• How does a water pump work?
• Why does my engine over heat?
• Why does my engine leak coolant?
• How a cooling system works
• How to replace a radiator
• How does a car heater work?
• Why wont my car heater work?
• Why does steam come from the exhaust pipe?
• Why is there coolant in the oil?
• How to test a thermostat
• How does a serpentine belt tensioner work?
• Car is making a bubbling noise
• Car is making a chirping noise
• Car is making a clicking noise
• Howling noise from car
• Why is my car making a popping noise?
• Car is making a scraping sound

Car Water Pump Question and Answer - This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.

Question: 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, miles: 89,000 I need the water pump replaced. I have gotten estimates around $450.00. I was told that they have to jack up the engine to do this. Is this correct or are they yanking me around. What would be the approximate price for this?

Answer: Replacing the water pump with your 4 cylinder engine is a difficult and time consuming job; the front of the motor needs to be removed. Set time aside for this job, but like we say, "Its only nuts and bolts".

Question: 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe mileage: 149,000. A couple days ago I noticed that my coolant level was low...I filled the overflow container and then went for a drive. When I stopped, I noticed a leak under my engine; when I got under the truck to see where it was coming from, it looked like it was coming from the water pump. I looked under the hood and I noticed that the front of the water pump where the fan connects was wet. I took it to a mechanic and he said that the water pump needed to be replaced. He said the coolant would start to run out the hole in the bottom of the water pump when the bearing go bad...then it will start making a noise when it gets worse. Thank you for your help.

Answer: If it is the water pump, you may want to price compare for water pumps.

Question: 2001 Honda Accord mileage: 72,000. I took my car in for a tune up and the mechanic said the water pump needs to be replaced when the mileage is more than 70,000. Is that necessary even though the water pump is fine? Will it cause any problems if I don't change it?

Answer: If the pump is not leaking, there would be no need to change it unless a timing belt is needed. We change the water pump on Hondas when we change the timing belt because the timing belt has to be removed to change the pump. We recommend changing the timing belt every 60,000 miles. If your timing belt has never been changed, both the timing belt and the water pump should be changed.

Question: 2002 Toyota Camry mileage: 66,000. My water pump is leaking and I was wondering on a Camry, does the timing belt have to be removed to change the water pump? I am a shade tree mechanic and know how to change a water pump out but have been told on a lot of foreign cars the timing belt is attached to the water pump. It looks like it is an external water pump. Can you help?

Answer: Yes, the timing belt does have to be removed. It is an excellent idea to replace the timing belt with the water pump if it has not been recently replaced.

Question: 2003 Subaru Legacy mileage: 50,000. My car makes annoying water bubbling/flowing noises under the dash when throttling up or down (especially after idle). I suspect that it needs to be bled correctly - however I've tried removing the bleed screw, and then filling, with no success... Is there something I've missed or some trick to this model? I've taken the car to 4 Mechanics (1 was a Subaru agent) - all have failed.

Answer: It sounds like you may need a restriction in the heater hose to slow down the coolant through the heater core system.

Question: 2002 Dodge Caravan mileage: 88,000. Hi, My name is Leslie and I'm seventeen years old. On June 26th, my car overheated. I took it to a mechanic. After keeping it over night, they called and said it was the water pump. They estimated the cost to be $300.00. I told them to go ahead and change it. I then asked them to check and see if there had been any damage to the engine. When they called back to tell me the car was ready they told me that there hadn't been any damage to the engine and even if there had been, it would have been smoking, which it had not been. Later that day I went to pick up my car. They told me that it wasn't overheating anymore and I could take it home. I didn't even get a mile down the road and it got extremely hot. I turned right around and took it back.

