Waterpump Idea.......

[BeatDaSHO]

Well, back in the summer I had a huge overheating problem in my SHO. I replaced everything in the cooling system. Everything but the waterpump because I did that back in last march. I had replaced my leaking waterpump with an A1 Cardone remanufactured. After about 5 months after I replaced the water pump, my car would heat up past the N and would stay around the N. I knew this wasn't right because it had always been at the L and wouldn't go any higher. None the less, I bought a relay for the fan and made it kick on more times. This has kept the temp to around the R. Now, I talked to the previous owner who had my SHO. I told him about my overheating problem and he said way back around 1994 or so, he had an overheating problem with the car and said that it was a remanufactured pump and that the impeller had worn itself down. He replaced the pump and everything was fine. HMMMMM????? Do you think that could be my problem? Does A1 Cardone have a lifetime warranty? I bought it from National Auto but they don't carry them anymore. Do you think that my impeller has worn down that it won't pump enough coolant? The previous owner also said that he has worked on a lot of chevy's and that the impellers have worn down on them causing the same problem. Now i was thinking......if I do replace the waterpump, could I do this? Could i replace the coolant with water? I have the prestone flush kit where you hook a hose up to it. What if i replaced all of the coolant with water and then take off the accesory belts and timing covers and then just pulled the water pump? The timing belt can take water can't it?? Just a thought to save time. Please help me. Thanks.

Greg

<small>[ March 12, 2003, 05:05 PM: Message edited by: BeatDaSHO ]</small>

 

[JoeHoe_SHO]

t-stat

 

[BeatDaSHO]

reading from the top......."I have replaced EVERYTHING in my cooling system" and that includes about 4 different thermostats. hehe.

Greg

 

[sdpatt]

I just replaced an A1 Cardone unit on my car last Sunday that had only been installed for 40,000 miles because the bearings were worn and allowing the shaft to rattle. The impeller looked great. What yours looks like would have more to do with the chemistry inside your cooling system. Do you use tap water when you fill it? What antifreeze do you use?

What direction are you installing the spring side of the thermostat?

Have you actually measured the temperature to determine that you have an overheating problem?

If you do, something is very wrong with your car. The SHO's cooling system is very much capable of keeping the car cool under the heaviest loads in the hottest temperatures. I can tow a 3,000 pound boat up a hill at 60-70 mph on a 100+ F degree day with 4 people in the car and still not have the temp go above the "M" in NORMAL.

 

[BeatDaSHO]

well my main concern right now is, is the A1 cardone waterpump under any warranty? I bought it from National Auto but they don't sell them anymore. And my second question is, do u think i can get the water pump off the way I said?

Greg

 

[Mr Anonymous]

BeatDaSHO:
well my main concern right now is, is the A1 cardone waterpump under any warranty? I bought it from National Auto but they don't sell them anymore. And my second question is, do u think i can get the water pump off the way I said?

Greg

The A1 Cardone pumps do carry a lifetime warranty. If you still have your receipt, call Cardone and explain to them that the dealer you bought it from no longer carries their products and you need a referral to another shop that will honor your warranty. They should be more than willing to help.

 

[sdpatt]

There is almost no way to dilute the coolant down to clean water and you probably don't want to as the electrolytic corrosion between the block and heads would cause damage in a very short time. Removing the timing belt is easier than removing the water pump and much cleaner.

The impeller and shaft in the OEM Aisan(sp?) pumps that A1 Cardone remanufactures are made of stainless steel. They are not going to corrode unless you have been using acid in your cooling system.

What have you been using in your cooling system? What direction are the thermostats installed?

 

[BeatDaSHO]

I have been using the Prestone orange coolant. I forget the name of it offhand. I used to have the green antifreeze but i switched over to try the Prestone stuff. I am installing the thermostat correctly. Don't worry about that factor. Well being as I have replaced everything but the waterpump since this has happened, then the waterpump is the only thing left. Has anyone ever seen the impeller wear down? Because the guy I talked to said that he has seen plenty of chevy's with the impeller worn down.

Greg

 

[sdpatt]

Chevy's aren't SHOs. Chevy's don't have cast aluminum water pumps with stainless steel impellers. Chevy's still have pushrods for goodness sake.

Have you replaced the radiator cap? When you squeeze the upper radiator hose with your hand after the engine has warmed up, is the hose tight? You shouldn't be able to squeeze it more than about 1/8" with a firm grip.

 

[oh_SHO]

Since you all are talking about water pumps. I was told that the remans were junk and to buy new. What is everybody else's opion on this?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

oh_SHO:
Since you all are talking about water pumps. I was told that the remans were junk and to buy new. What is everybody else's opion on this?

bs Search under sdpatt's forum user ID for 'water pump', he's covered the quality of the A1 Cardone units countless times.

