mazdaspeedwest

Well, with the generous help of David Avard, i now have (hopefully) solved the oil leak thats been plaguing me.

We did the timing belt, water pump, drive belts, VC gasket, cam seals, dist O ring and the passenger side axle, oh and a new radiator cap. Not too bad for a days work.

We opted not to do the crank seal, A) wasn't leaking, B) no gear puller. It was a rather simple process, to my suprise. The exhaust cam seal was an obvious culprit for a good part of the leak. Oh and the drive belts, man....how they didn't break yet, is a miracle....But the timing belt looked brand new and still in great shape. Now, when we pulled off the water pump, we couldn't beleive our eyes....uhhhh, where's the impeller? uhhh, it's just a flat plate...WTF? OMG how the hell was that thing even moving water, how didn't any passage ways get clogged, and why wasn't the engine overheating? wow, how strange...i'll post a pic of it tomorrow. (too far to go down to the garage now and get it...i'm still alttle buzzed from the 3 cans of brake cleaner and wonderfully scented sludge from my radiator. ok 2 cans of cleaner and 1 can of chemical scented water...) I may have gained a few hp by just having an actual impeller on the water pump

BTW, i used all OEM parts, except for the axle, if anybody needs part numbers.

The drive home was a good test, typical LA traffic. temp needle stayed put, engine felt and ran perfect since first start up. I went easy on it to let the belts settle in.

I must say i'm jealous of David's daily drive up/down Mullholland

Thanks again David, for all your help today!

David: What's that dripping?
Darryl: huh? oh ****, catch pan!
David: whoosh, grab, woosh, slide under...
Darryl: Ya, makes sense, i just loosened up the water pump
David: uhhh, ye-ah.
Darryl: <shrug>

Davard

You're welcome. Glad to help.

But why does everyone's car I work on have to be soooooooo oily. I should get the rest of the oily dirt out from under my fingernails sometime next week. It's too bad that beyatch in the Accord kept me from getting off the freeway and going up Sepulveda. Now that's a fun road.

Davard

Hye, he's got a new one. My '90 Protege didn't require anything other than oil changes and tire rotations (and replacements) for the first 3 years and 60k miles.

mazdaspeedwest

ok, here's the pic of the water pump. For those that have never seen one, the wheel in the center should have another one and fins sandwhiched inbetween (think of a brake rotor with the cooloing fins inbetween the pad surfaces)

i call it the water mixer, as it could never pump anything anymore

mazdaspeedwest

pic #2

(wow i almost really f**ked up, i deleted a post i made, couldn't get the attachment to work properly and realized as i clicked....DOH! the whole thread will die, as i was the thread starter....well, i saved it...phew)

protejay

sounds AND looks like you NEEDED that stuff done! good to hear 'ole blue' is ready for more cones....

whyteryce

Sepulveda kicks *** when crossing over from or to the San Fernando Valley...I use to run that street in my '84 Saab Turbo early in the mornings...then I would cruise into Tommy's over on Roscoe near Sepulveda...damn I miss Los Angeles.

Glad to hear the ride is in better shape now...that water pump looked fugly.

Loginology

::blink::

cablemirc....your...car....looks....like...mine... ..


and your sig looks like the way David (Fyrelance) made the intro pic for my car...

wow, sorry, I know that's off subject :-)