water pump

[94redranger]

Where are the water pump weep holes on a 1994 4.0 water pump? Will they only leak out coolant when the engine is running? If they do leak does that just mean the water pump is leaking or does it mean the water pump has poor circulation? If I do take the water pump off can I visually inspect it to tell if it does have poor circulation. When I took off one of my heater hoses and just let it drain into a pail the coolant barely came out (I know I have no clogs or blocks in my cooling system). Should the coolant be coming out at a solid steady stream if the water pump is in good condition?

 

[Big Jim M]

For coolant to come out air MUST go in somewhere.. Take the fill cap off and all the coolant ABOVE the hose should come out at a steady stream.
It is very rare for a pump to go away and not pump. One must use other than a 50-50 mix of antifreeze to cause enough rust to take the vanes off of the pump.
Me? I have only heard of 2 or 3 pumps that would turn but not pump coolant..
Never have I been associated with one.
Most if not all pumps have a small hole on the bottom of the shaft housing that drips coolant as the shaft seal starts to go away.
Big JIm

 

[Explorin94]

Where are the water pump weep holes on a 1994 4.0 water pump? Will they only leak out coolant when the engine is running? If they do leak does that just mean the water pump is leaking or does it mean the water pump has poor circulation? If I do take the water pump off can I visually inspect it to tell if it does have poor circulation. When I took off one of my heater hoses and just let it drain into a pail the coolant barely came out (I know I have no clogs or blocks in my cooling system). Should the coolant be coming out at a solid steady stream if the water pump is in good condition?

The weep holes are top and botton right behind the pulley. They will leak reguardless if it is running or not (more likey to leak after the engine has ran and hot due to pressure being up). There should be some moisture there and it is a mechanical seal. If the water pump has poor circulation the engine would overheat. If you take the waterpump off you might as well replace it(you've went that far don't turn around now). You took the heater hose off while the truck was running?? If it barely came out do you have antifreeze in it? Are you trying to get coolant out of the heater hose when it is running or not running. If you are trying to do that stop you are going to burn yourself.

 

[94redranger]

Yes I had full rad, the engine was running and I was just trying to see if the water pump was pumping through the heating system. When I took the thermostat out and ran the engine the coolant was flowing pretty good through the radiator. I ran it and it had good flow through the heating system cuz I was getting heat. Then I took the heater hose off and looked in the rad and nothing was flowing not even through the rad. Could it be my water pump and that it is worn in a way that it only works intermittently? Can I take the pump off and visually inspect it and put it back on if I have to?

 

[F150hybred]

There is a reason why the coolant was flowing with the thermostat removed... not only does it control the rate at wich the engine warms up ... but it also restricts the coolant flow. No thermostat = high coolant flow = an engine over heating. Do not drive your truck with no thermostat. It's there for a reason and should be replaced if there is an issue.

 

[94redranger]

I just took the t-stat out to check the coolant flow, I'm not lookin for your opinion on what a thermostat does. I pretty sure most people got the idea of what a thermostat does. Read what my problem is and try to help me with the problem that I am asking about.

 

[Big Jim M]

Please tell us

I just took the t-stat out to check the coolant flow, I'm not lookin for your opinion on what a thermostat does. I pretty sure most people got the idea of what a thermostat does. Read what my problem is and try to help me with the problem that I am asking about.

What was the problem that has you taking hoses off and the thermostat out to look at the flow of coolant in the radiator.. Someone here may be able to solve your problem or PERCEIVED problem..and don't be such a wiseacre to guys that only have YOUR best interest at heart...
Big Jim

 

[94redranger]

Ok here is my problem, I am not getting any heat so I took off the heater hose and let one of them drain into a pail. When I started the engine barley any coolant flowed through the heater hose although the coolant was flowing through the rad just fine. Later when I started it up again the coolant wasn't even flowing through the rad. I took off the water pump and looked at the impeller and that all seems fine. Although when I was working on that I may have found another problem. When I took the water pump and fan and fan clutch off as a unit I noticed the fan clutch was really stiff, i could turn it by hand by it wasn't easy. I didn't think it was stiff enough that the belt was slipping. How stiff should the fan clutch be when the engine is cold? Anyways tomorrow I am going to flush out every coolant passage since I have my water pump off and hopefully there'll be some help on the fan clutch issue.

