So I am tearing into my EA82 motor today to fix a coolant leak. I was all primed to change out the pump, as I thought it was coming out the weep hole.

 

However, I notice that the pump bearings seem fine. I pull off the AC to get a clear look and see that the obvious culprit is the water pump to water pump junction. The pipe wobbles around in my hand freely, and I can see water dripping out of the junction.

 

Upon further inspection, I see that this has to be the most mickey-mouse thing I have ever seen on a production vehicle. All that holds that together under high pressure is a cheesy o-ring? WTF?

 

I have no confidence that me putting it back together with a new O-ring will seal right. What are you guys doing on these?

In theory, the little O ring should be enough.. But I always slather it with blue RTV as well

That O-ring doesn't hold anything together, it's just a seal. It's the bolt that secures the other end of the tube to the block that is holding things together. It is in all respects an adequate design.

I just replaced my water pump ($42) and that O-ring comes with it. Good Luck

:cool:

News:

 

I have never had one spring a leak, but I do the same thing Cal does as a precautionary measure anytime I'm in there.

 

I have seen this design on other Japanese models for many years, so it must not be a weak link in the system.

 

good luck, John

i think the o-ring was like .42 cents from importedparts.com bought one of those for my resealing..

That's the same method they use to seal the water pipes that go between the cylinder heads on Cummins truck engines. If it works for them, I think it should work on a soob. That said, I too apply an ample amount of silicone as a backup.

I just rebuilt my ea82 and I too was somewhat confounded by this setup when I was reassembling those parts...I thought for sure I'd lost a part somewhere along the way.

 

When I first installed it I didn't push hard enough and it leaked where the pipe meets the pump. So I pulled it back out, put some sealant on the ring, and worked it backed in place good the second time. The end of that pipe was rusted up more than I'm sure it should be, but so far it seems to be working just fine.

 

This is on the intake (suction) side of the pump, so I wouldn't guess that there is nearly as much pressure on that seal as there would be on the output side.

I just replaced my water pump ($42) and that O-ring comes with it. Good Luck

:cool:

so how much of a hassle was it? jldskier