VZ Water outlet & inlet seals

[RockyRoad]

Hi there,
Replaced the water pump, heater tap and filler cap that were all stuffed and now have a leak coming from the water outlet above water pump.
Holden would like $65 for the pair.
Has anyone found a cheaper source?
Also do I need to remove the manifold to get it off and back on?
Any advice most welcomed.
Cheers,
RR.

 

[richardpalinkas]

more likely your water pump was not leaking and was that seal all along, they are common and are often mistaken for the water pump. yes you remove the manifold, makes it a lot easier.

 

[RockyRoad]

Thanks for your reply.
Yes the water pump was leaking extremely bad (pools of water), after the change over it is a small seep which is not making it down to the sump but it is annoying me.
Looks like Holden spare parts it is.

 

[RockyRoad]

Still havent changed these yet.
Anyone here managed to do it without removing the manifold?
Also if you sourced seals from other than holden, where from?

 

[PaulP38A]

bump! - anyone found an alternate supplier for these 10c seals that Holden want $30 each for?

Having just replaced the water pump and then the heater control valve on my VZ Crewman V6, it seems to be a rolling comedy of errors where the next part of the cooling system fails when another part is replaced.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[DeanoV6]

I replaced mine with new ones from Holden, Looking back i would have removed them and cleaned up, coated in Permatex blue and tried that first.

 

[PaulP38A]

Thanks Deano, I may do that yet. Heading over to Repco now to get a new plenum gasket and will see if they have the o-rings at a reasonable price. Will grab some Permatex blue as well.
Cheers, Paul.

 

[greenacc]

You could probably by similar Orings from a bearing shop, such as CBC Bearings but they will still cost you more than 10c , maybe $5 -10 each ... the blue one looks like Silicone rubber.

 

[PaulP38A]

No joy getting those o-rings at Repco, so just cleaned-up to old ones and used Permatex blue per Deano's suggestion. Am pretty sure they are just
normal rubber, feel similar to the NBR o-rings I use in the air suspension on my Rangies. Also changed the radiator hose clamp to a worm type clamp.

The old plenum gasket was a bugger to remove and clean-off the crap left behind, but got there eventually and put it all back together. Topped up the coolant and ran the engine for a couple of minutes to see if I had missed anything. No visible leaks so far, will let it sit overnight to allow the Permatex to cure properly.

Am still shaking my head in disbelief at the location of the thermostat... the designers must be sadists to put it in such an awkward spot at the rear of the engine. Am truly hoping that does not go next.

I dunno if other VZ Commodores and Crewmans are like this, but the Cross 6 has a plastic stone guard underneath that must be removed to access the tap on the bottom of the radiator. Wondering if anyone has devised a hose extension with another tap to avoid the need to remove the stone guard when draining the radiator?

One last question please blokes (and bloke-ettes) - when I had the plenum removed, I could see a pool of coolant on what I assume is a valley gasket beneath the inlet manifold. I had no need to remove the inlet manifold as it would mean another set of gaskets to replace and stuffing around with the fuel rail. Is it safe to blow compressed air or water spray down the valley to wash out the coolant pool?

Cheers, Paul.

 

[sirjolly18]

Im having the same trouble now. I replaced my radiator due to it cracking which solved the problem of coolant leaking but a week later i smealt burning coolant. checked everything and just thought it was some spilt on the hot parts. But it got worse and i lost alot of coolant. when i pumped the top water hose i could hear a spitting sounds, like steam escaping from a small hole. I looked at the back of the engine to find the gearbox was stained red with coolant but it never dripped because it always cooked onto it. when i wriggle something at the back of the engine i can hear the seal letting go again.

Does this sound like the inlet? thermostat has been working fine. it leaks when the thermostat lets water through the system.