Coolant..everywhere

Always replace your gasket at the same time. You can try to tighten that bolt and see if the leak persists, but I doubt that's going to change anything. If it's the seal replace the pump with a high quality unit.
Also like ITLKSEZ said check your radiator cap pressure,,,
Too high a pressure cap and it can blow the seal again

 

Suggestions howard?

Get a lower pressure cap?

 

How many psi is your current cap rated at?
Ever run the engine with the radiator cap off and see bubbles?

 

No idea what it's currently rated at. And I have never ran it without the cap on to watch the bubbles. What would that tell me?
And of course I would change the gasket when I change the pump I don't know if I should just replace the gasket or the pump (and gasket)

 

Bubbles would tell you there is a fault in the head gasket (exhaust gasses). Ways of telling that you have a blown head gasket are: White smoke/steam from exhaust, milky oil, overheating, loss of coolant, external leak, excess build up of pressure in cooling system. It's possible to have a blown head gasket and not see coolant/oil mix or the steam/smoke. Not saying you do have a blown head gasket, just gotta rule out all the possibilities. Psi rating is usually cast into the radiator cap or on the cap sticker. Leave no stone unturned,,,

 

ha, you beat me to an almost exact post.

 

Coolant leak into cylinder will sometimes also result in steam-cleaning the piston dome and plug.

 

So it is leaking only out of the gasket?

Normally, I'd recommend swapping the pump while you have it out to change the gasket, but the way things are built these days, you might be better off just running the one you have. Chances are, it will run longer than anything new. I know the one that is in my F-head had been there for many years before I got it 20+ years ago.

I checked Rockauto, and all of the caps they list for that engine are 13psi. If yours is anything above that, I'd probably swap it out. Like was stated, the pressure rating should be stamped or printed on your cap. If not, swap it regardless.

The higher the pressure, the higher temps you can achieve without boiling. These old engines aren't designed to run any hotter than ~220; any higher temp or pressure and your just asking for trouble, and a more violent and damaging blowoff when something does go wrong.

 

If you over fill the radiator, it will push out excess fluid as needed (sometimes). The top of the radiator has to be empty of fluid for expansion of fluid.

 

Replace them , Water pumps are cheap so is the gasket and a correct cap..........If you have a way to pressure test the system you can try that first , But with that bolt loose it will still leak and I assume those threads go directly into the water jackets so they also need to be sealed..............Carry On!

 

This won't be a hard job for you even with limited experience wrenching. Just take your time and don't over tighten the bolts.

The sure fire way to test for head gasket leak is to test the coolant for hydro carbons, this would require specific equipment or a block tester you rent at a FLAPS

 

If you lost enough coolant fluid from the water pump, that would eventually cause a steam eruption from the radiator.

Another time that happens is if there is air trapped in the block, after refilling coolant, and it needed to be burped.

A leaking head gasket can cause a similar result. Or a faulty thermostat, or a radiator cap with a pressure rating too low for the thrmostat temperature.

For sure replace the pump in any case.

 

When I rebuilt my L head years ago, i could not find the old radiator cap for it, put a 7# cap on it, it over heated, water came out the head studs, etc.

I finally put a 3# cap on it and no problems?

 

I don't understand that - seems backwards since the higher pressure cap should actually raise the boiling point.

 

Before I did anything else, remove that loose bolt (your finger is pointing to it in post#16) and put some sealer on the threads. Re-install the bolt and tighten it. That may be the whole problem. If the bolt is already bottomed out, you may need to find a shorter bolt.
-Donny

 

2X on what Keys5A said. The more I read, the more I was thinking this. Could be wrong, but I would give that a try before anything.