As you guessed by the title of this blog post, the water pump in your car lasts for about 10 years. Miller Brothers Auto Repair advises that if you drive a vehicle that is older than this, you will start to have problems with the water pump sooner rather than later. Don’t worry. We can replace the water pump when it has gone bad. Here are signs that it has.
Rust All Over the Housing
One thing that happens with older water pumps is they get rusty. This is because they start to leak coolant that puddles around the pump’s metal housing. This is the housing that surrounds the water pump to protect it. As the coolant puddles around the housing, it will start to eat away at the metal. This will create rust all over the housing.
Coolant All Over the Garage Floor
Eventually, the coolant will eat through the housing enough that the water pump will leak coolant all over the garage floor. Check the color of the fluid on the garage floor and determine if it matches the color of your engine’s coolant. You can also check the coolant level to see if it is low when your engine is cold. This helps you confirm that the fluid leak is coolant.
Reduced Coolant Circulation
Leaks aside, an old water pump can also start to malfunction and this reduces the circulation of coolant in the engine. When this happens, your engine’s temperature will rise above 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it’s above this temperature, it is overheating. You will see the steady rise in engine temperature on the temperature gauge on the dashboard.
Strange Noises in the Engine
Another thing a water pump will do when it is having problems is it will make strange noises that you will hear coming from the engine. These noises usually sound as if the engine is grinding or growling. As an aside, the water pump can also have problems if the accessory belt is too loose. This belt provides power to the water pump so it can circulate the coolant.
Constant Engine Overheating
Finally, it makes perfect sense that all of these things will cause your engine to overheat constantly. If you are having overheating problems, do not drive to our shop. Rather, play it safe and have your vehicle towed to our shop to avoid damaging the engine by overheating it.
We are Miller Brothers Auto Repair in Somerset, WI, and we’d be happy to replace your car’s water pump if it needs it.