 

[Explorin94]

I was going to suggest running a garden hose through your heater hoses to see if you have an obstruction. I wouldn't worry to much about the stiffness of the fan. If you have ever noticed the fan howl's on start p and calms down after a while. Then as the engine get warm to tend to hear it again. So I wouldn't worry about it. I could give you the rundown on how it works but I'm guessing you don't need my opinion on how a fan work either huh? J/K Calm down skippy!

 

[Big Jim M]

Thanks Red! Now that was a bit more informative. Most modern heaters have a constant flow of coolant thru them at all times. I don't know if the 94 ranger has the modern system or not..

The older systems have a small cable that operates the flow of coolant into the heater core.

In Modern systems TEMP button is slid back and forth a GATE is opened to allow air to enter the heater radiator and this air gets hot and is pushed into the vehicle in a modern Heater.. However in the older systems all the air goes thru the heater radiator at all times.. SO there is a valve that opens to allow more and more coolant into the heater core..

If your vehicle has the valve it will be on one of the heater hoses and that valve would be the most likely place for a stoppage.

Now if you do have the modern system then most likely your problem isn't the flow of coolant.. MOST likely your problem is the GATE that directs the air thru the heater core is NOT working. These gates are operated by very SMALL electric motors and are fairly easy to replace.. In these systems the heater core can be at high temperature but if the air isn't directed into the heater the air NEVER gets hot. Most times these gates malfunction at wide or partially open and the heater seems to be always ON and not always OFF..

When confronted with a problem you don't complete understand about your Ranger it will always be best to come here and ask guys that may have had a similiar problem in the past.. instead of tearing into the wrong area of your vehicle..
Big JIm

 

[94redranger]

Yes I thought about that being one of my problems. But then I took the heater core inlet hose off and let it drain into a pail without even flowing through the heater core and still it didn't flow good. I think since I have my water pump off I will take it to a mechanic at work and they can look at it and if its bad I'll just buy a new one. I'll also flush out every coolant passage in the engine and see if that helps.

I do know I have a cracked block or head because it uses coolant and there is water in the oil. Could the crack have gotten so bad that it is causing my problem I have now?

 

[Donnie strickland]

I do know I have a cracked block or head because it uses coolant and there is water in the oil. Could the crack have gotten so bad that it is causing my problem I have now?

Wow...this really should have been mentioned up front. With a cracked block/head, or a blown head gasket, all bets are off.

First off, are you 100% sure you have a crack? A blown head gasket will display the same symptoms.

About your water pump: as I said in your other thread, if there's water coming from the weep hole(s), it's leaking and must be replaced. Pressure from the combustion chambers is likely entering the cooling system, causing the seals to fail in your water pump. So, you first have to fix that problem. Nothing else will help until you fix that.

 

[94redranger]

I do know I had a crack or blown head gasket. Recently it got really bad because it started smoking out the tail pipe. My dad told me that cold possibly be one of my problems. So this may be my problem because before it flowed good enough obviously to produce heat but now that the crack got worse it isn't flowing enough to go through the heating system? Guess I'll wait to see what the mechanic says about the water pump and then fix what ever crack I have.

 

[94 splash]

if you have a blown head gasket between the cyclender and the water jacket in the intake stroke it will suck in the coolant and then burn it along with the gas and thats were you're smoking will come from.. and as the exhaust stroke comes up if will push air into the system filling youre system full of air will not give you heat cause their will be pockets of air and if u still had everything hooked up u could of started youre truck with the rad cap off and see the bubbles bubblin at the top of the radiator....... but yes youre water pump seal could of been leaking too not uncommon ... i had the same think happen when my head gasket went.. also just to keep in mind head gaskets wont just fix them selfs and theirs noting u can add to the system to seal them.. u just godda fixem cause u dont want anything to over heat and get warped but a crack can be something compleatly diffrent

 

[F150hybred]

Yeah... nothing like getting the complete story the first time.