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Repair Topics / Water
Pump
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 at
eAutoPartStore.com
they have good prices on AC Delco Parts
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.
Check
eAutoPartStore.com
for the parts, they have Delco Auto Parts
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 Galant 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.

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