water pump or radiator?

hi i have a 99 dodge durango and its been having problems with the water pump. its leaking from the shaft, so is there any way to fix that without having to buy another pump? now, today as i was going on the high way, the engine temp went up to max for like 2 min and it came back down. i though the water pump finally broke, but when i got home, the pump was fine and it still had coolant in it. the radiator cap was cold and when i opened it, it sounded like there was coolant going thru the engine. i touched the upper hose, it was hot, but the lower one was cold. i dont know if its the pump not pushing the coolant or the radiator has a restriction not letting coolant pass thru it. i put some coolant in the radiator...again...the cap didnt get hot....but the engine went into overheating again for 2 min and then the temp came back down. any ideas? :banghead:

A shortage of coolant will cause the engine to over heat.

When you loose heat from the heater, the coolant is no longer going to keep your engine cool, it's going to over heat and damage your engine.

1) Replace bad water pump, thermostat, and coolant ASAP..

hi i have a 99 dodge durango and its been having problems with the water pump. its leaking from the shaft, so is there any way to fix that without having to buy another pump? 4-5 cans of stop leak :grinno:

now, today as i was going on the high way, the engine temp went up to max for like 2 min and it came back down
air pocket caused by slightly low coolant or stuck thermostat or water pump impeller

i though the water pump finally broke, but when i got home, the pump was fine and it still had coolant in it. the radiator cap was cold and when i opened it, it sounded like there was coolant going thru the engine. i touched the upper hose, it was hot, but the lower one was cold.
lower hose is suppose to be cooler than upper, cold radiator cap indicates NO circulation, upper hose can be hot just from natural convection

i dont know if its the pump not pushing the coolant or the radiator has a restriction not letting coolant pass thru it. i put some coolant in the radiator...again...the cap didnt get hot....but the engine went into overheating again for 2 min and then the temp came back down. any ideas?

fix what's wrong... oops, I forgot you want to fix the water pump without replacing it... just keep driving it, eventually the problem will go away