The water pump on this 94 pickup has become a failure point and the system is leaking coolant. I tried taking the pump off, cleaning the gasket surfaces and reinstalling with a new gasket without any adhesive. The system still leaks and I am trying to figure out why. I believe the pump is original, although the bearings did not feel loose whatsoever. Therefore I was not going to replace the unit yet. However, upon reviewing my video of the leak, it looks like the coolant may be coming from the weep hole on the pump. It is hard to discern this for certain. I may try topping off the system again and looking underneath for another go at trying to discern where the leak is coming from. It seems difficult to tell if the coolant is coming from a leak in the gasket or the bearing seal. If there is no play in the bearing, I would think the seal is water tight.

The felpro gasket I used seemed very thin and actually not a great seal. Maybe I did not clean the surfaces quite well enough. I may want to go in again with a proper gasket remover and a hardwood scraper or rust removal wheel for a drill after removing the power steering pulley completely so I can see what I am doing. The studs protruding from the mounting surface also make it difficult to clean the mounting surface entirely and am considering removing and reinstalling the studs so I don't need to clean around them. Would I need to use some thread locker with this? Generally a good idea to put grease on all the replaced nuts and bolts? Any advice would help as I am trying to stop driving this truck with half full coolant capacity. I've just been topping it off to prevent all the coolant from evaporating entirely. After I get a proper seal, I plan on running a coolant flush for a week but still leaving the thermostat in because I do not want to run the engine cold. Then blow all the spent coolant out with compressed air and repeat with water, then a proper 50/50 mix to finish it off.

 

Bearing play or not, an original water pump from 1994....yeah I would replace it. To me the video certainly looks like it is leaking from the weep hole, but again, wouldn't matter to me, a coolant leak from anywhere near the water pump, if it is nearly 30 years old, once I take it off, a new one is going back on.

 

yeah just replace it, they aren't that expensive

 

take it to the engine bay at the carwash and blow all the oil/grease off of the engine, it'll be easier to see the problems.

but yeah, it looks like the weep hole is leaking.

 

Gaskets are so 1970.
Other than head gaskets, of course, and valve cover gaskets, and occasionally another one here and there on a case by case basis,
I just prep and degrease thoroughly and use Permatex Ultra gray.
I have nearly eliminated oil and water leaks from my auto world
Both my 22re and 3vz are running water pumps with no gasket.
No oil pan gasket, no 3rd member gaskets.....

 

Would a gasket sealant possibly be superior due to less chance of excess material breaking off to circulate in the system and possibly cause a clog?