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Where to get good water pump?

DK5

DK5

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The city that rhymes with fun, Saskatchewan
Have been leaking coolant for a long time and have been having to add every week.

I'm thinking about going to NAPA. Any other suggestions?

I'd like to get this done before winter.

Tips would be helpful for the instal. Never done this before..
 
I think I got mine at Vatozone, no clue on price, this was like 4 years ago. Is this for your 90 blazer? If so, it's a reverse rotation pump and there are only like 1 or 2 choices for aftermarket if u wanted to go that route.

It's not that hard to install. Don't do what I did and bump the radiator with the fan as you remove it :doah: Then you will be starting the thread, "Where to get good radiator?"
 
I just did mine on my '89. Got the pump, new fan clutch ( I think that is what wasted the pump bearing), idler, belt, and tensioner (fellow cK5'r in classified, SCORE). If I remember right the pump was about $30, GMP brand, new, not reman.
Install was pretty straight forward. I had more trouble and spent more time struggling with getting the new belt on and releasing the tensioner enough at the same time doing the job solo.

I also replaced the upper and lower hoses while I was there, spring in the lower hose. My thermostat has only about 20,000 miles at most on it, about a year old, so I left it.

One tip I picked up and used this time for the first time was to use 3M brand weather strip adhesive on the water pump gaskets. Glue them to the pump before you start the job. Apply the 3M adhesive to the pump, then let the adhesive set up for about 20 minutes or so. Then the adhesive will be real tacky. Apply your gaskets to the pump, then begin tear down. By the time you are ready to install the pump the gaskets won't move as you try to line the bolt holes up.

Make sure you clean the gasket surface of the block up real good. I used some scotch brite pads and had a straight razor blade ready. Ended up just using the scotch brite.

Once the block surface is good and clean you can apply a little RTV around the openings on your fresh gaskets on the pump, lay a bolt in one of the holes and mount it. If I remember right the bottom left is a bit tough, I used a u joint adapter because of the angle. Started with the top right bolt to get it mounted iirc. Left side bolts are fairly easy, little tight with the idler pully and a/c bracket, but nothing of concern.

RockAuto is the place I get most of my parts, but in this case the prices for the pump, fan clutch, and idler pulley were about the same. I did get the hoses and belt from RockAuto though.

Good straight forward job. If you need any help or have questions let me know.
 
Sorry total cost for everything I installed was about $150, including the antifreeze.
 
Thank you sir :bow: I will follow your instructions when it comes time to install.

I think I'll stop in to Napa tomorrow to see what they have for water pumps and prices. Anyone have a Napa part number? Its for the '90. TBI 350.
 
DK5 said:
LOL. There aren't any Pablo's taco stands around here though :doah: I know. I probably could find one in a wrecking yard or something, but I'll just go new if its good quality and not too pricey.
Click to expand...

i bought mine at autozone, and i don't buy ANYTHING there that isn't petroleum based lol.. i paid 44 bucks for it
 
Ok so I am going down to North Dakota tomorrow and will be picking one of these up. Anyone have a part number. Hopefully the salesperson will know what they are doing and be able to help me find the right one. :rolleyes:

Might try O'Reilly's or Rock Auto or Napa
 
When I sawpped a V8 into my 81 G10 van,I decided to put a new water pump on it before installing the engine,with it being a suck job to do IN the van....got a rebuilt at Autozone for 13.99 ,with a "lifetime" warranty......there was nothing wrong with the original pump,other than probably being the 1973 one the engine came with,but I wanted to head off any potential failures....HA!..the first day I drove the dam van 80 miles to my brothers house,it was peeing coolant out of the weep hole!...had some play in the bearing if I moved the fan blade side to side too!....needless to say,I was pissed--I made it home OK,but had to go return the defective POS pump and bust my balls & back bending over the van a day, to install the next one--which has not leaked so far,but I only drove it maybe 1500 miles before I had to take it off the road,because I could not afford having 3 vehicles on the road with no income..I asked the store manager if I could get a free gallon of coolant,but they refused...so I wont buy any more water pumps in their "Valucraft" brand...Value-CRAP is more like it!..I have seen friends have bad luck with Airtex brand pumps lately--both water and fuel pumps....one small block pump a friend installed leaked out of the gasket on the rear cover plate as soon as he started adding coolant!...:doah:..it leaked worse than the pump he took off it!...
 
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