Water pump gone bad?

[mistermac99]

I went for a nice Sunday drive today, approximately 150 miles. Rained off and on about every 30-minutes.
When I was about 1-2 miles from home, I thought I heard a noise coming from the motor area, so I turned off the AC. As I got closer to home, the noise got louder. Sounded like a rattle, or some part going bad. When I got within 1/2 mile from my home, the temperature started to rise.
By the time I pulled into the drive way, the temperature had risen about 5 degrees. My wife stated she smelled smoke, but I did not. I stopped short of pulling into my garage, and turned the car off. Still only 5, maybe 10 degrees hotter than normal.
When I got out, there was steam/smoke coming from the right side snorkel, then the antifreeze poured out onto the driveway.
I took the cover off the engine, and then removed the engine cover behind the seats to expose the engine. There were no splashed for antifreeze anywhere, but there appeared to be quite a bit sitting on top of the under body cover, just underneath the water pump.

Hopefully I got lucky, and no damage was done. I turned the car off as soon as I pulled into the driveway, and the temperature never exceeded 5-10 degrees above normal. From reading some of the posts about water pumps, the sound seems like it could have been the water pump bearing that went bad.

During this time entire time, there were no lights on the dash. Not a single light, which seems promising.

I have never had any leaks, noises, or any issues with running hot, except when sitting in traffic with the AC on, which is probably normal.

Going to get it to he Indy tomorrow for a replacement, and hopefully that will do it. I do small repairs, but I don't think I'm ready to tackle this one yet.
Can I just fill it back up with water and drive to the garage about 5-miles away, or should I get someone to haul it over on a flatbed?

Any advice for this repair? I see in the 101 projects book that it recommends to replace the thermostat with a lower temp. one.

Anything else you guys have experienced that I should look for, or replace while in there? Maybe the motor mounts?

Thanks for any advice.

[Topless]

The risk is that you will fill your coolant passages with bits of WP impeller which can clog passages and cause a cracked head. I vote flatbed.

While they are in there I would consider a fresh 160 T-Stat and motor mount, check and replace idler pulleys and belt as needed. Not very much more labor involved when you bundle these jobs. Ask your indy to bill for time on the job instead of book rates. Most will accommodate you when bundling related jobs.

[mistermac99]

Originally Posted by Topless

The risk is that you will fill your coolant passages with bits of WP impeller which can clog passages and cause a cracked head. I vote flatbed.

While they are in there I would consider a fresh 160 T-Stat and motor mount, check and replace idler pulleys and belt as needed. Not very much more labor involved when you bundle these jobs. Ask your indy to bill for time on the job instead of book rates. Most will accommodate you when bundling related jobs.

Good advice.
I think he bills for each hour spent working on the car, and not shop rates. He's one of the best, so I feel comfortable letting him do anything on the car.

[Spinnaker]

Since you already have the engine covers off, you can take off the serpentine belt. Give the water pump pulley a spin and see if there is any noise or roughness in the bearings. You can also grab it and see if it has any wobble in the shaft. That should confirm it.
If the water pump is gone, I would not drive it and I agree that you might as well do the front mount while you are in there. It it is the original, it is probably way past due to be replaced.

BTW, make sure you get an OEM water pump. The aftermarket ones don't seem to hold up very well.

[mistermac99]

Originally Posted by Spinnaker

Since you already have the engine covers off, you can take off the serpentine belt. Give the water pump pulley a spin and see if there is any noise or roughness in the bearings. You can also grab it and see if it has any wobble in the shaft. That should confirm it.
If the water pump is gone, I would not drive it and I agree that you might as well do the front mount while you are in there. It it is the original, it is probably way past due to be replaced.

BTW, make sure you get an OEM water pump. The aftermarket ones don't seem to hold up very well.

Good point.
So far, I have used OEM for all replacements.
They are more expensive, but hopefully better.

[heliguy]

I agree, aftermarket lasts about a year.