New to forum...need help with water pump, thermostat

[tidmarshsmiths5]

Just bought an April 1985 Bronco II.

Finally got water pump off (small leak), broke a bolt and a bolt on upper thermostat housing (that's where the thermostat is).

What is this "special refill procedure" I read about?

Gaskets or add a bunch of gasket sealer to make sure when I put the new water pump on and the upper thermostat housing? I was able to tap the bottom bolt I broke in the timing gear cover as torches, extractors, drills didn't work...should I use gasket sealer because whoever put the last one used a ton of gasket sealer. Also, the upper thermostat housing was full of sealer as well. I drilled through this one and will just have to use a bolt and nut to hold it.

clutch fan - should I replace or not...don't want to have to go through that ordeal to take off again (have over 15 hours invested in a 4 hour job)...I have never seen so much hassle to replace a water pump. I love the truck and even though my Dad had a brand new one in 1985, this is my 1st one (and I'm in my 40s).

 

[adsm08]

I would put some black (or blue if you can get it) sealer on the gaskets, just a little bit.


"Special fill proceedure"? IIRC the T-stat is in the bottom on the 2.8 which makes it a bastard to bleed the air out the normal way. Make sure your new stat has a weep-hole in it. Then fill the rad and leave the cap off. Next, pull a heater hose and fill it with coolant until it starts coming out of the heater core. This has you dumping the coolant in at the top of the system and the next open point being just a little lower. It will push all the air to the top as it moves through.

 

[enginepaul]

Don't over-do the sealer on any item; the object is to help the gasket, not replace the gasket.
The special fill process is because customers, with the thermostat mounted low, don't re-check the coolant after they leave the dealer. If you are doing it yourself, just fill the regular way, drive it a bit, then check the level and top it up.

Make sure you get all those pump bolts in, some are hard to see. Good luck.

If you think the fan clutch is going, just replace it. I tried checking mine, it seemed OK but I was still overheating = replace the clutch, no problems. The fan and clutch shouldn't take all that long; the pump can be a pain, especially when you have A.C.

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

Yeah, it has A/C...what a pain...but I'm saving money doing it myself and learning...right!?!?

Prolly spent $30 in bits and parts that broke taking it all off...

Anyway, this remanufactured Cardone water pump I just picked up at AutoZone for $21.99 plus core looks way too cheap...are they any good?

Now to go back and find another hose because the one they sold me that connects to the bottom of the thermostat housing on the bottom that runs along the bottom and connects to a metal tube (heater hose of some sort) is not correct.

I'm almost tempted to put the other water pump back on after I clean it up (I kept it because the other one looks like a blob and not well made)...no one else had one here.

I was not overheating just leaking (and because 1 bolt was broke off that whoever put the GMB water pump on didn't replace as well as missing another bolt and a 3rd along the bottom that was not in more than a few threads...they used a bunch of gasket sealer to cover their bolts not being in there. Also, the lower thermostat housing was missing a bolt - they just filled it with gasket sealer. So far...a lot of time in what should be a troublesome but not all that bad replacement in the future...

 

[dangerranger83]

I would get the duralast water pump, they sometimes have the LLT warrenty on them and have never had a problem.

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

RIDICULOUS! Water pump on, everything back together...not a leak from it at all.

BUUUUUTTTTTT, that lower thermostat housing (no thermostat in it - it's up top) leaks like a siff! Took it off, resealed it and still leaks...the back side is where it's coming from...what crazy engineer thought that was a good idea?

What's the FIX!?!?!?! I am going to let it sit overnight because I'm frustrated with it...the last time I put it back on I mean I POURED THE GASKET SEAL TO IT BECAUSE THE gaskets just got boogered up in there. And when I say gasket seal, I mean the #2 gasket maker stuff...we replaced the broken bolt that was in it and it is tight (even when the gaskets - paper ones - were in it it was pouring out then)...got it down to drips and then sometimes it'll pour.

Suppose tomorrow I will take the power steering pump off of it to get to it to clean up my mess this evening and start all over...wow...what a PITA design that is.

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

hmmmm...just went to the permatex site...believe the moron at the auto parts store gave me the wrong gasket maker to use...should have got the one for water pumps and thermostats and not oil pan and valve cover gaskets...

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

Alright, so a good night's sleep makes the perspective better in the AM.

Good news - I get a lot more circulation in the radiator with the new water pump (it just hardly moved before so it's good that I put the new one on).

Is there a trick to taking the power steering pump out of the way...or am I better to leave that be and just squeeze my hands into that spot?

Just waiting for parts store to open and gonna go get some new gaskets (the more I think about that the more I know I need them on that backside of that thermostat). But that is a tight squeeze trying to get my hands in there. I'm hoping that I can take the bolts out and the front part of the thermostat housing will hold so that I can slide the gasket on the backside of the bolts without boogering it up too bad.

And it was so good to drive it around the block...

 

[enginepaul]

I'm not the biggest fan of shortcuts BUT that housing down there is a real pain and you can't buy a new rear one - the one with the small hose. I had one with stripped threads so be very careful to use good, clean bolts. Anyway; if the leak isn't too bad, Bars-Leak would stop it without digging into the engine.

Can't recall what I did about the steering pump, sorry.

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

Whew! Thank you gents...I don't want to jinx it; but I think I fixed it.

I put a new gasket on the backside, added some water pump gasket maker and let it get good and dry. I then, very carefully after cleaning all the mating surfaces again and trimming that hose and retightened the clamp, slipped it on and tightened with some new bolts (I went a tad longer so if I had to I could nuts on the back because one of the threads I know is stripped or I stripped the bolt one).

Let it sit for 24 hours before adding antifreeze. I cranked it up and drove it around. So far, so good.

I'm going to drive it about 75 miles this weekend and that will be the test.

That is a crazy design and I just hope that replacement water pump holds out. I DO NOT EVER want to deal with that again.

 

[dangerranger83]

The front and the back are held together by the same bolts.

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[aspevacek]

Ok a good trick to cleaning gasket surfaces for t-stat housings and what not is a small piece of marble tile. about 2-3" square. wrap it in a good quality wet dry sand paper. the shiny side is a true surfac eor close enough for what we are doing. Use a 150 grit or so sand paper and lube it with WD40 work it on the surface in a figure 8 pattern to promote a fine cross hatch finish. spray everything down with a good blast of brake cleaner and let it dry befor eputting stuff back together. When using any silicon products I prefer the right stuf fin the cheese wiz style can but put a small amount on your fingers and rub it into the gasket to the point it is transparent. takes next to no silicon i fyour surfaces are properly prepared prior to putting stuff together and remember it is never clean enough that is the key to getting a good seal. Clean clean clean.

 

[tidmarshsmiths5]

Good news! I drove it over an hour each way to hunt camp and no leaks.

Thanks for all the help and advice; I used a scotch brite pad to really clean off all that gunk on the back side - I used a razor blade 1st, some brake cleen and then wiped it all up with shop rags. Let it get good and dry while I was putting the new gasket on, etc.

Again, thanks for the help and I'm oh so glad it's not leaking there. (Soon, I'll tackle the valve cover gaskets)...

 

[Angie]

BUT that housing down there is a real pain and you can't buy a new rear one - the one with the small hose. I had one with stripped threads so be very careful to use good, clean bolts.

I was able to replace both front and back when i rebuilt my 77 block. check rock auto's website and go into Pinto, mustang(?) 2.8 and search around the cooling sections. i am sure you can get all the parts to redo these motors....

Only thing I had major problem finding was the main crank bearings. had to get .020 under size and got the crank turned down.

hope this helps someone.