 

[rangerj]

Beatdasho,

Have you looked at your coolant? Is it liquid, or thick? The green and orange coolant do not mix. I have seen some of the orange stuff thick and surypy, and once saw some gelled like tapioca pudding.

If your cooling system was completely cleaned of the green stuff you should not have a problem. Check the condition of the coolant. It should be a liquid as water. rangerj

 

[BeatDaSHO]

Here is all that I have done to my cooling system after it started to heat up way too high.......replaced thermostat (4 times) (yes i know how to put it in), sending unit (3 times), ECT, IRCM, fan, radiator, lower radiator hose, radiator cap, coolant flush with the prestone "hose" flush, replaced with the prestone orange coolant. None of these made a difference at all. I finally bought a fan relay which made the fan come on earlier and that has kept the temperature down to between the R and M at all times. This is good and it's been running like this for about 5 months now but it's always been in the back of my head as to why this happened. There is no coolant in my oil or oil in my radiator. I have had a leak down test so it's definately not the head gasket. The only thing left that I didn't replace after the overheating was the water pump.......Ranger J, it's a liquid. I know they don't mix and that is why i flushed the system with water first. The green coolant, water, and orange coolant made no difference in temperature.

Greg

 

[sdpatt]

I buy remans. The remanufactured pumps are the front case portion of the original Aisan water pumps that have been refreshed with new seals and bearings. The rest of the pump is non-wearable: shaft, impeller and casing. A new gasket is provided to attach the new front case to the larger, rear portion of the casing. That rear part is just cast and machined aluminum. There is nothing to wear out.

The remanufactured pumps are probably equal in service life to the new pumps. Just like new parts, some are made better than others. I just diagnosed a loud rattling noise from an acquantance's SHO as a very loose water pump shaft. That was the original equipment pump on his 70,000 mile car.

I had one remanufactured unit last 100,000 miles and another last 40,000. The catch is that the reman replacements are free. It required only 3.5 hours of my time to replace the pump (and timing belt if it was needed) just last weekend. A new pump is close to $200 and Ford never offered a warranty. I went that route once too. Not again.

 

[oh_SHO]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by oh_SHO:
Since you all are talking about water pumps. I was told that the remans were junk and to buy new. What is everybody else's opion on this?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Search under sdpatt's forum user ID for 'water pump', he's covered the quality of the A1 Cardone units countless times.

I searched and found nothing useful. I guess what reman is the best? The A1 Cardone? Thanks.

 

[1stTwinTurboSHO]

Scot i am not trying to be an ass.
But the letters on the pump are AISIN thumbs_u
no disrespect

 

[rangerj]

Ah, Scott,

What's wrong with pushrods? (rhetorical?)

I can understand pushrods. Micro-processors, computers, now thats a different story. I can see a pushrod working!

I finally got my pictures downloaded from the camera in to the computer, then into a picture file, then into a "WORD" file. Now if I can get the "word" file into an e-mail file you'll be getting some pictures of my SHO, and a neat Ratheon product! rangerj

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

Ol' Scott getting his chops busted.

I didnt see this mentioned yet, so I thought I would chime in....you have done alot of replacing of stuff, has all the air been purged from your system? Takes along time ya know....I did a rad and t stat replacement in September and it took me 2+ weeks to get the coolant level to finally stabilize. Seemed like I was constantly adding coolant. I literally thought I blew a HG.

I use the orange stuff too by the way, great product. I assume you went 60 40 or 50/50 with water correct? Distilled water I hope.

One more thing: when you say you "flushed" the system. Did you just use water, or did you also use a radiator flushing additive? I used Prestone super flush, and drove it for the 200 miles or so they said to drive it while it cleaned out the system...you could have a case of "coronary artery disease" in your cooling system where some piece of crap dislodged and plugged a passage.

Now, as to the impellers, I've seen thermostats that have gone to crap (ie dissolved), but not impellers. If Scott hasnt seem impellers go bad in the 25+ water pumps I am guessing he has replaced, then I would say no way hos'e. Specially in 40 thousand miles.

I would be more inclined to think you have an air bubble in the system, or a blocked passage someplace. Think blocking is rare? Look at your overfill jug for sediment. That crap is in the eng alot of times too.

 

[sdpatt]

1stTwinTurboSHO:
Scot i am not trying to be an ass.
But the letters on the pump are AISIN thumbs_u
no disrespect

If you will notice in an earlier post of mine in this topic that I indicated I wasn't sure of the spelling of the pump manufacturer.

...OEM Aisan(sp?) pumps....

No disrespect taken for indicating the correct name of the pump manufacturer, but I would appreciate it if you spelled my name correctly.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

Food for thought: Orange DEXCOOL does NOTHING for cars not originally equipped for it. Instead, you just paid double per bottle of antifreeze for something you'll need to change out at regular green antifreeze intervals. The reason DEXCOOL can last 100k is because of the cooling system makeup, the alloys used and such. A normal car not made for it does not have these alloys to allow the extended use without breakdown.