Water pump fun!

[dghii]

I helped a buddy R/R his water pump yesterday in an 03S that he bought from me last June. He called me last week and said the car made a horrible noise at start up so he turned it off. I told him to look for a leak and I guess he drove the car a bit around his neighborhood and then discovered the leak.

He ordered the usual stuff (WP, Thermostat, gaskets and serpentine belt) and we set off to do the install at our base auto hobby shop. He nursed the car to the base ( I had suggested towing it) and by the time he got to the shop, his battery light was on, along with loss of power steering. He had obviously tore up the belt.

When we disassembled, the belt was completely shredded and strands were wrapped around the idler and alternator pullies. The WP pully was so loose it felt you could just pull it off!

When we pulled the WP, the impeller was in pieces. I know we didn't find it all.
I suggested towing to local indy for evaluation. I really wasn't sure the best course for trying to flush impeller pieces out. Buddy didn't want to tow so we flushed and filled the car three times with distilled water.

The car seems to run fine now but I'm still concerned that imeller crud is going to lodge in the water jacket and damage a head.

Thoughts on anything we could do premeptively, short of taking the motor apart?

I suggested we flush again in a few days or a week but I'm not confident it'll really help.

Note to self: Don't try to drive car if WP takes a crap. Not worth it!