That’s right! You can count on Dad’s Automotive when your car, truck, or utility vehicle needs a new water pump. If you are wondering when this might happen, the average lifespan of a factory water pump is about 100,000 miles or 10 years. If you drive a vehicle that has this kind of mileage or lifespan, pop the hood when the engine is cold and check for corrosion on the pump.
Corrosion on the Pump
The reason why you are looking for corrosion on the water pump is to see whether it has a slow leak. If it does, you will see that the water pump looks like a mess. It will have rust all over the pump housing and it may even have a gel-like substance on it. This is the coolant solidifying. It’s important to replace the pump at this stage of the leak. Otherwise, you might end up with…
Puddling Engine Coolant
You cannot afford to have puddles of engine coolant on the garage floor. The slow leak discussed above may not affect how much coolant is circulating through the engine, but a large leak that leaves coolant on the garage floor will affect the level of coolant in the cooling system. Consequently, your engine is going to run hotter than normal, and if you ignore the problem, you could damage the engine.
Low Coolant Circulation
Aside from springing a leak, your old water pump may also start to have problems forcing the coolant through the engine. This, too, will cause the engine to overheat. The water pump is attached to the accessory belt. This belt gives it the power to circulate the coolant. If the pump is gone bad or the belt is too loose, you may have low engine coolant circulation.
Grinding/Growling Noises
Listen carefully to your engine while it is running if you think the water pump may be going bad. Sometimes, the pump will make grinding or growling noises. You will be able to hear these noises from the pump’s location at the front of the engine. Have any strange engine noises investigated right away to ensure the noise is not a sign of engine damage.
Constant Overheating
Finally, you’ve probably already figured this out but your engine is going to overheat all the time if the water pump is not functioning properly. Unfortunately, there’s no way to restore the normal operating temperature except to replace the malfunctioning water pump.
We can do that here at Dad’s Automotive in New Era, MI, so give us a call today to set up a service appointment.
