Hello All,
I'm new to the board. I also have a question for you experts. Yesterday when i pulled out of my parking spot, i saw a wet spot towards the front of the car. It didn't feel like oil, but it was a little brown Then as I accelerated, i heard this whirring noise coming from the front right side of the car. From what i looked at on the internet, think it maybe a bad water pump. For a few months, i have also noticed that my car starts to run a little hot when i am stopped at a traffic light. Soon as i pull off, it goes back down. If someone could help me out, I would appreciate it greatly.

 

could very well be a bad water pump.

when the engine is cool, check the level of the coolant in the radiator and see iff it's low.. also look for exactly where it's dripping from the car. the AC drain tube is also on the right side, but it's near the firewall. the water pump is directly above the crank pulley on that side.. most likely the water will be dripping from the crank pulley area.

If the water pump IS leaking, then you'll be best off to do the timing belt and the front engine seals at the same time. it's about a $600-800 job for all of it.

 

Yep, and have the thermostat and tensioner replaced as well. And if you do this yourself, don't scratch the cams....

 

oh snap.gif



also whirring/grinding/blah noises

 

and buy the parts from me

 

i saw that one coming. lol

 

Hmm...my water pump was "acting up" for a good couple months before it actually siezed and I had to tow my car home with a U-haul dolly. (oops)

I leaked coolant, and there was a definite bearing noise (scraping) coming from the pump itself which which clearly coincided with engine speed. Haha, replace it beforehand so you don't have a car full of chicks that all the sudden can't go 2 feet without overheating and you need to get your vindictive friend who drives a stupid VW Golf to rescue you.

 

when the car is warm see if the top radiator hose is hard.. can u "squeez" it???

 

that doesn't have to do with a water pump failing

 

Grab the wp pulley and see if there is "play" in it. If it moves even a bit, it's probably toast. Also see if you can see the weep hole. I don't know if those things are easy to get at with the VG. Put if you do replace it, do a t-belt anyway. If the belt gets wet from the antifreeze, it's supposed to weaken it. Also make sure to buy a new tensioner BOLT also.

 

I found out that it is the Power Steering fluid that is leaking from the car. I suppose that it's a faulty hose. The squealing noise disappeared when i added more steering fluid.

Thanks for the info though