Moderator Warning
Baron Skinley Von Clipper, if you have a problem with another poster, the correct course is to report the post rather than insulting them. This is an official warning. Don’t do this again.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Thanks for the input, everyone.
Points for clarification:
My mechanical inclination is minimal. I’ve changed the oil in my previous cars, but all of them had engines that weren’t actually in the passenger cabin. Also, I’ve got no mechanical peeps nearby to rescue me. So, even if I had a garage to try this repair in, instead of an apartment complex parking lot, I don’t think I would.
Financially, trading in the van for a different vehicle isn’t possible unless I can magically do so without raising my monthly payments. Seems unlikely given the current state of the Girthmobile and the economy. If anyone knows otherwise, please tell me. I don’t have a lot of experience with auto loans: all my previous cars were bought outright (second hand).
Essentially, we’re looking at keeping the van until it dies one way or the other. We’ve got about another year and a half left until it is paid off. So, postponing the dying would be better than not. But, if getting this repair done is likely to cost me upwards of $1000 due to the diagnostics, inaccessibility of the part, and the strong potential for other leaks, maybe I’ll just ride this out until the engine head cracks 
Baron Skinley Von Clipper: honestly, I don’t consider my cars disposable. The van is the fourth vehicle I’ve owned. The first two died horrible deaths in accidents that were, thankfully, both non-harmful to humans and not my fault. The third suffered a massive electrical failure when I was 80 miles from home and I could not afford to repair it nor move it to a storage location, so I donated it to charity.
I do my best to keep my cars in running repair, but I know I don’t do as well as I should. Please don’t assume I have no emotional attachment to or feelings of responsibility towards my cars simply because I have different restrictions or priorities on my finances.
I would expect water pump replacement to be in the 300 range. Diagnostic charges to determine a leaking water pump are typically zero (30 second visual inspection) or low (cooling system pressure test).
As for other leaks, that’s always possible, but not necessarily likely. You raised the issue – why are you suspicious? Is there actual evidence pointing to that, or just a gut feeling from someone whose “mechanical inclination is minimal?” For that matter, how meaningful is “I’ve been told that the water pump is shot?” Told by a knowledgeable person who clearly saw it leaking, or a guess from someone else with minimal mechanical inclination who once had a vehicle with leaking water pump and has no clue what else it might be?
My suggestion is take it to a repair shop for evaluation of the leakage. With the knowledge from said evaluation and the shop’s advice, you’ll be in a better position to decide on a course of action (or inaction).
I apologize for my bullshit outburst. it was unacceptable.
Thank you. Noted.
Colibri
GQ Moderator
Two years ago, the distributor cap went out. I mentioned an odd symptom I’d seen with the engine temps at the time and the mechanics the tow truck brought me to said there was some sort of additional problem with the coolant system, but they didn’t elaborate what it was. They said it would take $1500 to fix the coolant system by itself. At the time, I had them just do the distributor cap since that was the critical piece keeping the van from moving. Shortly thereafter, we figured out ourselves that the temperature symptoms were related to the coolant leaking out.
More recently, the guy at Grease Monkey who changed the oil reported that the water pump was at least partially responsible for the coolant leaks, but he didn’t go looking very far for others. The technicians at Grease Monkey have told me that they are not full mechanics. I’m not sure if that is actually true or if they are just being modest.
This same Grease Monkey guy mentioned that repairing the water pump might cost more than the vehicle is currently worth due to the unique configuration of the engine. That fits with the rough, non-specific quote I got two years ago.
However, maybe I got jerked around by the first mechanic and mislead by the under-knowledged second technician. If I can at least get as far as real diagnostics for something around $200, then this might be worth looking into. I was just worried that doing anything would be completely outside my means.
FWIW I checked an industry time guide for water pump replacement.
It listed the time it takes an average technician to be 2.5 hours.
They also listed a factory water pump as costing $250 which I think is high.
I agree with Gary T no way should that job cost a grand.
People say this sorta thing a lot and it always bugs me a bit.
Lets say it cost a thousand to fix the vehicle. And the “blue book” value is a thousand dollars (or even virtually zero for that matter).
So, instead you go buy some OTHER very old, very high milelage, nearly worn out vehicle instead of fixing yours. Problem is, you have NO idea of the problems that vehicle has had, how its been treated, or what part is about to give up the ghost.
However, with YOUR vehicle, you probably have a darn good idea of all those things.
So, IMO, unless the vehicle you have just doenst suite you, or has a history of being a real lemon, or the repair bill would be not just high but astronomical, you are generally better off keeping the clunker you have.
I look at it this way. Pretend you repair bill is a car payment. Lets say the repair l is 500 dollars. Thats the equivalent of 3 months give or take worth of cheap car payments. If you fix it, do you think it is likely to last past that three months? If so, sticking with it makes sense and every month you get after that is money you’ve saved by not having a “car payment”.
Good point.
there isn’t really anything unique about the configuration of your engine, it’s a standard GM 4.3 liter 90 degree V6. what’s unique is that Astro/Safari vans were designed like full-size vans, where the engine sits halfway between the engine compartment and the interior, with a removable “doghouse” between the driver and passenger seats to access the rear of the engine. really just means that getting to anything on the front of the engine is a pain in the ass because it’s really cramped up there and there’s not much access.
Just a bit of non-vehicle-specific advice from another “shade tree” mechanic.
Make sure you have some transportation available if you undertake this task. We amateurs almost always need to run to the parts store for something we forgot. It’s a grim feeling indeed to discover you’ve disassembled your only car and need another part (that’s 7 miles away) to get it running again.
Yes, you should fix it. When I hear “I don’t want to pour money into an old car” it usually means “I really want a new car, and this is how I can justify the expense.”
As stated above, you can probably fix it for one monthly payment on a new car, or thre months of a used car payment.
If you DIY, don’t get the lifetime warranty pumps from Auto Zone. They build them cheap so they can afford to keep handing you replacements, but of course you get the joy of doing the job again. After the second “lifetime” pump died, I went back to a rebuilt OEM pump and it has lasted twice as long as the lifetime pumps and is still fine.