[shofbauer]

I'm new and know crap about cars. Bought a 2001 Q/C O/R 10 days ago. I knew the heater core was bad and the guy dropped the price. I took it to a mechanic I know and trust and he replaced the core, evap., and water pump. So I pick it up today and it leaks antifreeze. No charge got me a new pump. Well it still leaks. I have looked at all previous posts and seeing I know squat about vehicles (and it's midnight) I really want to know from this community what the hell is going on. Not overlly angry just Po'd because this truck looks great and runs good minus the fact I'm about to kill all my neighbors pets, I hear they like the sweet taste of the green stuff that's really making me mad right now. 2 water pumps in 24 hours Dodge are you that dumb?

 

[Ateup2damax]

not sure what's going on with the pumps really. maybe, a bad seal/gasket, wrong part number. i still have the stock one on mine and no problems with it.

 

[shofbauer]

Just spoke with my mechanic and the first pump was indeed bad, it had a crack. To his defense it was brand new from NAPA. As for this new leak he thinks it is a bad seal with the gasket, due to the fact it's leaking some where different spot. Who knows.

 

[Jmw132001]

did the mechanic take a dremel to the gasket area of the water pump to clean off the old gasket material and give it a nice finish? if not, then there could be little bits of old gaskets on there causing the new gasket to not seat right. Just an idea

 

[89smurf]

More information about where it's leaking from would probably help more (ie gasket, hose on the back, seepage hole, etc). You could always post pics too.
I changed my water pump last spring, never had an issue. Hope your gets resolved soon.

 

[shofbauer]

I will post pics if it leaks again,(it's a super tight spot) as for the dremel, I really hope he would know to do that he is ASE accredited master tech. This garage has been servicing our company vehicles for over 10 years with NO problems, just very perplexed as to why this is happening. Thanks for the posts.

 

[xtremewlr]

Well in defense of the truck, it isn't Dodge that has caused these 2 failures/leaks. Cracked pump from napa, nothing you can do about that. Hard to know about until you get the pump on the truck and have it running. This is why you always check for leaks when you are done by running the vehicle up to temp. The leak at a gasket is the fault of the installer. Not cleaning the gasket surfaces properly, especially the mating surface on the timing cover. That is just a matter of attention to detail. I replaced the pump on my previous Ram and did not have any issues with leaks. Don't blame the truck for shoddy work by the mechanic. Doesn't matter who he is or how long he has been doing this, it isn't HIS truck so he is trying to bust it out as quickly as he can so he can move onto the next vehicle and keep making money.

 

[DewyMan]

If it starts leaking again look at the bypass hose that comes from the intake manifold to the pump. If it is even questionable it needs changed. Also if the pump comes off again have the themostat changed also. They are both in very tight places and worth changing when they are exposed. While nfixing my intake plenum I found that someone had put Stop leak in the cooland and it started to come out where the thermostat is on the intake manifold. Not sugesting to use stop leak but giving you places to look at.

Hope this helps and your leak gets fixed soon

 

[69DodgeCharger]

It also could be the timing cover gasket leaking. Alot of the time it looks just like a water pump leaking, just a thought.

 

[dhvaughan]

+1 on the possibility of timing cover leak. it seem like a silly design, but the timing cover bolts onto the front of the block, sealing the water passages, and then the water pump goes on top of taht, with long bolts passing through the timing cover. if your mechanic did the wp only, and not the timing cover, its likely that he cracked the seal on the timing cover and its leaking there.

how many miles ? if he has to tear it back down, i'd have him go ahead and replace timing set and front seal. also the wp bypass hose which is buried underneath everything.

 

[shofbauer]

It's fixed (for now anyways) been over 24 hours and NO sign of leakage anywhere. When I picked it up from the shop he had already left (they were closed and he left it out for me) so I was unable to get the exact problem this time, I plan on calling him first thing Monday and I will get back to this forum and let you know what was the culprit. By the way the truck has 150,092 miles, but looks and rides and NOW yes works great. A very well taken car of truck in my opinion.