Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

more importantly this is the second time this has happened, a month or so ago I noticed the coolant was low, I topped it off and couldn't really tell where it went but it seemed like the 4.8L LSx water pump was weeping - it was hard to tell

now a month later this happened, how can it be that a weeping water pump goes back to good for a month than takes a dump again? I thought once they are bad they are bad?

[wixthedog]

What an awesome thread, I can't believe I was able to read the whole thing while on the clock at work. Suckers!

Your attention to details, ingenuity, and humor were all appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to log it all.

[MikeB]

Those vent window seals are b!tch to replace, but you can do it with patience and soapy water or silicon spray.

Be sure to leave the old seals and tape in your front yard because that's your absolute right.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

more importantly this is the second time this has happened, a month or so ago I noticed the coolant was low, I topped it off and couldn't really tell where it went but it seemed like the 4.8L LSx water pump was weeping - it was hard to tell

now a month later this happened, how can it be that a weeping water pump goes back to good for a month than takes a dump again? I thought once they are bad they are bad?

FWIW, I have seen Gen I SBC t-stat housing gaskets do the same thing. The leaks actually were worse on winter days after the truck had been sitting for days! Could be a difference in expansion rates of the metals, so as the temperature changes, the gasket isn't thick enough to compensate. However, those LS engines have some very nice gaskets, compared to GEN I gaskets, right?

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

and having tried to fix it from the inside, this is how I drive around now, what a hack?

I'm a fan of making it work right and enhancing driveability. You can aesthetic-ize it later.

[KQQL IT]

Puddles like that are why my 73 is manual steering now. Hate puddles under truck, like an untrained puppy

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

Puddles like that are why my 73 is manual steering now. Hate puddles under truck, like an untrained puppy

I'm with you on leaks. They drive me nuts.

However, I must be lucky because I converted my 69 C10 from manual to power back around 1990 using a steering box, Pitman arm, pump, and hoses from a junkyard truck! The only thing that's been replaced since then is the return hose, because the old hose was looking pretty nasty. But I've never had a leak.

My 82 C10 came with power steering from the factory, but I did replace hoses and pump in 2015 when I converted the truck from 250 six to 350. No leaks there yet, but it's probably good for another 20 years.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by wixthedog

What an awesome thread, I can't believe I was able to read the whole thing while on the clock at work. Suckers!

Your attention to details, ingenuity, and humor were all appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to log it all.

What an awesome feedback, I can't believe I was able to write the whole thing while on the clock at work, JK JK!

May I please turn you on to some of my other works: HP Tuners Tutorials

this one is guaranteed to cure your insomnia if and when it flares up ha ha INNOVATE DLG1 Wideband O2 Oxygen Sensor Tuning Diagnostics Logging Air Fuel Ratio etc

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

...Be sure to leave the old seals and tape in your front yard because that's your absolute right.

LOL, duh, where else would I put em'?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MikeB

However, those LS engines have some very nice gaskets, compared to GEN I gaskets, right?

100% agree on that, if nothing else the redesign of the LSx enjins is superb, tall cylinder heads with shallow lids for example to keep the oil in the enjin for example, ha ha, also smart intake manifold gaskets, no more running the beads of toothpaste on the China walls!!!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I'm a fan of making it work right and enhancing driveability. You can aesthetic-ize it later.

thank you, we can do the entire triangle window like that and call it 0% tint and perhaps start a new trend

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

Puddles like that are why my 73 is manual steering now. Hate puddles under truck, like an untrained puppy

I believe Chevy's came like that from the factory, the option was called PLS, aka Pavement Lubrication System

let me tell you, other than this mishap the LS engine is awesome no more leaks, no more squeeks

[Gregski]

... well I don't usually do water pump repairs but when I do I pick the weekend after the Holidays that way I waste the first two hours breaking down all the cardboard boxes that somehow found their way into my workshop

[Gregski]

so got the truck in and performed the extraction, and there are Lessons Learned here

1. GM made at least two different water pumps one with a smaller 1.88" diameter thermostat opening and another with the larger 2.05" diameter thermostat housing (after buying the wrong smaller one first thinking it would make sense for the 4.8L I exchanged it for the larger one which was the one I needed for my 2001 GMC)

2. GM also made a couple different thermostat designs and also after buying not one but two wrong style ones I finally got the correct one, the correct one for the earlier 1999-04 trucks seems to be the one where the stat and the housing are one unit.

[Gregski]

I found in order to properly wire wheel the old crusty water pump gasket off of the driver side block I had to remove the accessory bracket and slide it out of the way, I like my surfaces pretty darn clean, and even using a gasket scraper I could not get all the pieces off otherwise (you can leave the power steering pump plumbed)

[Gregski]

not sure why two bolts were super rusty, one on either side, I don't think any of the six bolt holes go all the way through to the water jackets, I tested them with a poker and all of them bottom out

oh well I cleaned all of them threads and used anti seize on em as I always do, you're welcome future owner, ha ha

[Gregski]

so um yeah, back to that thermostat, this unit is one piece the thermostat does not come out of the housing, no matter if you use a vice and a chisel... German Engineering at it's finest (no joke)

[Gregski]

my buddy Pontiac Mike found this write up on the early LS GM water pumps you mind find helpful / useful

https://www.lingenfelter.com/PDFdown...ats%20List.pdf

[Gregski]

my buddy Pontiac Mike found this write up on the early LS GM water pumps and thermostats you mind find helpful / useful

GM Gen III & IV V8 Engine Thermostat Identification:
GM has changed water pump and thermostat designs on the Gen III & IV V8 engines (LS engines) several times over the years. Make sure you have the correct thermostat for your vehicle. This is especially important if you have had your water pump replaced because in some applications the service replacement pump and thermostat may be different than the original equipment pump and thermostat:

https://www.lingenfelter.com/PDFdown...ats%20List.pdf

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

I found in order to properly wire wheel the old crusty water pump gasket off of the passenger side block I had to remove the accessory bracket and slide it out of the way, I like my surfaces pretty darn clean, and even using a gasket scraper I could not get all the pieces off otherwise

I use Roloc 3M Scotchbrite discs on an air grinder. Knocks that stuff right off right now.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by hatzie

I use Roloc 3M Scotchbrite discs on an air grinder. Knocks that stuff right off right now.

I skierd sand paper will chew the metal especially if it's aluminium

[Gregski]

I knew I should have done did the belt at the same time as I replaced the water pump, but why do it once when you can do it twice, ha ha

no seriously I was a bit low on funds

went with all AC Delco junk to keep it as OEM(ish) as possible fully aware you never get the stock type quality parts once the horse is out of the barn anyways

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Gregski

I skierd sand paper will chew the metal especially if it's aluminium

You can get fine 2" Roloc Scotchbrite pads that don't seem to do much to aluminum as long as you don't lean into them and don't dwell in one place.
Kiss the surface with them and let the plastic mesh do its' thing.
They cut the paper and silicone gasket crud off pretty quick. They'll eat up oxidation but not quite as fast.

[Gregski]

scored some black used Suburban inside door handles for my truck on eBay, so time to ditch the piece of junk all foam LMC new ones and go back to OEMish used ones that actually work cause they actually have a metal bracket molded into them as God intended....

[Gregski]

there is a short list of advantages of cold humid days and finding exhaust leaks would be one of them

here I show you the crappy job I did welding my own exhaust pipes on my back under the truck, whaaa whaa whaa excuses excuses

saw these drip drips from a mile away one crispy cold morning, so I peaked under there

this is the passenger side right before the rear axle, this bend was the worst one of them all, we had to weld in a pie shaped patch here and it was crazy ugly