Leaking Coolant - Water Pump

**collinp** · 2-15-06, 20:36

My car is a 1st gen mx-6. It is leaking coolant on the passengers side right near the timing belt. When I am underneath the car, I see it dripping up high near the timing belt. I am assuming that it is the water pump which is the problem? I followed all the hoses and they all looked to be in good shape. I saw Panthers thread on replacing the water pump. Could it be possible that it is the water-pump gasket or would I have to replace the whole water pump? I've been filling up the coolant on a weekly basis

-Collin

SixSick6 · 2-15-06, 20:40

I've owned my car for 7 years and the guy before me since 88-89. I've never had any reason to change the water pump besides when I rebuilt the motor. Take the plastic covers off and check to see if it's the seal or the pump, you should easily be able to see the difference.

**collinp** · 2-15-06, 21:04

Six- Is the seal something I would have to order from Mazda do you think?

SixSick6 · 2-15-06, 21:23

You can get it from anywhere. My honest opinion is to use the regular paper seal and some RTV. I went with the OE Mazda metal gasket when I rebuilt my motor. It had the thin rubber seal included and leaked before the car ever started (luckily) and was changed out. The seal itself from mazda costs you like $20-$25 and the rubber gaskets costs a few $$$ itself. You can probably get a paper gasket and some RTV for less than $10.

**collinp** · 2-15-06, 22:02

Cool. Thats good info. I will take a look this weekend.

Thanks

**Zach** · 2-15-06, 22:49

personal opinion, if you have to change the seal, might as well change the pump while it's out

SixSick6 · 2-16-06, 4:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotAss6GT

personal opinion, if you have to change the seal, might as well change the pump while it's out

I second that, except for the fact that aftermarket pumps tend to be second rate to begin with. There was a thread a logn time ago that showed the difference in an OE pump and an aftermarket and the OE pump clearly fisted the aftermarket in terms of overall design and integrity. Bottom line is that the stock pump has lasted 15 someodd years and aftermarket pumps run $50 new.

Take the covers off and see if you can see what's leaking. Either way you're going to have to replace the seal regardless. For $50 it can't hurt to swap in a brand new punp, unless your old pump isn't broke to begin with.

**rebel2k4** · 2-16-06, 10:58

I never had a problem with my 1G pump even with 200k miles on it. Once you get the cover off look if the coolant is coming from the block or from the pulley. Its hard to tell, so what I do is leave the covers off, wipe the coolant off with a rag, and then start it up and watch.

Its a pretty easy job on an f2, maybe 2 hrs max. Have fun with the crank pulley bolt though, thats always a blast.
I run an autozone pump in my KL, so far so good. Trust me, its much worse to do a pump swap in an MX3 bay with a KL, and then have the new pump leak even worse.

SixSick6 · 2-16-06, 13:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebel2k4

I never had a problem with my 1G pump even with 200k miles on it. Once you get the cover off look if the coolant is coming from the block or from the pulley. Its hard to tell, so what I do is leave the covers off, wipe the coolant off with a rag, and then start it up and watch.

Exactly. I never had a problem with mine either and I rebuilt the motor at around 160K. I think a majority of the problem lies in someone elses install and someone elses product to begin with. Most MX6's were bought from someone else and that someone else more than likely (well, maybe not) had the timing belt changed at some point. Whatever shop they went to undoubtedly said "you need a new water pump too" which is a clever way to say "we want your cash". Work is done, customer is happy, water pump is leaking 50~100k later when they no longer own the car.

Just as Brandon said, take the covers off and check. You should be able to clearly see where it is leaking from. Look in my engine rebuild files and you'll see the water pump in the "engine swap 2" library.

HogJags18 · 2-16-06, 16:03

I had the same problem with my 1990 MX6 GT. Thought it was the waterpump. 6 hours later I replaced it and still had the leak. Turned out to be the turbo coolant hose going from the block to the turbo. It is about a 6-inch rubber hose about the size of your finger. Replaced the hose(had to get it from Mazda for $12.00) and no more leak.

**collinp** · 2-19-06, 19:23

I started taking the car apart and then realized just how much work this really is. It was a beautiful day, so I put the car back together to experience the day. I think I am going to give in and take it to the dealer. I'm still debating whether I have it in me to tackle this project next weekend.

**rebel2k4** · 2-19-06, 20:14

It may seem daunting at first, but I think you'll find that it isnt really too bad. I think the hardest part will be the crank pulley bolt. The best thing to do may be to put the car in gear with the tires on the ground, and see if theres some way to fish a rachet up there to loosen it. Otherwise, youll have to find some way to lock the engine and thats no easy task.

That or a very strong impact