*Water Pump Whoa????*

[Sinclair159]

There is coolant leaking down the drivers side of my car... its dripping off the oil filter and around that area..and there is kinda of a faint scratchy grindy kinda sound comeing from the pumps area... im preety sure its the water pump obviously.. because when i open up the hood, the accesories belt is flinging coolant up at the hood... its a steady flow of coolant too... but heres the problem... i am deathly short on money... and i already called and got quotes on replacing just the water pump... 350$ seemed to be the going rate... i know that i should replace all the timing components while im at it but i really dont have the time... nor the funds.. so do you think i should just get the water pump replaced and maybe do the timing belt and stuff this winter??? i dont have time to do this on my own right now or else i would... plus this winter im storing my car anyways... but for the time being i need it to get to work!.... any help would be greatly apprecieated..

 

[1993TalonTsiAWD]

At minimum replace the water pump, and t-belt, the belt needs replaced anyways, because it's wet from the coolent. That is the Minimum!!


Derek

 

[shempt]

Fortunately, the water pump is something you can replace without to much labor hours into it. If it's more of a money issue than a weekend of your time, then I'd tackle the job yourself with a local friend/acquaintance that can help out. It could take one who knows what they're doing a half day to finish. But someone who's never done one before maybe a day or weekend to be thorough. You can check the Vfaqs for how to do a timing belt replacement and water pump and get all the necessary parts during the week. Our local Mitsu shop here even has a DSM discount for factory parts. If you know of one in your area that offers one: or at least ask for one to set up, then it would be worth persuing.

If the timing belt hasn't been done within the last ~50+K miles, and/or you have lots of coolant on it, then definitely do this along with the timing belt tensioner, too. You don't want it going out on you causing a much bigger problem. Check your pulleys to see if they are in good shape. Usually the pulleys would be very loose or rough to move by hand, or make a sound when in motion before they get real bad. The pulleys normally can be reused if they pass this test and a visual.

Even though it likely could be just the water pump, I'd always question if it is the _only_ problem. So before you go to the trouble to take the pump out, you can inspect the O ring that is around the water pipe for cracks. The pipe runs under the exhaust manifold and the ring is on the side where the pipe and water pump join. This would take much less of your time and money to do.

A pump can also go out if there is a clog in the oil cooler that's restricting water flow. This can cause higher coolant pressures and spring leaks. (Then inspect the oil cooler and other line attachments for security) If you are getting normal coolant temps then you are likely OK on the oil cooler issue because the water flow is there. But this also is an easy test for self assurance. Just drain the coolant and pull the lines off the oil cooler. Then clean the ends and blow threw to see if there's resistance. I don't recommend your lips on it if you do not want to ingest any bit of coolant. So a compressor with very low psi setting can do. Or if you feel brave enough, you can pucker up to blow threw one end to gage better how much air flow there is, to see if it's OK. If it's OK, then thank God it's only the pump and not the oil cooler. Because they are not cheap!

It's good to question if something is going out, what might have caused it. This will better help you understand the workings of every supporting component of the car. And by doing the work yourself, you will be more confident in your own capabilities in the future when there's an emergency.
ew

 

[Sinclair159]

Even though it likely could be just the water pump, I'd always question if it is the _only_ problem. So before you go to the trouble to take the pump out, you can inspect the O ring that is around the water pipe for cracks. The pipe runs under the exhaust manifold and the ring is on the side where the pipe and water pump join. This would take much less of your time and money to do.

although that might be the problem the water pump is making sounds... like a bad bearing noise... so im thinkin its the water pump and not just that o-ring..