Your vehicle’s water pump can last about 100,000 miles, but it’s a good idea to have the pump replaced beforehand per the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations, which is usually between 60,000 miles and 90,000 miles. Replacing it early is not a ploy to get money out of you. The water pump has the crucial job of circulating coolant through your engine. Without a functioning water pump, your engine will be coolant-starved. The Pit Shop Auto Repair lists signs it’s time for a new water pump in your car.
1. Overheating
Naturally, if your engine isn’t getting any coolant circulating through it, it will overheat. The problem with an overheating engine is two-fold: it’s dangerous and it causes severe engine damage. Bring your vehicle in anytime that it is overheating. Finding the source of the problem, which could be a dead water pump, sooner rather than later will spare your engine the damaging excess heat.
2. Steam
The hotter your engine gets the more likely you’ll see steam coming out from underneath the hood. This is the time when the engine temperature reaches critical mass, and you’ve got or are very quickly going to have a blown radiator cap. It’s crucial that you stop driving your car and turn it off. If you keep driving, you’ll end up stranded anyway and with more engine damage than you started with.
3. Leaks
Engine coolant leaking from the water pump will drop on your garage floor underneath the front and center of your automobile. Grab a white cloth or paper towel and sop up some of the leaking fluid. Pop your hood and check the color of your engine’s coolant in the overflow reservoir. If it’s the same color as you see on the cloth or paper towel, you’ve likely got a water pump leak.
4. Corrosion
Between age and constant coolant flow, the water pump will corrode over time, which is why it needs to be replaced eventually. Things such as minerals and rust buildup inside the water pump and will eventually clog it, rendering it incapable of doing its job. Other causes of corrosion buildup in a water pump include the wrong coolant for your automobile and a defective pressure cap.
5. Whining
Whining coming from your engine could be caused by many things and one of those things is the water pump. If you hear the high-pitched whining sound coming from the front-center portion of your engine, it’s probably the water pump belt and/or pulley. As the internal bearings of the water pump wear out, the belt and pulley loosen and cause that annoying whining sound you’re hearing.
Don’t worry. The Pit Shop Auto Repair in Libertyville, IL, can replace your vehicle’s water pump. Give us a call to schedule an appointment.
