I posted a question a while back about possiblities of TSB for premature water pump failure on my 2000 silverado. As a reminder it's got 45K miles and started leaking coolant from what I thought was the water pump. I've since looked further and can see that the leak isn't coming from the weep hole in the water pump as I previously suspected but is in fact coming from what looks like the gasket where the water pump connect to the pass. side head. So now I'm relieved that I don't need to replace the water pump but I still need to fix the leak. If I take it to a shop how many hrs should i figure on replacing the gaskets, and/or how many hours should I figure for a do it yourself? I'm capable of making the repair, I'm just trying to justify the time it takes to do it. One last thing. Would this be typical or unusual. I can't remember when I've seen a factory water pump gasket fail. Especially with only 45K miles. Thanks B.Chase
2000 silverado coolant leak. Update.
Nov 08, 2003
2 Replies
My advice is, change the waterpump, use stainless steel bolts, gasket sealer, and torque everything to specs. Waterpumps have a steam vent which can act up. My El Camino would leak when cold, never when hot. Turned out to be faulty steam vent. As for the wimpy gasket, probably not torqued correctly when new.
"chase12" wrote
From what I'm seeing at the dealership...there seems to be a problem with these water pump gaskets. I've replaced a number of them for coolant leaks. I've also replaced some water pumps too.
I think book time on these pumps is about 1.6-2.0 hrs. It's actually a very simple job. Once you remove the upper shroud and the fan/clutch assembly (you need a very large crescent wrench or the special tool to get this off), it's very straightforward.
Ian
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required