The entire water pump has coolant on it. Little puddles in all the nooks. T-stat housing is wet but no puddles in the lip. I'm leaning toward housing but don't want to put a billet housing on and then have to replace the pump later. Also don't want to waste money on a pump that doesn't need to be replaced...

Also the flat cover behind it the house going to the heater core, what's behind it? Could it be coming from there?

You be the judge. What do you guys think?

 

I was having the same problem just before winter hit. When you change the T-stat your supposed to change the thermostat housing as well cause they never stay true "flat". Mine would leak when the truck was cold meaning "cold water leak" and would dry out once wormed up. I went ahead and put a billet T-stat housing on and still leaked. They told me to put some RTV in between the water pump and T-stat housing and no more problems. There you go my 2 cents.

 

My vote is t-stat housing. Mine had intermittent leak as well depending on temp. I just bought a new t-stat for cheap and took a roloc 3m pad to the existing housing. Surfaces cleaned up good. It let out a few drips initially then stopped.

When my WP went, it just did the classic drip out of the weeze hole, then completely dumped about 1 gal out one day when I shut truck off.

My 2 cents... antifreeze is so corrosive after about 5 yrs it is very worth changing it out to keep from corroding housing again.

 

All you can really do is clean it good with something like Purple Power and dry it with a leaf blower or compressed air.

I never replace the T-Stat housing (and I've changed a lot). Clean them up with a Dremmel and soft wire brush, a bead of RTV and let it sit for 30 minutes before starting.

Q: What's the screw clamp on it for? The OEM is much better as they distribute pressure. The Screw Clamps often are the cause of some leaks. The system pressure should never get above 15 psig.

 

I think he was just trying to eliminate possible places where leak could be coming from. Nothing wrong with that and it won't harm anything being there.

 

My T-Stat leaked from the back bolt area and only when it was cold. I swapped out the housing to a billet style and it was fine after that. The first pic is the mating area once I pulled the old housing, the second one is how a applied the RTV and the third pic is what I feel is the real culprit - a crumbling gasket.

 

I had the water pump mounting gasket leak at the timing cover surface. I went ahead and replaced the water pump, as the weep hole was starting to show signs of leakage when I removed it. I'd clean & dry everything, then look more closely for the source.

 

If you're running ELC, you really should use the red high temperature RTV for better longevity.

Also, as to the worm clamp instead of OEM clamps, you can't find the OEM clamps anywhere except the clamp manufacturers (in bulk) or in a junk yard... unless you buy a new OEM hose with the clamp attached. There are other spring band clamps you can find, but they are not readily available anywhere except via internet purchases. I've searched high and low off and on for the last three years, and that is what I've discovered.

Tom, if you know of a source for the clamps otherwise, please share that information.