Water Pump Question

This is my first day on this forum! I found this place by doing a search on google. It looks as if I could find out alot of things here! Anyways, here's my problem.

I have a '90 Mighty Max with 130,000 miles and just yesterday I had to replace the water pump. Well I got everything sealed back up except for that pesky tube that comes around the side of the engine and goes into the back of the w.p.

Does anyone know a secret to make this think easy to seal? When I was putting the w.p. back on I could see that the tube didn't want to go back inside the w.p. too easily, but I was patient with it. I did put on the new o-ring that came with the new w.p. but I can see that it appears it has split and water is now leaking from there.

Does anyone know of a secret that I can just pull this tube out of the back of the w.p. without having to take the entire w.p. back off and having to buy another w.p. gasket? I hate to think that I have to take the entire w.p. off just because this stupid tube o-ring didn't seal properly. That and I have to buy another gasket. Thanks for any help that is given!

Well I guess since either no one reads this Mitsubishi thread or hardly anyone owns a Mighty Max I think I figured out my own question. It appears that the o-ring that came with the new after market water pump that I bought is the right diameter, but is too thick to fit into the hole in the back of the w.p. So therefore I'm going to either have to take this w.p. back to Advance and buy one from the dealer or I'm going to have to see if someone else sells an o-ring that's a little smaller.

What's happening is since this o-ring is too thick it goes about 75% into the hole and appears to seal properly, however once you drive it for about 30-50 miles the o-ring ends up splitting and starts leaking. So thanks RUDebtFree for the answer to my question.

It’s a real bummer asking a question and not getting an answer. I like to answer Mighty Max questions but because I no longer have one in my garage to look at I am careful as to which questions I respond to. I did not replace the water pump when I replaced the timing belt at about 55K so I felt I had nothing to offer.

I do have a question for you. Are you installing the water pump with the “O” ring dry? Chilton’s recommends lubing the ring with water prior to installing the pump. If it’s a tight fit, moistening the “O” ring could make all the difference in the world.

I think you are correct when you wrote “hardly anyone owns a Mighty Max”. It was not the most popular mini truck when they were still being built. Quite a few non Mitsubishi owners I talked to were under the impression that the Mighty Max was junk. Styling was another issue often cited.

I loved my Mighty Max but no longer own it. I gave it to my son. He needed it more than I did and it felt good handing him a vehicle that I know will serve him well as long as he takes car of it. I took very good care of it for 11 years. It was usually garaged and washed/waxed often. People were always telling me it looked brand new.

Good luck RUDebtfree.

I reluctantly didn't lubricate the first o-ring and thought that was my problem. I have since replaced that torn o-ring with another (that I did lubricate with antifreeze) however that one too has now torn after a days time.

My feeling is this, the w.p. that I have bought must be defective - meaning the opening in the rear of the w.p. is too small and eventually tears the o-ring. I have since went and bought another new after-market w.p. If this one tears the o-ring I will go to the dealer and reluctantly pay 3X the amount I'm paying for an after market one. Granted I'll have a dealer w.p. but I hate paying 3X as much.

Delta Dart,
I love my Mighty Max!! It has close to 230,000 miles and has really not given me much problems at all. I change the oil every 3K miles and try to keep other maintenence items checked off as well. This is the first time I have had to replace the w.p. so I figure I'm doing pretty good in that dept.

The only major problems I have ever had were the computer and the trans. The computer was my fault. I installed an after market antenna and apparently didn't get it to seal properly onto the fender and when it rained the water would drip onto the computer. The trans was one of those things that I had a bent fork and I'm friends with the dealship's service manager and he sold me the one they had on thier old parts truck.

So all in all I haven't had that many problems out of this thing. I just wish they would've kept making them eventually into a full size model. I have had people ask me if my truck had V6 in it since it had so much power.

RUDebtfree,

It might be the incorrect "O" ring. I did a little surfing , read the last post in this thread:
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=615108&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=2&vc=1
I hope we dont lose you to another forum.
Maybe you could purchase just the "O" ring from the dealer..

I hope I did not give you the impression that I thought the Mighty Max is junk. I know that they are very reliable with plenty of power. I have talked to people who have no experience with the Max and for whatever reason THEY felt the truck was sub-standard. We both know better!

I ended up going to another parts store and buying another w.p. and guess what? This w.p. went in without a hitch. The o-ring with this one appeared to be a hair smaller in diameter and went together without one hickup. I guess now I'll have to take this other one back to it's original owner and inform them that obviously the o-ring that comes with it is the incorrect one.

Delta Dart, I didn't take your post the wrong way. It's just I hate it when people judge the book before they actually know all the facts. (I'm talking about the one's who say the MM is ugly or powerless) I don't think I'll stop coming here, because there seems to be quite abit of info and different auto questions going on around here. So I think I'll hang around for awhile!!

Also thanks for that link. I wish I would've found that earlier on. Then I would've known not to lose the original o-ring and to look out for the pesky "not the correct size" o-rings.