Alright So i replaced my water pump, tstat, got my radiator cleaned out and it's all hooked back up. i Had done this last week and started to fill my radiator, filled it to the top i put in my water first i got through 4 gallons and 1 gallon of coolant, so 6 gallons total. then my water pump started leaking frmo the gasket. so i took itg all off and re did it, this time, yes i still have a leak from the gasket. but theres literally nothing i can do about it, i scraped both sides clean, sand papered both sides, put sealant on the water pump ALL the way around, stuck the gasket to it, sealant on the engine, stuck the water pump on with 2 bolts at the top just to get it to seat and go around at all the holes and make sure everything was lined up and that that gasket had not slipped out of place, everything looked good. all my bolts in, lined up, but now i have 2 problems.
1.) my leak. last time it started leaking before i even started the truck and it was just dribbling out water beading it up really fast in 2 places and dripping really good. this time it's seeping out in 1 spot but it's black? almost looke like oil, i have a pic if someone needs to see i actually havea video, but it's like oil really. when i drained the coolant there wasn't any oil in it


2.) i'm guessing why my coolant level isn't dropping is that there was too much left in the engine from last week and probably left in the radiator too because i only took off the water pump this time, and a good bit came out from the cooling jackets behind the pump and what was in the pump and the heater hose attached but still, not 4 gallons, so i guess i need to drain my radiator? and would anyone suggest just putting in a gallong of coolant and a gallon of water until it's full because we don't really know how much of which is in it at this point?

 

If you live somewhere warm I think just adding 1:1 until full is fine but if it gets cold where your at I personally wouldn't. I've seen a lot of cracked blocks and broken heads because the wrong ratio was used.

 

it doesn't get really cold, i'll probably end up draining my radiator, that should give me enough of a balance if i do 1:1 until full right?
How can i tell if my coolant is circulating? it seems to be circulating by lookin in the radiator but idk how to tell. my heat gets really hot, my heater hoses are hot, my rad. gets hot. my upper hose gets hot. so i'm guessing it's circulating? only thing i can't figure out is my stupid leak. i mean i was extra careful this time. took all precautions, that particular area where its leaking didn't even give me any trouble lining it up or anything. so i'm just baffled. and why it looks like oil i have no clue.

 

I'm not familiar with the particulars of a water pump on a 6.9 but if the bolt holes aren't blind, they go into a water jacket, they will need sealer on them. As far as the gasket, what I like to do is coat both sides with Ultra Black silicone then snug up the bolts just enough till silicone starts to ooze out then let it dry, 4hrs. Then tighten them down. If you have heat and your upper radiator hose is hot, then your thermostat is open.

 

Okay so Tstat is working. coolant is flowing. ugh. idk what to do about this leak. no way i'm taking everything back down. i mean I took every precaution this time and did it by the book. It should not be leaking.And there's no other way to fix the leak right?
What do you mean it the bolt holes aren't blind?

 

Turn your heat on. If its hot your circulating

 

If the holes are blind that means they're not through. Stick a small pick into the hole and if it bottoms out then it's blind. If goes clear through like into a water jacket or oil galley, then you will need to use sealant on the bolt threads.

 

I just did my water pump on my 7.3 I found that the instructions say all the bolts are blind except the 4 shorter bolts that are into the front engine plate "kept Nuts" 2 on top of the pump and 2 below. you need to seal the threads on the 4 bolts or you may get water into the block or oil could possibly leak out through the bolt. If you had the front plate off the first time around you could have disturbed the seal of that plate when you put the pump back on the second time. When I did my front plate I sealed it to the block and used short bolts in all the holes to get a good seal. I left it that way 1 day then removed the pump bolts and installed the pump. this way I didn't disturb the seal on the plate. Just my 2 cents ....Good luck....

 

Yeah i guarantee it's that ti ming seal pushing oil. and that would almost guarantee me that it's pushing it into the coolant. greaaaaat. should have just took the stupid cover off and changed it. People kept saying it would be some sort of huge deal, oh well, better stick with my instincts next time.
Good thing she aint a daily driver. cause it's gonna be a while before i take EVERYTHING off for a 3rd time and then dig deeper into the engine.