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| Water pump replacement on 3.4L (Page 1/1) |
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Rsvl-Rider
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APR 03, 03:51 PM
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Looks like I will be replacing the water pump on Jenny's 86 GT with a 3.4L / 5 speed (swapped in by the PO) due to a sudden leak. I never done a water pump before so I have been reading up on it.
One thing that confuses me is the reference to water jacket screws. I have watched videos on the repair procedure. Some have stated that there are bolts that penetrate the water jacket that require some sort of thread sealant. Others don't mention it at all.
Is this something I need to be aware of on the 3.4L engine? If so, what is thread sealant? I am not familiar with this product. Is it just locktite? Is there a specific product I need to look for?
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Gall757
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APR 03, 04:25 PM
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Rsvl-Rider
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APR 03, 05:51 PM
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So from your description, and the diagram in the link you provided, bolt #4 should have "a liberal amount of RTV on the end to seal the bolt threads". I guess after installing and allowing the RTV to cure it is resistant to the coolant.
The PO did extensive work on the car recently, including the engine / tranny swap. Now I'm wondering if the leak could be the a failure to apply the RTV??? Once I get some stuff moved out of the way I might be able to get a better idea of where the leak is coming from. My guess is that a water pump would typically leak from the shaft seal?
I have always understood that the two engine bocks are nearly identical but when I look up the water pump part number for both the stock 86 Fiero 2.8 and the 94 Camaro with the 3.4 they have different part numbers and the price for the Camaro pump is significantly higher.
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cvxjet
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APR 03, 09:59 PM
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I was under the impression that they were exactly the same water pump- I bought a new >Fiero 2.8< water pump when I swapped in the 3.4 on my Fiero. I did end up with a problem; The >plastic< impeller started slipping on the shaft and so I overheated 3 times in a row at the same spot on the freeway going to work...Finally read a post on "Plastic impellers slipping on steel shaft" and then swapped in a steel impeller water pump.
Also, I am very thorough about sealing water jackets, etc; I always use blue silicone sealant on both sides of the seal plus putting a bit on the threads of all the bolts. Be very careful (and gentle) with the small bolts- you can easily strip the threads on them.
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fierofool
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APR 05, 09:42 PM
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 The 2.8, 3.1 and 3.4 blocks are essentially the same with bolt on parts being able to be swapped between them. The 3.4 water pump rotates opposite the 2.8 because it has an additional pulley in the system. It will not correctly bolt to the 2.8 timing gear cover and flow the coolant in the right direction.  [This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 04-05-2022).]
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fierofool
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APR 06, 09:43 AM
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 I forgot to mention that if you are replacing the pump or loosening bolts on the pump, you should first install the timing gear cover clamp so that the timing cover doesn't separate from the block and cause coolant to leak into the crankcase. Some replacement water pumps come with the clamp, others don't.  [This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 04-06-2022).]
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Xenoblast
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APR 06, 10:36 AM
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I would also buy brand new hardware to get rid of those horrible torx bolts... rodney dickmen has a kit for it but you can also just go to a hardware store and search around [This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-06-2022).]
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