, since i cut the gasket between it and the block myself) And i'm waiting for some additional parts to come in from the stealership before i get started.

I'm armed with high tack gasket dressing this time, which looks to be pretty magical stuff from what i have heard. Gonna try it again in the next few days... i'll post results. thanks again guys!

 

[Elbert]

I use the red colored high tack stuff all the time....works well, I've never had any issues with it.

 

[YoshiMan]

Problem Solved.

Turns out it was the "pipe" that connects the waterpump hose the the lower radiator hose. It looked like a stupid setup from the start, and no matter how much a screwed with it, one of the hoses would get a weird bend in it and not appear to seal up properly. My solution:

Throw the whole thing away and use 1 friggin flex hose! easier to put on, easier to service, and two less connections that could leak. i just glanced at this hanging in the back of the parts store when i was dumping some oil off, and decided to take a closer look. Its a hose with a metal coil built into it, so you can even bend it 90 degrees and the hose won't collapse. I spent several hours screwing with the OEM hoses and this fixed the problem in 20 seconds. my question is why couldn't Toyota just of used one big molded hose instead of a bunch of little ones connected to a pipe in the middle? Thnaks for your thought guys