L series waterpump

[nicko500s]

a few people have suggested my engine maybe overheating due to the waterpump, i found it hiding on the back of the poweresteering pump i think, anyway i managed to remove the cover and exposed the impeller which is metal not plastic so i dont see how this could fail through disintegration, i have herd they can be a problem but this one looks good, all the vains or fins look good, it does not turn by hand so it must be attatched to the shaft as you would hope although it does turn slightly in either direction, i assume this to be normal.
the impeller does turn ok when cranking the engine.
i have no idea how to procede in diognosing whether this pump is ok or not, or how to replace it.

please advise

[E_T_V]

If the pump isn't leaking and looks intact and is attached to the shaft then all should be ok with it.

They rarely give any problems.

What are the symptoms of the overheating?

[nicko500s]

the engine initially only overheated when dviven hard one day.
this resulted in coolent loss thrugh the expansion tank screw on cap.
this has progressivly got worse and will expell all water on test run of 6 miles,
as you said before the oil and water wont cross contaminate eachother on these engines, but i guess head gasket failure will cause backpressure through the cooling system? hence the loss of coolent?

the head gasket was replaced by my friend at a cost of over £1000 a few 1000 miles befor i bought the car from him,
it was the garages suggestion that the water pumps go alot, im now of the opinion that if the head gasket had not gone before, that it has now due to the amount of times the engine has overheated, how ever i will try to locate the other thermostat as shown in the photo.
any suggestions greaty appreciated.

[E_T_V]

I am afraid they do sound like classic HGF symptoms on the L series.

They usually start by losing water only when driven hard, and eventually this is usually traced to it blowing out water through the expansion cap. If the cooling system pressurises before the coolant gets hot, I.e. within a minute of starting the engine, then that is almost certainly HGF or a cracked head.

It sounds like the head gasket replacement wasn't done very well originally as generally they are pretty reliable.

[nicko500s]

a good garage is very hard to find, and my prefered garage is always busy. you say u dont think the garage that was used to do the head did a good job and i agree but im not a mechanic and i have built engines in the past it really annoys me that someone who does it as a living cant do it right, how can u do it wrong? as long as the faces are clean and there are no cracks and warps oh and the head correctly torqued up should be ok.

i dont have the money to pay to have it done so might try it myself. should be fairly simple?

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[FrankJScott]

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