 A mechanic got in my car even after I told him it was extremely hot and didn't return for about 20 minutes. When he came back, I noticed my car was smoking really badly. Well, they then took it in the shop for about 30 minutes. They told me that it was just an air pocket and now it was just fine. Well it overheated on my way home. We took it back the following day and they said it was now a blown head gasket. I then wrote a note to the Better Business Bureau telling them what had happened. About a week later, the owner called and said that he would give us the $300.00 back for the water pump. But nothing else could be done. He said it was the head gasket the whole time and they're just sorry they didn't catch it. My question is did they have to change the water pump to know if it was the head gasket? And could they have told right away by checking if there was water in the oil? And also do you guys think I have a good case to take to small claims court? Please answer as soon as possible.

Answer: We have no way of telling from here if the head gasket was blown when you first noticed the car was over heating. If your car got very low on coolant, it would have caused the seal to fail in the water pump. This is one of those, which comes first, the chicken or the egg situations - one can cause the other to fail. They may have just misdiagnosed the head gasket and found just the leaking water pump. If the car is driven while still low on coolant, there is a reasonable chance you will blow the head gasket. The first time you picked your car up and drove one mile and it overheated, this would indicate that you probably had a blown head gasket at that time. Very rarely will you get water in the oil with your type of blown head gasket. More likely there will be exhaust gases in the cooling system and coolant going out the exhaust system.

Question: 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier mileage: 54,099.  My dealership is claiming that my water pump has a leak in it and needs to be replaced.  It seems to me that 54K miles is quite pre-mature for replacing a water pump.  Does that seem normal?  Also, they quoted me a price of $700 to replace the water pump.  Does that seem out of line?

Answer:   It is not unusual to see a water pump go out at 54k miles.  However, $700 sounds a little steep.

Question: 2001 BMW X5.  How do I get the fan clutch off?  Already have the radiator off and out of the way.  I need to install a new fan.  Thanks for any help in this regard.

Answer:  The fan clutch unscrews off the water pump, however it has reversed threads (left handed threads).

Question: 2002 Ford F-150 mileage: 83,000.  Dear Sirs: My water pump has started to leak on a continual basis.  So far, it is still quiet.  I would like to replace it before the problem breaks down on the road.  I have looked at it and it looks like I may need to remove the engine support just to get to the pump.  Do I need to remove the support and if so, how do I support the engine?

Answer:  Yes, you have to remove the support bracket to replace the water pump.  To remove the bracket, use a jack and a block of wood to support the engine.

Question: 2003 Honda Accord mileage: 25,000.  The mechanic said the water pump checked out fine.  For the last few months, there is a squeal when the car is started.  Do not know if this is because the belts were replaced too loose or whether it is the water pump bearing.  In any case, the car occasionally overheats.  I changed the thermostat myself, in case that was causing the overheating.  Sometimes I see some drops of water on the ground under the water pump, but if it is leaking, it is not much.   If I need to have the water pump replaced, can you tell me the minimum number of other parts I need to remove (since it appears that the timing belt cover is "involved")?  For example, will I also need to remove the valve cover?  I am trying to determine if the hassle factor is low enough to do the work myself.  Thanks for any advice...

Answer:   To replace the water pump requires about the same amount of work as replacing the timing belt.

Question: 2005 Toyota Camry mileage: 110,000.   I am in the middle of installing a new water pump on my car.  In doing so it looks like the arm off the shock has to be loosened, is this true?  I have all 3/8 bolts out.  I am kind of at a stand still on this can you help me.  Let me know what has to be removed and how to remove it.

Answer:   Your should be able to remove the water pump without loosening the shocks.  Check the old pump to be sure you did not miss a bolt.

Question: 2002 Saturn SL2 twin cam mileage: 94,000.  I have to know what a water pump does? The service department says it is leaking.   Also, how do I know when to get a new muffler?

Answer:   A water pump �pumps� or circulates the coolant through the engine and radiator.  Have the muffler inspected for leaks.  Replace it when it fails.

Question: 2002 Mitsubishi Gallant mileage: 60,000.  My question is if I replace the water pump on this vehicle, do I have to remove or lift the engine.

Answer:  The �flat rate� time is 3.3 hours to change your water pump.  You do not have to remove the engine but you may have to lift it slightly.

MORE: Water pump questions

Repair Topics / Water Pump