PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

there's a much easier way to check the gauge - A scantool. my 95 would constantly peg the gauge, but a scantool verified the PCM was seeing the correct temp and the cluster was bad.

trigga_b wrote:ok, I'm behind on my homework for my automotive class, so when I go to class tonight I'm gonna drill the hole in the thermostat. I got one last thought though, when I open the bleeder screw to the thermostat housing and coolant is at least spitting or spraying out, doesn't that clarify that the water pump is working?

Not necessarily, that is what you would expect if the coolant had expanded in the block and compressed the trapped air. This could occur without the water pump working properly.

trigga_b wrote:Also the hoses, especially the heater core hoses feel pressurized and are tight to squeeze, doesn't that also clarify that the water pump is working?

The hoses become tight under pressure from the heating and expansion of the coolant. Even a large air void will become compressed and cause the hoses to tighten. Consider how the hoses feel on a hot summer day after you have shut the engine down. Water pump is not turning, but the hoses are tight.

bonnevillain wrote:there's a much easier way to check the gauge - A scantool.

Sure - if you have access to one.

DAMMIT. I did the reverse flush exactly to the instructions and it didn't help. seem like it got worst. All I have is the water pump left and I couldn't replace it because of that bolt thats behind the motor mount. I didn't feel like getting under the car and jacking up the engine to remove the motor mount. Is there any way around this?

trigga_b wrote:...I didn't feel like getting under the car and jacking up the engine to remove the motor mount. Is there any way around this?

Not any easy ones that I know of. Use a block of wood between the jack and the pan to prevent denting it. After removing the big through-bolt on the torque axis mount, the lower bolts that attach the mount to the side of the engine compartment do not have to be removed - only loosened to remove the mount. When installing the pump, after you have cleaned the bolts, on the four big water pump bolts, make sure to use thread sealant to prevent coolant wicking up and out the bolts.

When you get the water pump off, take a really good look at the coolant passages to and from the water pump to make sure there is not some blockage that could explain your symptoms.

If it turns out that the water pump has been the source of your problems, (as we suspect) we would really like to see what went wrong with it with some photos. It would be an uncommon failure and a good one to document.

Okay, I got you. I would've got under the car if there wasn't an inch of snow under it.

trigga_b wrote:Okay, I got you. I would've got under the car if there wasn't an inch of snow under it.

I feel your pain - I just finished fixing the heater in my truck sitting in 6 inches of snow. At least I didn't have to get under it.

i've been wrestling with getting this pump off for 2 days now. what type of tool do you use to get those engine mount bolts from the side? the top ones were hard and they Broke my rachet. there isn't enough space.

oh yeah, do I put the sealant just at the tip of the bolt?

trigga_b wrote:i've been wrestling with getting this pump off for 2 days now. what type of tool do you use to get those engine mount bolts from the side?

Use a box wrench for the ones that go into the side. They only need to be loosened. When you have removed the big through-bolt, the two top bolts, and loosened the two below, the mount will slide upward and out.

trigga_b wrote:oh yeah, do I put the sealant just at the tip of the bolt?

Apply thread sealant to the first 4 or 5 threads of the 4 largest bolts for the water pump. The ones that enter the water jacket of the block. The smaller bolts do not need sealant.

I took these with my phone, I can get better ones if you need it. looks like the wheel came coompletly apart from the housing.

http://mob94.photobucket.com/albums/l99 ... GE_023.jpg
http://mob94.photobucket.com/albums/l99 ... GE_022.jpg

Thanks for taking the pix. This is one of those things that you have to see to believe. I'm glad you found the source of your problems! And now you have a nice clean cooling system as a bonus. When you get it back together you'll be making enough heat to melt Mama's galoshes.

This is a truly rare failure.

WOW, cant believe that it happened like that.

I wonder how this could even happen???

trigga_b wrote:I wonder how this could even happen???

If I had to bet, I would go for a foreign object got in or around the impeller. In one of your photos (hard to see good), it looks like the shaft was "turned" like on a lathe... or is that just my imagination? If that is so (something got against it), that would cause it to eventually go. Or, if the shaft was just inherently weak and something got sucked into the impeller, guess that would seize it and snap the shaft.
Or.. am I seeing rust in the break? If so, that would mean it was cracked for a while.

I was thinking. there was just plain water in there, so with that being said, the freezing temperature may have froze the water inside the water pump and as I started the car, it caused the shaft to spin but the propeller was still, causing it to break. there isn't any rust. you're right though it looks like someone twisted it off with there bare hands.

trigga_b wrote:I was thinking. there was just plain water in there, so with that being said, the freezing temperature may have froze the water inside the water pump and as I started the car, it caused the shaft to spin but the propeller was still causing it to break. there isn't any rust. you're right it does look like someone twisted it off with there bare hands.

That sounds like you found your culprit. This is why you run antifreeze.