waterpump problems on my 01 z28, need help?

**ibanez7** · 08-31-2005, 04:23 PM

i have a 2001 z28 m6 w/ 82,000 miles and just today I believe my water pump started leaking.
Since there is antifreeze dripping from the area of the "seap hole"

I have a couple of questions...

is it common for waterpump to go out on these cars??

how hard is it to replace the waterpump? I replaced one on a 94 z28 that I owned, but how is it on the ls1 engines?

Also do I need any special tools or should standard at home garage tools should work.

If anyone and I am sure someone has changed these water pumps, please list some tips and advice.

Thank you, your comments are greatly appreciated.

**gnomee** · 08-31-2005, 04:46 PM

Well I've had my 98 since 01 and now I have 160,000k miles. I have only had to replace my clutch and rear end bearings and of course brakes. I bought the car with 52,000 so with my experience no water pumps are not common. But I'm sure they do go out on plenty early on. What kind of antifreeze do you run? The orange or green?

**ibanez7** · 09-01-2005, 06:14 AM

my 87 TA GTA, my 94 z28 and now my 01 , have all had waterpumps that crap out!

**LS1Z28** · 09-01-2005, 06:34 AM

The pump is very easy to change no special tools required. the pump is held on with six bolts and you will need to remove the throttle body for clearance when you take it out.

**ibanez7** · 09-01-2005, 07:58 AM

cool thanks guys!!!

**LS1-450** · 09-01-2005, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by gnomee

Well I've had my 98 since 01 and now I have 160,000k miles. I have only had to replace my clutch and rear end bearings and of course brakes. I bought the car with 52,000 so with my experience no water pumps are not common. But I'm sure they do go out on plenty early on. What kind of antifreeze do you run? The orange or green?

Good call on the antifreeze. Antifreeze is the most common reason they fail. Should be using low or no silicate antifreeze. The recommended GM (pink stuff) is low silicate. I'm drawing a blank on the name, it's Dex-cool or something like that. Anything discount bought & used likely has a high silicate level. So, after the pump is replaced, be sure to fill the system with low or no silicate antifreeze.

**Neil** · 09-05-2005, 11:29 AM

I just had to replace the water pump on my 99 z28 convertible. I had to work and didn't have time to do it myself, so I droped it off at a local garage that screwed me BIG TIME on the deal. $1037.97. ALl I could do was bend over and take it.

If you're in Prince William County, VA never take your car to Lakeridge Auto!

***Ed Blown Vert*** · 09-05-2005, 11:41 AM

$1000? I'll do it for half that.

**SeVeReDiStOrTiOn** · 09-05-2005, 06:32 PM

i can't believe you actually paid that to replace a water pump...why did they charge you so much labor?

greasy-chicken · 09-05-2005, 09:38 PM

I had a leak on my 01 ws6. I was not sure if it was the gasket or the pump so i bought a pump and gaskets just to be safe. It cost me about $150 for a new pump. The swap was easy. Take off the throttle body and you can access the WP real easy. Six bolts and its off. I went ahead and put the new gaskets and pump on and changed out my thermostat to a 160 SLP. This was way easier than changing out the pump on my 00 Yukon. Ive had no problems with leaks since the change. Be careful bolting the pump back on and stick to the recommended tork specs. It would suck to strip the threads on the alum block. On a scale of 1 - 10 ten being the most difficult, id say it was about a 4.

**ibanez7** · 09-06-2005, 09:15 AM

waterpump is fixed, simple repair. Before install I taped off the new waterpump and painted it black. It looks sharp and works.

the whole removal and install took about 1 hour, at a slow pace. Simple to do, definitely easier then the LT1 set ups

**Neil** · 09-06-2005, 09:40 AM

Oh, so not only is it a cheap repair, but its easy too. I feel so much better about pay $1037 to have it done for me!!!

**svt_eater** · 10-02-2005, 05:39 PM

Well, after all the hassle of trying to get someone other than GM to get me a replacement water pump up here in Canada, it turns out that it was just a gasket or torque issue on the lower left bolt. I replaced the gasket and cleaned up the bolt and so far so good.

All I can say is that you could save yourself a lot of hassle and money if you confirm the water pump is bad before you go ahead and buy a new one. For the amount of work it takes to remove/install it, I would save my money next time.

**02z28ls1** · 10-02-2005, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by Neil

Oh, so not only is it a cheap repair, but its easy too. I feel so much better about pay $1037 to have it done for me!!!

How do they justify that charge-should be itemized on the bill.You should take this to the attorney generals office or something.

Pepe LePew · 10-05-2005, 08:46 AM

Mine started doing that about 5 years ago when the car only had about 30k miles. I just dropped in some Bar's Leaks sealer in the radiator and haven't had a single drop leak out since then. Mine was coming from the impeller shaft and was pretty steady. I've even had the collant completely flushed out twice since then and I haven't needed to put any more sealer into it. I've got 113K on it now...that Bar's stuff kicks ass.

**marklar912** · 10-05-2005, 11:47 AM

Mine started leaking at about 50k after being stored over the winter. I grabbed a bottle of sealant my shop uses on coolant flushes(wynns I think). I'm at 90k and no leaks.