Cooling systems

CHRIS ALMANZA

MEMBER
2003 CHRYSLER 300
4.7L
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Hi, my car is over heating only at stop and go traffic. I loose about half a gallon of coolant every week, so I checked to see where the coolant is going and it is leaking from the front of the water pump pulley. My question is, can that be the cause of my overheating? One more thing the fans are coming on.

Thursday, April 6th, 2017 AT 10:04 PM

1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
15,233 POSTS

The loss of coolant through the pump means the system can no longer hold pressure. Because the cooling system needs that pressure to keep the coolant from boiling you end up with overheating. Let the engine overheat a couple times and you will be replacing cylinder heads and gaskets due to warping if not replacing the entire engine.

Change the pump, then pressure test the system to be sure there are no other leaks. This is not a "when I get a chance" type repair, those engines do not like overheating.

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

+1

Friday, April 7th, 2017 AT 4:11 AM