Did read somewhere that your problem was the water pump? I may have the same issue with a vehicle I'm working on.

 

I would not bet money on a water pump...the impeller is a non-interference fit meaning it touches and rubs against nothing...therefore there is nothing to wear out...if the shaft seals don't leak and the bearings do not squeal a 100k water pump pushes exactly the same water as a brand new pump. It is probable that the no tstst allows most of the coolant to flow thru the radiator instead of being forced thru the heater core

 

But if the (paddles?) on the impeller are rusted away or near so the pump can't push water through the heater hoses and core. Inlet hose to the h/c on this vehicle is HOT. Return hose is warm. I replaced the old thermostat but due to the situation I couldn't flush the h/c. It was replaced 3yrs ago and the coolant is clean. All is good for now.

Was wondering if Mark's pump impeller was the problem.

 

My vanes are GONE.

I don't know how this thing was cooling at all!

I should have it back together this afternoon and we'll see then what a new water pump will do for the heater core.

 

Won't be pushing much water at all if the impeller is eroded to nothing

 

Do you mean like this?

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Exactly!


I'm pretty sure that the seals and bearings don't have much to do with how much water that pump is not pushing.

 

Where's yo fins bro?

 

 

 

All in good fun!





That'swhat I was wondering, and it may be true, but with the pump in that shape, it wasn't a valid test!

 

I stand corrected...I have had jeeps for over 20 years and have never seen a pump worn away like that...flowkooler on ebay sells a nice pump with the machined aluminum propeller similar to the hesco for 80 bucks...but if you need one right away the ones at the autoparts stores are all the same...if the pump is that eroded you might need to really flush out your system. there is probably lots of corrosion...that's incredible

 

Ya! I've changed a few water pumps in my lifetime and also never saw one wear like that. Usually they'll just start leaking. The last one I did was worn but because the bearing was so bad it wobbled a lot and the impeller scraped against the housing. It sounded like bad rod bearings. I have a second jeep making the same noise now. And as far as the heater hoses being different sizes. I always thought the hose coming out was smaller to restrict the flow a little as it flows through and exits the core.

 

I'm not the first by a long way! There are pictures like that all over.

Since I got 277k out of this one, I think a NAPA replacement should be good to go.

If I ever rebuild the engine, I will have to take good hard look at the Flowkooler unit.