Coolant leak, water pump maybe?

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
Last night I was fueling up and when I do that I like to look around the van for anything unusual. I look underneath the engine and I see a puddle of some stuff and the same stuff dripping from my engine. It ended up being the coolant leaking. By looking with the flashlight I could see it is leaking down from the area between the alternator and the engine block. I couldn't see too good, but the only thing that could be leaking is the water pump. Just wish that there is a hose or a clamp in there that I can replace quick, but I really think it is the water pump. Need more investigation. I had to keep driving for about 5 more hours to get home and I stopped periodically to refill with water. In that time I used about 3/4 of a gallon of watter. That is a significant leak. What do you guys think, is my assumption correct?

Dealer closed today, cannot even check for the price of a water pump. Wonder if I should just buy from the dealer, or buy from europarts and wait till it gets here. The problem is that I need to fix it quick, since my wheels need to be turning if I want to get paid :thumbdown:.

I consider this to be my first major ploblem with my 2004 model with 261k on the odometer. Will keep you posted.
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
Yep, it is the water pump. I made some time today to look at it and before I knew it, I had the water pump out. I wish I had a new one, but have to wait till tomorrow to see if the dealer has one in stock, if not, euro parts with overnight shipping.
 

e117063

New member
Here is a piece of advice when changing the water pump. The new pump will not be threaded where the idler pulley is mounted. I thought it wasn't manufactured correctly but was wrong.

Andy informed me the bolt is supposed to cut its own thread when installed. It's tapered. I made a nut and installed it on the back before I got his response. Other than that it was an easy repair.
 

abittenbinder

Doktor A (864-623-9110)
Here is a piece of advice when changing the water pump. The new pump will not be threaded where the idler pulley is mounted. I thought it wasn't manufactured correctly but was wrong.

Andy informed me the bolt is supposed to cut its own thread when installed. It's tapered. I made a nut and installed it on the back before I got his response. Other than that it was an easy repair.
To recap my earlier post- The water pump guide pulley's, special bolt, acts as a "forming tap".

Forming taps roll treads in ductile materials without creating chips resulting in much stronger threads and better thread tolerances (in these types of material) than a "cutting tap".

Don't thread this unfinished bore with a conventional tap and be sure to use the original "special" mounting bolt. Doktor A
 

rlent

New member
Hey Cip,

Gotta ask - in that 264K miles, did you ever have the coolant system flushed and the coolant renewed ?

You are the third one I know of that's had one go bad (the other two were an '05 and an' '06, both with roughly 150K to 200K miles)

I'm thinking that I might just go ahead and grab one and keep it in the van in the spares inventory .....
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
To recap my earlier post- The water pump guide pulley's, special bolt, acts as a "forming tap".

Forming taps roll treads in ductile materials without creating chips resulting in much stronger threads and better thread tolerances (in these types of material) than a "cutting tap".

Don't thread this unfinished bore with a conventional tap and be sure to use the original "special" mounting bolt. Doktor A
Thanks for the tip Doktor A, When I took that 'special' bolt out, I thought it was kinda weird. It is not completely round, but more like a rounded triangle. Now it all makes sense.
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
Hey Cip,

Gotta ask - in that 264K miles, did you ever have the coolant system flushed and the coolant renewed ?

You are the third one I know of that's had one go bad (the other two were an '05 and an' '06, both with roughly 150K to 200K miles)

I'm thinking that I might just go ahead and grab one and keep it in the van in the spares inventory .....
R,

Yes I flushed the system and replaced coolant at around 160k, the mileage that they recommend in the manual. Yes, I think it is a good idea to have a water pump handy. Even though it did not take too much time to take the old one out (still don't have a new one yet to put in), I don't see myself doing it on the side of the road. In my oppinion, just a little too much work involved for the side of the road.
 

rlent

New member
I don't see myself doing it on the side of the road. In my oppinion, just a little too much work involved for the side of the road.
Yeah, I doubt that I'd wanna do it on the side of the road either ...... in the parking lot of the Flying J or an Autozone might be a different story though .... in any event, having the pump on hand and "in stock" makes getting it taken care of probably more than 50% less of a hassle.
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
Doktor,

Can you tell me the torque specs for the water pump bolts on a 2004? How about belt guide pulley 'special' bolt?
Thanks
 

abittenbinder

Doktor A (864-623-9110)
Doktor,

Can you tell me the torque specs for the water pump bolts on a 2004? How about belt guide pulley 'special' bolt?
Thanks
You were wise to PM me with this question and location or I would have missed it.

There are 3 different fastener torque specs to use on the water pump. The 6mm pump housing hardware is torqued to 10 ft lbs. The 8mm pump housing hardware is 15 ft lbs. And the special 10.9 graded, thread forming bolt for the idler pulley mounting is 26 ft. lbs. Doktor A
 

Ciprian

Spark Plugs not allowed!
You were wise to PM me with this question and location or I would have missed it.

There are 3 different fastener torque specs to use on the water pump. The 6mm pump housing hardware is torqued to 10 ft lbs. The 8mm pump housing hardware is 15 ft lbs. And the special 10.9 graded, thread forming bolt for the idler pulley mounting is 26 ft. lbs. Doktor A
Much appreciated.
 

220629

Well-known member
Why does the service manual say 124 and 177lbs. I'm getting conflicting information.
I have no idea, but those are pretty heavy numbers that will likely shear the bolts.

Use Doktor A's info!!!

You were wise to PM me with this question and location or I would have missed it.

There are 3 different fastener torque specs to use on the water pump. The 6mm pump housing hardware is torqued to 10 ft lbs. The 8mm pump housing hardware is 15 ft lbs. And the special 10.9 graded, thread forming bolt [TRILOBULAR™ ?] for the idler pulley mounting is 26 ft. lbs. Doktor A


There is a mix of fastener sizes and lengths for the water pump.

I used cardboard to keep them straight.

5th picture down here.

T1N OM647 Engine Water Pump Replacement
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6228

vic
 

Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
I have no idea, but those are pretty heavy numbers that will likely shear the bolts.

Use Doktor A's info!!!

vic
Seems like a factor of 12 difference so I'd guess you have 'inch pounds' figures instead of 'foot pounds'.

124 in lb divided by 12 = 10 ft lb
177 in lb divided by 12 = 15 ft lb

Keith.
 

220629

Well-known member
The OEM MB water idler pulley pump fastener hole comes unthreaded and ready for the thread forming OEM fastener.

Some related posts.

To recap my earlier post- The water pump guide pulley's, special bolt, acts as a "forming tap".

Forming taps roll treads in ductile materials without creating chips resulting in much stronger threads and better thread tolerances (in these types of material) than a "cutting tap".

Don't thread this unfinished bore with a conventional tap and be sure to use the original "special" mounting bolt. Doktor A
You were wise to PM me with this question and location or I would have missed it.

There are 3 different fastener torque specs to use on the water pump. The 6mm pump housing hardware is torqued to 10 ft lbs. The 8mm pump housing hardware is 15 ft lbs. And the special 10.9 graded, thread forming bolt for the idler pulley mounting is 26 ft. lbs. Doktor A
vic
 

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