leaking water pump?? :(

[myk888]

Took my car to the garage today to fix my cv gaitor.

but then the guy tells me that my water pump is leaking, its not dripping, but he says its been leaking for a while coz there is staining on the side of my sump pan. he said that if i dont replace it that it can seize and snap my cambelt....therefore engine goes boom.

is this true?!? i'm sure someone knowss...help me...i am scared!

[EF6_CR-X]

Have you noticed any loss of coolant over time, odd smell?

There are weep holes on the bottom of the water pump, ideally you should jack it up and have a look to see if anything has been leaking from there, have you used this mechanic before? Did he show you this 'evidence'?

Also if the shaft bearings are failing you should hear a howling sound when the engine is running, I think it would take a lot to seize and result in a broken cambelt though.

[darolh]

The odds of it seizing are slim. Ford Escorts had a nasty habit of doing it but that's the only car I've heard of that had any problem. You should change it if it's howling or leaking.

I can't remember whether the pump driven off the toothed side of the belt or the back side. If it's the back side there's virtually no way it can break the belt....just make noise.

[Jmunk]

The water pump is run by the toothed side of the belt. I would pull the top of the timing belt cover off and look on the inside of the cover for evidence of a leaky pump and push on the timing belt. If the belt has execssive play such as 3/4 inch or so to it than get the belt and water pump changed.

[gunnmen01]

The water pump is driven by the toothed side off the belt, however 7 years as a honda mechanic, i've never seen a siezed water pump.They usually have the bearings fail or the impeller rust off . The water pump does have a hole in the side to weep thru, so some coolant could be seen as he said before look for yourself to see if it's leaking. If your going to replace the water pump also replace the timing belt(your allready there anyway).


gunnmen01