Huge oil leak at front of LT1 motor after water pump replacement

Hello Longroof Members,

I hope you guys are doing well. I just got finished replacing the water pump on my 95 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon.

It has the LT1 engine with the Optispark distributor beneath the water pump. The water pump was leaking and dripping on the top of the distributor........(design flaw??)

....Anyway, I got the pump off and didn't break anything, replaced the o-rings on splines where the coupling ties into the gear that runs the water pump.

It is dripping oil badly. Any advice anyone can offer......PLEASE!! I do not want to get raped at the shop if it is something I can fix.

Thanks in advance!!!

Daniel

Did you replace the seal for the water pump drive shaft? They are known to leak once disturbed. The seals comes in the felpro timing cover kit (around $10). Less of a chance, but could also be the seal for the opti in timing cover which comes with the same kit.
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That's exactly what the problem is. Do I need 2 seals for either side of the water pump and the spline coming out of the engine as well? Thank you very much for your response. Wow its amazing how much oil blows out of there!! Please let me know what you can David.

Anyone else please chime in also. I also saw a tool to make sure I install the seal without tearing it. Do I need that tool? Thanks again for your response.

This should be in every LT1 owners tool box / arsenal of tools

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How did that seal get wrecked?

Nick

I guess it was already jacked before but since I replaced the water pump the oil leaks so much faster. Thanks for your response.

9196RMWNUT wrote:

I guess it was already jacked before but since I replaced the water pump the oil leaks so much faster. Thanks for your response.

well you,re welcome,. i use a 1/4 drive socket as a guide, some oil for lube etc,. works for me,.

Nick

The kit comes with enough seals, the only ones you will be replacing are in the timing cover. I have never used Nick's trick, but you will need to make a guide to put that seal on. It has 2 lips that face opposite directions and is impossibly to install without some sort of tool. Some have made them with a high lighter body.
The felpro kit will come with what you need and more, good luck!

I have had no problems with reinstalling the water pump by cleaning any crap off the outside of the spline drive, greasing it up on the outside (and inside), and slowly 'working' it past the seal. I might have been lucky.

phantom 309 wrote:

i use a 1/4 drive socket as a guide, some oil for lube etc,. works for me,.

Nick

Are you busy Saturday night?

jimbeau wrote:

I have had no problems with reinstalling the water pump by cleaning any crap off the outside of the spline drive, greasing it up on the outside (and inside), and slowly 'working' it past the seal. I might have been lucky.

I did the same thing - use some fine sandpaper or emery paper and polish it first. The rubber seal on the inside keeps oil in, and the light-colored teflon seal on the outside keeps dirt out. The hardest trick is getting the seal onto the drive coupler. I also found that taking any old pen cap and just gently massaging the light colored seal a bit to expand it ever so slightly is the key to getting it onto the coupler. Rotate and slide the seal onto the drive coupler, put the coupler on, then use a deepwell socket to gently tap the seal into place.

And yes, I would have used the water pump drive seal tool, but I had misplaced it at the time.

Sprocket wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

i use a 1/4 drive socket as a guide, some oil for lube etc,. works for me,.

Nick

Are you busy Saturday night?

you got enough money?

phantom 309 wrote:

Sprocket wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

i use a 1/4 drive socket as a guide, some oil for lube etc,. works for me,.

Nick

Are you busy Saturday night?

you got enough money?

Uhhh. Perhaps this conversation should be moved to the 'Members' Only forum.

Hello Fellow Longroof members,

Thank you very much for all of your input!! It was very helpful indeed.

Amazing how much a $2 seal can screw up a whole car.

The water pump is good, I bought a new Optispark and installed it no problem. I bought a new wiring harness but the part that doesn't go inside the optispark doesn't match up. I'm going to get a new one of those and hopefully that helps.

Do I need to go ahead and change the plugs and wires as well??

Please give me as much feedback as you can. My wagon runs like **** and I hate it!!!

Thanks.

If it's running crappy, you should find a friend or friendly mechanic and have it scanned.
One bad sensor will ruin the 'fine tune' of the computer control.

Thank you I will do that. I have OBD 1 do most places have a scanner for that setup? Thanks for your response.

Probably 9 out of 10 repair shops you go to can scan most cars. Definitely OUR old rides.
Try to find a competent, trusted, fair guy that people you know would recommend. Replacing any sensors on our 90s wagons is a snap; knowing which one(s) need changing, not so easy.