!IMPORTANT HEATING COOLING SYSTEM ISSUE!

[Demon2003]

In a previous thread named Heating issue i stated a issue i was having with my 96 monte carlo z34. After changing water pump my cars temperature would fluxuate drastically so i changed thermostat bled the system a bunch and changed the temp sensor i gave up and posted on here. I was told by someone on here my head gasket was probaly blown. I took it to a radiator shop and they ran a block test and everything came back normal and they messed with it for a whole day and they concludedd the water pump was bad. i told them i just replaced it they explained that the impeller will sometimes dissconnect from the shaft and not spin. So i took the car back to my garage and pulled the 1 month old pump back out. This pump i bought from Auto zone and the impeller desighn was diffrent from my stock water pump. when i bought it there was a little note stating how it was just as good even through it looked diffrent. BIG MISTAKE. i took the 1 month old pump back autozone. They had 7 in stock they pulled them all and looked at the newest 5 and they looked like the one they sold me the last 2 were like the stock pump. They exchanged me pumps and i took the one that looked like the stock and I gave them the bill from the repair shop and told them i wanted to speak to the manager (who still hasnt called me). I took the new pump home put it in and the car has never ran cooler and the temperature never goes over the 1/2 the gauge. IF your car is over heating but only at certain Rpm'swhile driving and at wide open throttle it cools off an you bought a DURaLAST pump that looked diffrent take it back and get the pump that looked like the stock one. It is my belief that this new disighn is sh!t and far inferior then the stock desighn. I have a pic of both pumps next to each other let me know if u want to see it.

[Juglenaut]

RE: !IMPORTANT HEATING COOLING SYSTEM ISSUE!

There is a possibility with the water pump, it depends on what brand, but most are bonded to the shaft and it is nearly impossible for it to separate and are not rebuildable, unless you replace the whole impeller/shaft.

The style that these cars use is very similar to the belt driven front mounted V8's use. The shaft has one or two slots machined in it. The shaft is designed in a way that it will hold the impeller on a keyed area. The impeller itself cannot move in either direction far enough to lose the keyed area. You would notice grinding sound if the impeller somehow broke lose of the key and the clips holding it in place.

Even a small rupture in the gasket in the right areas can cause an overheat situation.

I bet autozone may have sold you a reverse or propeller water pump some GM's use.

I would only buy 'Standard' brand, or OEM meets or exceeds brand quality, or GM genuine, or endorsed certified parts.

I bought several parts from AutoZone and Advanced Auto parts stores and had some problems. It is not AutoZone or any distributer of parts in most cases that is responsible for selling parts that otherwise have the right part number being looked at. That is why it is always a good idea to bring in the part in question. In a case like yours it would be the manufactures responsiblility, Duralast made the mistake by putting in the wrong impeller in a GM 2.8, 3.1, 3.4 housing not AutoZone.

I good replacement water pump will cost anywhere from 50-100 dollars, you pay for what you get. In many cases I have consulted my local salvage yard and got pumps at a bargin with low miles on them, remember the parts at a salvage yard are mostly OEM and Used Old Stock, sometimes New Old Stock (NOS, UOS). OEM parts last awhile.

Since most parts that can be bought for these cars are rebuilt or remanufactured from various distributers, which mean they may or may not have had parts replaced, buying used is a good idea since they where pulled from an otherwise running engine. You never know what you really get unless you buy brand new GM genuine, or endorsed parts.

[Demon2003]

The part i bought did not have a reverse impellar on it i checked when i took it off. The part Stated that it exceeded oem quality. I just hope that this can help anyone else having a similar problem that replaced there water pump

[Kohburn]

post the pics - that will make this much more usefull --

[Demon2003]

Little fuzzy but you get the point 2 completly diffrent designs and the old one is much better.

[RednBlack]

That second one looks like a POS! Dura-Last sux anyway. But if you ask for quality at A Zone, they usually balk. They make more profit on the cheaper brands. Go to NAPA.

[napatiger]

I can't believe that shit they sold you.

they should be liable for that

[corning_d3]

Is that a stamped steel impeller? That does look like a POS!!!!

[Demon2003]

Well they agreed to pay for half the bill at the radiator shop but im gonna push to have the whole thing taken care of.

[Kohburn]

holy crap - I would never have even put that into my car

[Demon2003]

i was a bit hesitant too because it looked so diffrent but it had the paper inside stating it was just as good im gonna be alot more careful with my decisions from now on.

[Scott205]

I love Autozone but lately the employees haven't cared a bit and I have bought a few POS from them.. see, 3 ICMs in a year..... luckily it is on top now. And they never seem to have the big brands anymore..

I still haven't written them about the lack of caring about a week before thanksgiving.. really really ticked me off. If O'Reilly's kept computer records I would really not give them my business.

[mmltml]

You would notice grinding sound if the impeller somehow broke lose of the key and the clips holding it in place.

how loud would the grinding sound be?

[jmgtp]

this is a thread from the dead...

I had a waterpump failure on a 3.1 (same waterpump as dohc I believe) that made grinding sounds and leaked through the weep hole. It was fairly loud. I could hear it in the car over the engine. With the accessory belt off there was a noticeable amount of play.

The waterpumps on these engines are SO easy to change and relatively cheap, if you suspect it might as well just replace it.