Water pump troubles

[coolotisdog]

I have been having a lot of cooling system troubles the last week or so. I have been reading on the forums as to what it points at and just wanted to double check my thinking. My 87 FJ60 was running warm/hot so I pulled the thermostat out, and it was stuck shut. I can tell because it was nice clean coolant on the engine side and nasty rusty crap on the thermostat side. Then a few days later I noticed a few drops of coolant one day after I stopped to get gas at the station. Well since then the problem has gotten worse. When I drive my land cruiser around it will get fairly warm and last time I parked it a LOT of coolant leaked out from the front of the engine, and it looks like it is coming from the water pump. I am also hearing this clicking noise coming from the engine now, and I suspect the water pump is the culprit.

My thinking is that the thermostat being plugged up ruined the water pump and its gasket, resulting in the leak that I am seeing. I plan on getting the whole system cleaned, getting the radiator recored and putting on a new water pump and gasket. Is there anything that anyone sees wrong with my logic?

Other than this problem my engine is running great so I want to get it fixed soon. I am hoping that this has nothing to due with a head gasket. The only thing that steers me away from a bad head gasket is that it looks to be leaking right under the water pump, and the whole thermostat being shut thing. Anyway, let me know what you think.

One more thing, I know I can test the water pump, I just haven't had a chance to do that yet, and its 1 in the morning so I don't feel like doing it right now.

 

[jvazquez53]

That leak from the front probably is coming from a small hole in the pump. If is leaking from there? replace it. If the leak is not from there, the other places could be any of the hoses in the front. I know that people here praise the OEM parts, but as far as I know, OEM parts do not carry a lifetime warranty. I just replaced a water pump in one of my vehicles that the water pump was under warranty, I paid $0.00 for the replacement. So you may want to pay a visist to Autozone, O'Reilys, or any of those oarts stores.

 

[coolotisdog]

I actually pulled the water pump off and found out its gasket is shot, the pump seems to be ok but I am replacing it anyway. It also looks like the previous owner had the same problem and tried to seal the leak around the gasket area with some kind of sealant, and it obviously held for quite some time.

 

[jvazquez53]

Since you removed the pump, the best thing was replace it. Did you get one with lifetime warranty?