Firstly... I should point out that I am not in any way experienced in the art of auto repair.

Yesterday I changed the water pump on my 1998 Discovery... everything went fine... or so I thought.

This morning I went to check the coolant levels and noticed that there was a steady leak of coolant collecting on the ground. I assumed that it was coming from the newly installed water pump, but on further examination I found that it was actually leaking from the corner of (and this is where I am going to sound very unknowledgeable) the thing the water pump bolts into (not where it meets the water pump, but where it connects to the rest of the engine. The leak started as a slow weep and then all of a sudden started shooting out in a tiny beam.

What the hell is going on here? Am I totally screwed? Can I JB Weld the leak?

Here is a picture: https://imgur.com/OVuL3

 

The bolts that secure the water pump to the front cover, also secure the top of the front cover to the engine block. When you removed the pump and hardware it probably broke the front cover seal. The best solution is to remove the front cover, inspect the timing chain and oil pump while you're there, clean both mating surfaces, reseal, and reassemble. This will require draining the coolant and oil first. Make sure all hardware is tightened to spec as per the RAVE.

 

Always post some pics, it helps us to see what we are dealing with. Oh, and more knowledgable people will chime in later, just wait.

 

Here is an image indicating where the leak is occurring: https://imgur.com/OVuL3

Can I possibly get by without removing the cover... honestly I don't think I am qualified to take on this task (it took me an ENTIRE day just to change the water pump)

Is there a chance that simply tightening the long bolts might rectify the issue? Is there any way I can fix this without taking the whole thing apart?

 

If the bolts weren't tightened enough then tightening them with a torque wrench to the correct spec might work, but be careful or you'll strip the threads out and be in a real pickle.

 

Sorry to be a total pain, but I don't really know where I would find the correct torque for these bolts in the RAVE, as I am not exactly sure what they are called and am not very familiar with using RAVE... so I am pretty much useless. Could you point me in the right direction?

 

Pages 143 and 369. 22 Nm for the front cover, and 28 Nm for the water pump bolts. Careful not to get your ft-lb and Nm mixed up.

 

I have a question as well. Are all these bolts the same length or is there a specific bolt for a specific hole?

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Discovery/Recovery.

If you want to enjoy a long successful relationship with your Disco, you will need to prepare for many many small to medium tasks yourself or be prepared to spend a fortune paying a shop if you can even find a good one to maintain it for you.

Prepare is the key word. There is tons of info available both pon here and many other sites, as well as how to DIY videos available free on UTUBE and even more detailed one available for purchase.

Good that you tried to do it yourself, bad that you did not prepare well beforehand.

Get yourself a good torque wrench and high quality sockets at least. And buy plenty of PB Blaster.

The problem with trying to seal it with JB weld is that you will not cure the cause and just make things worse for later on when someone has to fix it right. Also it may work temporarily then blow loose and wipe out your engine. You are talking about the coolant system you realize. Also you may have internal leaks from not properly torquing it back togwether and could ne mixing oil and coolant.

Do not drive it until you can tear it down and do it correctly or you are taking a big risk. If the water pump needed replacing then Eric is right about going back into it and inspecting the timing chain and related items as well as the oil pump. if you do not feel confident enough, find someone who can do it for you.

If you post your location in your profile, you may find there are others really close to you or you may be in never never land.

If you cannot maintain it, you may want to consider getting rid of it before it has a major problem significantly decreasing the value to just a few hundred dollars.

Do your research first then do what you need to do.

 

IIRC there's two or three lengths. Long, possibly medium, and short for the water pump. There's no way to mix them up.

If you use clicker type torque wrench, remember to store it at the least torque setting.

I know how much a pain this can seem. I ended up rebuilding my whole engine over 3 months in a 1 car garage with no tools and little mechanical experience. This was two days after I bought it when it blew a head gasket. Now my little garage is so packed with tools, parts, and liquids it's a challenge to organize it all.

Also, if you need to drain the coolant I HIGHLY recommend using a cheap automotive liquid pump. You can stick the tube down into the radiator and drain most of it into empty containers for reuse. Otherwise it goes everywhere and is wasted.

 

Thank you very much for all the info. I apparently underestimated the difficulty of this task.

Here come the questions...

What exactly is the name of the thing I will be removing? If coolant and oil did mix, is there anything in addition that I should do to prevent further damage? What should I be looking for when inspecting the oil pump and timing chain? How big of a job is this approximately? Does this cover have a gasket? Can I use "make-a-gasket" to aid in securing the seal?

Thanks in advance, guys!