Blew my water pump today

[SoCalExile]

I was driving back to work after picking something up this morning and about 2 1/2 miles down the road I see steam billowing out of my hood. Pulled over to the Autozone and found my engine was covered in hot antifreeze. Long story short I have a nasty leak under the pump when I try to fill the radiator back up. Looks like the seal between the pump and the timing cover is blown. Don't know if the pump itself is toast or not.

I think it's maybe a result of my electric fan not kicking on for whatever reason causing the block to overheat and the pump to give. The motor is a 400, and the timing cover is actually the back of the pump, sealed by a gasket and some silicone. It's the same as the 351C's and M's.

Since I don't know if the pump is toast, what should I look for to check?

 

[m78]

Some of these pumps have a weep hole under the pulley that will spew if the seals in the pump go bad.

 

[LEB Ben]

^^^+1...otherwise pull it off and see if there's any trash caught up inside. I'd also do a quick once over with a 7/16" (I think) wrench and make sure none of the WP bolts have backed out. Be careful not to over tighten any of the bolts that are only secured by the timing cover, they'll strip out in a heartbeat.

 

[BuzzGun79]

something else to keep in mind when changing the pump...Once all the bolts are removed sometimes they will stick pretty good to the block..always tap up from the bottom side of the pump to remove it..NEVER tap downward this can unseat the timing cover gasket and it will leak after the new pump is installed.

 

[fatherdoug]

I think one of those bolts is aluminum also. Be tender with it.

 

[Beach66Bum]

If it's a failed water pump, you will see anti freeze dripping from the weep hole, it is very easy to see, and usually the bearing is starting to make noise. If it is not, then you have a gasket failure. Like the other guys said, take your time removing the bolts, one passes through a water jacket and is prone to rust up.