Check Out My Waterpump

[dewolf]

look how out of center it is!! not to mention how much impeller is left!!

[Bala]

What were the symptoms?

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by Bala

What were the symptoms?

lots of noise and running hotter. Not really surprised that it ran hotter as it was, must not been pushing much coolant..lol

[Frodo]

You planning on trying to find all those little missing pieces of impeller blade? If so, good luck to you---tell us how it works out...

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by Frodo

You planning on trying to find all those little missing pieces of impeller blade? If so, good luck to you---tell us how it works out...

errr....no. Probably sitting at the bottom of one the of the radiators.

[JFP in PA]

More likely the debris bits are lodged in the small coolant passages in the heads; you will be the first to know.........

[mikefocke]

Or worst case sitting clogging one of the smaller water passages somewhere. Just replacing the pump may not be enough...monitor the temps and the rough running and any CELs carefully for a while and flush the system as best you can. Maybe try and dump the radiators.

[jaykay]

Jeeez going to do a water pump soon and hope not to find this!

What is the mileage on this pump?

[san rensho]

I would take off the radiator hoses and reverse flush the motor and then reverse flush the radiators. Good luck.

[jaykay]

Just crazy have we found any safe metal impeller water pumps yet?

There is shop I know which installs a lot of HEPU pumps from Germany. I am not sure of the exact metal used in the impeller...looks very brass like

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by san rensho

I would take off the radiator hoses and reverse flush the motor and then reverse flush the radiators. Good luck.

Don't let me discourage you---I think it's worth a try. But I tried, I really did. I back-flushed, front-flushed, you name it...disconnected hoses in various locations, everything, using a fine-mesh material to screen every milliliter of coolant/water that came out. I was missing much less impeller blade material than you (maybe a 1/4 of what you lost), but I never found a single solitary piece of it. Not to say lost pieces won't be a problem---I think potentially they can---but so far so good: It's been about 2400 miles and I've not had a problem.

I asked one of the techs at a local place that does a LOT of P-car work (Steinels) about this. He said the first time or two they had it happen, they flushed like crazy, and had no better luck than I. According to him, those owners never had a problem subsequently. He said they don't even bother to flush 'em anymore. FWIW.

Still, it's worth trying: If you get anything out, it's one less piece to worry about.

[dan.oneufer]

So, what's the effort involved in removing a pump so it can be evaluated for wear? I'm wondering of this should be a maintenance activity-- "every x,000 miles, pull your pump" as an insurance against blocking coolant passages.

[Frodo]

It's not too horribly difficult. Obviously you need to be able to get under the car, so you need jack stands or a lift. You'll also be working through the access panel behind the seats. Some bolts are easier to reach from there, some from underneath. I worked on mine at the same time as I updated my front motor mount, tasks that kind of go hand-in-hand. I say that because each job requires removal of stuff that opens things up for the other job.

Timing-wise, do a search. Jake Raby has chimed in on the matter on numerous occasions. He recommends changing the pump out every few years---I don't remember the number, maybe 4-5?? This whether the car is driven few or many miles. The life span of the OEM pumps seems really variable: I've heard of them going up to close to 100k. I've also heard of them crapping out at a quarter of that mileage (ask husker boxster). When people drive them until they fail, it seems like it averages in the 60-75k range. Mine went at 58.4k.