Water pump leak

Jean-Marc Dugas

Jean-Marc Dugas

PCS Member
Looks like the water pump on the 54XL is leaking. I noticed green fluids on the garage floor and wetness on the pully below the pump. I pressurized the system using a pressure tester and it looks like the water is coming out of the front of the pump where the pully connects to the housing.

The best (maybe the only) solution is probably to replace the whole unit. It does not look like a complex job except for the fact that there is so much stuff in that engine bay that getting to the pump will be challenging.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

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It isn't a difficult job, but it is a time-consuming job. You need to start by taking the radiator out or risk the chance of damaging it. Then follow the instructions in the shop manual. I suggest that now would be the time to drain the system and do a thorough cleaning of the engine block and radiator and then do the water pump and all new hoses. You can use a commercial cleaner or I have my time-tested favorite method using Arm & Hammer washing soda. It works well to clean the block and the radiator passages along with the heater core. It is a lot less caustic and does a great job, but once again it is a time-consuming job. You start off by first draining the cooling system, and then removing the thermostat and reinstalling the thermostat housing. Then you will remove the lower hose clamp that holds the lower coolant hose to the radiator. Next, using a radiator pick you loosen the lower hose and remove it temporarily to allow the radiator to drain. Run fresh water through the radiator and let it drain out the lower fitting. Now you put the lower hose back onto the radiator but don't clamp it. Dissolve a cup or two of washing soda in hot water, pour it into the top of the radiator, and fill it with water till it overflows. Then start the engine and run it for 10 or 15 minutes with the radiator cap removed and the cleaning solution to get hot. Shut down the engine, and while the solution is still hot, pull the lower radiator hose off. You will see the water is now orange-colored. This is the rust scale in the engine block. Allow the engine to cool for an hour or until it is cold to the touch, and repeat the cleaning procedure. It might take as many as 4 or 5 times before the solution comes out white indicating that there is no more rust scale in the engine. Drain again and when the engine is cold again, just flush with water 2 more times to make sure that there are no traces of the cleaner left in the engine block. It is important not to put cold water into a hot engine block because you will crack the block from thermal shock. That is the reason to wait an hour between cleanings. I would install all new heater hoses and upper and lower radiator hoses, including the hoses that go to the rear heater. You will need to buy a 25' box of 1/2" & 3/4" hose for this project. Buy 50/50 anti-freeze into your cleaned engine. Don't forget to get the correct engine paint to paint the new water pump. Your engine is Cadillac blue. The estimated time to do the job is long because of the time necessary to wait for the engine to cool., This will guarantee that you will not have cooling issues for 5 or 6 years or more. Don't forget to get the correct engine paint to paint the new water pump. Your engine is Cadillac blue. This will guarantee that you will not have cooling issues for 5 or 6 years or more, and you can take your car on a trip with confidence that the cooling system will not give you grief!

Additional reading on the subject of coolant cleaning and water pumps... https://professionalcarsociety.org/search/6/?q=water+pump&c[users]=Paul+Steinberg&o=date
 
Now them some of us would start the flush with a healthy squart of dawn dish soap. After the first dump. Fill it with water,Run it till its warm. then dump to clean out any sludge that builds up in the block before you go for the rust. You can go as far as you want to make it like new. But if i wasn't going to change the rear lines this would be a good time to add a ball shut off on them. That way if you get a leak back there you can close it off and get home. But a new pump is the only way to go. Don't remember it they have a 2 piece shrouded or not. But if it is you might get by with out pulling the radiator. As i remember it has a lot of space up front on that year.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will definitively go through the entire cooling system. As I learned from when I had the 67, when you tinker with one component of a system that has been in harmony with all of the other parts of the system for over 45 years old you break the harmony and something else will break.

The car already has a valve that goes to the rear heater. I have not opened it since I got the car. Just in case the rear heater is full of rust I will disconnect it from the car's system first before flushing it so I do not run the sludge and rust through the entire system.
 
Yes, you should do this with the old water pump in place. I like Dawn dishwashing for degreasing external engine blocks, etc. however, I wouldn't use it inside the block since it is difficult to rinse out once it is in there. The washing soda will remove the grease and rust scale and not leave any residue inside the engine block. It isn't caustic either so it will not attack the other metals that it comes in contact with such as the temperature-sending unit or the thermo vacuum switch that is mounted in the front of the block. One more thing that cleaning the block the way that I suggested, is if any of the water pump bolts are exposed to the coolant chamber, it will clean the rust from those bolts and make removal of the bolts a lot easier. The last thing that you want to happen is to have a water pump bolt break off in the block. If you are not familiar with removing stubborn bolts, ask before you do any damage.
 
Now would be the time to check the rear heater core. Take both the return line and the inlet loose. Mate up the garden hose to the return and back flush it. See what comes out. If it only has a valve on the inlet side the core was still.under pressure. Water was just not flowing threw it.
 
I wouldn't drive the car because if the shaft comes off, it will destroy the radiator. When you do the radiator and block cleaning as I suggested, do it at an idle only. The water pump will have enough circulation to do its job.
 
La nuit porte conseil as we say in French (The night brings wisdom). I drained and refilled the system yesterday evening and the new water looks almost dirtier now than it did before, so I have decided that since the cooling system most likely has never been thoroughly flushed and the radiator and heater cores need testing, I will take the car to the local radiator shop to have it professionally flushed and tested. I have an appointment in two weeks.

From here on I will add a (home) system flush as part of my annual maintenance to keep things clean.

I will however go pick up the hoses I need to replace the hoses that go to the rear heater and cabin heater and hopefully take care of that this weekend.
 
Most likely your local radiator shop will not do a cleaning of the block. At best, they will do a pressure flush that will remove any obstructions, but I have never known a radiator shop that will chemically clean the block. Great idea to have them check the radiator and repair or replace the core should it be needed, however, I would still do the block cleaning as I described which starts by removing the thermostat. You might want to call them and learn exactly what they do to clean the engine block. Things might be different in your area.
 
I just picked-up the car from the radiator shop. Not a cheap job, but at least now I will not have to worry about it anymore.

Both the main radiator and the rear heater core failed the pressure test, so I got them to replace the radiator with a new one and will delete the rear heater core for now. It was not worth the extra $$ to recore or get a new one for now. They ran into issues with the transmission cooling lines which were corroded and seized in place and had to replace.

They flushed the system with chemicals which should leave the block almost as good as new.

Instead of replacing the water pump myself, I asked them to replace it while the car was there. It made sense since they we replacing the radiator, etc. This was not an easy job either even for them with all of the proper tools. In hindsight, I am glad that I did not attempt to do it myself.

Overall on the one hand it cost me more than I expected, but on the other hand, it is done and I will not have to worry about the cooling system until I replace the rear heater core at some point later.
 
I have a rear heater core from a Superior if you would like it. I believe that it came out of a 1975, however, I wasn't the one that removed it, I was just the recipient of some spare parts that were not used.
 
Some times it best to just pay someone else to do it. The expense of the rear heater core and the the long lines with the chance of a failure weighed agents I'll never need to use it might not be wort replacing it. Make sure the fan works and let it go. But the shop should be able to recore it.
 
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