So this was a surprise but not entirely unexpected job. Last weekend, after coming home from our holiday trip I noticed a small drip of coolant under the car. This isn’t at all unusual when it starts to get cold outside – there are dozens of hose to pipe connections under the car, and they will develop small drips from time to time with drastic temperature changes. So I pulled out my pressure tester, prepared to seek out and snug up any of these small drips as I do every year.
Now, this would be a good time to point out that for a long time now there has been a tiny spot of green film near the pulley of my water pump, an indication that the seal around the pulley shaft was starting to fail. I was sort of in denial about this situation since I already replaced this pump just a few short years ago. But, I was new to DeLorean ownership at the time and purchased a re-manufactured pump from a less than reputable source to save a few bucks.
Fast forward to the application of my pressure tester. Normally this is uneventful – hook it to the expansion tank, give it a few pumps, look for wetness and tighten the clamps where needed. Not this time. This time, the pump shaft seal failed in a rather spectacular fashion, geysering coolant all out of the front of the motor. Sigh. I depressurized the system, mopped up the floor and called DMC Midwest to get a new pump.
And here it is! This is a beautiful NEW pump, with no re-manufactured, re-used or NOS parts to be found. Thanks to David and Clint’s help, we had the new pump installed and everything working again in one quick afternoon. A testament to both how good I’ve gotten at tearing into the valley and to how bulletproof the motor in #2100 is – it fired back up with zero leaks and a perfect idle on the very first try. The hardest part of the WP install is getting the four hoses lined up perfectly at once – two on the back and one on either side. They are all very short connections made in tight spaces, and the short hose lengths mean very limited flexibility. A very light application of silicone lubricant at the connection points makes a huge difference in getting things to slide together properly.
Anyway, that’s all for now – everything is back to running perfectly. Next weekend we may do an alignment and a dyno test – fun! I also need to flush and replace the clutch and brake fluid and do an oil change soon. For now I think I’ll stick to a car wash. It hasn’t had one in months due to the drought. I think I can get away with a quick one.