Thread: Water pump bottom right bolt

the o ring will fail sooner or later with the metal elbows. they may even corrode in there and pit up the lim and timing cover and the alt bracket.

you know how much 2 different type metals like to be touch and what happens when they do.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

the o ring will fail sooner or later with the metal elbows. they may even corrode in there and pit up the lim and timing cover and the alt bracket.

you know how much 2 different type metals like to be touch and what happens when they do.

I don't think you have much to worry about corrosion, the orings are crap on all of them, but I would never install plastic ones again.. I had a plastic elbow explode on me at WOT on the the highway, that wasn't fun. Such a crappy design, that's why on my other car with 3800 swap I tapped the hole with threads and just used a hose.

Thanks, I'll get one ahead. That way the plastic one I just put in will last forever!

Okay, I didn't look, and thought the end of page 1 was the end of the thread. As to electrogalvanic corrosion, I thought the elbow joined two chunks of aluminum castings, so I would think it wouldn't be a problem. But like I said, if I just BUY an aluminum one, the plastic one I just put in will last until you see Ol' Scratch pulling on his overcoat and lacing up his ice skates! BTW, I wonder if we could source better O-Rings...

sounds like it will work.

the bolts, i have no clue what the torque is but snug, then 1/4 turn more is more then enough. i used no torque wrench for mine and its leak free for 2 years now.

Speaking of torque wrenches....I don't use them. I use grunts as torque spec

If you follow my torque specs and have a clean surface. Do not use RTV on the gasket surface or gasket, all it does is make it a billion times harder to do a pump down the road if the new one fails. On the thread sealant, thread sealant of any type should do. The teflon one is more suited to water/oil sealing...I'm sure either will work fine though.

I say the above about the torque specs, because..I've done that many that the experience is there. At those specs you won't break the smaller 10mm bolts and you won't crack the timing cover with the 13mm bolts.

I learned from a mechanic that worked at dealerships for about 15 years before opening his own shop of another 14 years. Unless you know you have a surface issue being uneven etc, you don't use RTV when the manufacturer says to do a dry install. On the 3800 water pump, it's a dry (no goop) install. The bolts however do go into the water jacket and do need a sealant, teflon based seem to work the best.

I probably replace 2-3 waterpumps a year on cam installs etc and I have never used RTV yet. Also never had a leak with a good clean install and the above torque specs. I like to clean all the surfaces with a wipe of brake cleaner on a clean rag.

I don't degree. The numbers I gave you are what I use. I'll be interested in your results if the retorque does the trick.

I didn't even torque mine, and I didn't use any sealant, and I have zero leaks.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

I don't degree. The numbers I gave you are what I use. I'll be interested in your results if the retorque does the trick.

Well,, here is the latest..... When I put the pump on I used no sealant on the gasket,, used sealant on the 4 long bolts, I used BillBoostL37's recommended torques on the WP bolts [ 13 ftlb on the long 13mm bolts and 10 ftlb on the short 10mm bolts ]..... So I ran it for about 20 min after install and coolant fill.. All seemed fine. But the next time I used the car, a couple of days later, I saw steam/ smoke coming out the grill when I parked and engine was hot .... I figured, uh-oh,, leak somewhere [ I also changed the coolant elbows a couple of weeks ago ] ...
Last night I ran it for 30 min at idle.... NO steam/ smoke... Took it out on the road for 20 min... again nothing ..... I DID NOT re-torque the bolts on the WP.... Brought it to work today, about 40 min.s on the freeway .... and so far so good.... No steam/ smoke or odor.... I will check under car at lunchtime... but I have not seen dripping when parked ..... I am thinking that maybe what I was seeing and smelling was some of the coolant that poured out under the engine and into the nook and crannies in the frame when I pulled the old pump off ...... That stuff just had to burn off ...... Stay tuned........

You probably just had a pocket of coolant that was sitting somewhere and then got on something hot... I know anytime I mess with coolant under the hood I smell it for weeks under there afterward. If you dont see it again I'd just call it happy, take a flashlight and visually inspect the elbows, you can see pretty obviously if it's leaking out of the lim or bottom of the tensioner bracket. Look through the grill and make sure nothing hit you on the front and punctured a fin on the radiator, I guess.

Look at where the hoses connect to the radiators, you'll see white streaks and drops if there is leakage there.

Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that where the coolant elbows plug in are aluminum and wont mess with the aluminum elbows, is that true? I was concerned about my aluminum ones corroding. I mean if the connections there are steel, why wouldnt Dorman just make the metal elbows steel?