Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral how do you know if your water pump is broke ?

this probably sounds like a really stupid question but my knowledge of cars is very limted.been losing water steadily for a couple of weeks but now it is really bad,the car is only a cavalier 1.7td(dont laugh) with isuzu engine and have been told that i am losing water from the water pump but i cannot actually see where it is coming from,just that it is running down the road.is it likely just need a new seal or something or is it a new pump how do you tell?...the car seems to run fine but i am constantly filling up with water now..also need my valve inlet shims doing but i dont think this has anything to do with this problem has it? car dont wanna start when cold....sorry for the long post

You'll have to find where its coming from.

Could just be a seal somewhere or it could be your radiator.

Leave it parked up, running and look on the ground.

It will fall to the lowest point so work your way up.

Have you checked your oil?



How do you know you if need your inlet valves need doing??

That wouldn't affect it anyway.

[quote=BMW Joe]



How do you know you if need your inlet valves need doing??

apparently it is a very common fault with this particular engine and is a real bugger to start when it is cold,by that i mean "really" cold like tonight.had to relace 2 starter motors last winter, but that was still cheaper than getting the shims done at the time.
anyway back to the water pump, am i to presume provided the car has water in it the pump is working if i am getting heat from the heaters or would that still happen even if the pump was not working?

IFAIK, you might get heat from the heaters even if your pump doesn't work, although it might not be very warm.

Are both the top and bottom hose to your radiator warm/hot? If so, then your pump is working.

thanks i will check that tommorrow,is replacing a pump a costly difficult job,had a quick look again and it definatly is coming from the area where the pump is.

Personally I would just change the water pump for a new one only about £25 and the time which doing it at home would only be a couple of hours. The coolant may still be getting pumped aroung the engine but leaking at the back seal or the face gasket where it mounts to the block.

also I would attempt doing the shims yourself to. Just get piston to tdc and measure the clearance with a feeler gauge, compare this with what it should be. If out of acceptable tolerance, remouve shim and measure with a micrometer or vernier. From the measurment taken and the size feeler gauge used, the tollerance required you are then able to calculate the size for a new shim, only a couple of quid each. Had to do this on my bike the other week and cause it is a ducati and desmo it has closing shims to so ends up being quite costly lol.

Check under your oil cap?

To see if the oil has changed colour?
I was loosing water and it was the head gasket,
and it was leaking into the combustion chamber so the only clue was the exhaust seemed to be steaming when ticking over, only lightly, and the top hose on the water coolant was solid no give.

Just something else to consider.

oil looks fine or at least it did a few days ago when i checked it,nice and black with no ... or foam, i can physically see it leaking water from around the pump area just cannot tell exactly where.thanks to johnny for the advice but he may as well of been speaking in klingon or something,way past my abilities.it took me 9 hours to change a starter motor last year after following a page from a borrowed haynes manual (which the owner has now lost).this sounds like a job best left to experts. GET THE PISTON TO TDC !!!!!!! i dont even know where or what a shim is,lol

lol

yeah, gt the valves sorted by someone who knows what they're doing.

try buying a new gasket for the water pump?

You should be able to remove it by taking off an auxiliary belt, removing 3 or 4 bolts, and it should come out.

You can buy replacements from Halfords or LVW for less than a fiver.

If you can replace a starter motor, replacing the water pump should be just as simple (or difficult in your case lol).

thanks guys

One moment here, is your water pump ran by the cambelt? if so don't even bother if attempting to change it if you havent got the right tools. Way to much hassel.

if you need to drive the car with the leak undo the headertank top (coolant cap) by a turn to release pressure.

Hvae you a digi cam? if so take lots of photo's and upload them then we maybe able to help more as not seeing the leak is like peeing in the wind.

If the water pump has failed the car will overheat, not just lose water.

Sounds to me like a water leak - it could be the seal around the pump, but if the car is not overheating it wont be the actual pump that has failed.

when i fill up with water,car runs fine and the heaters give out heat,when the heaters start to blow cold i know the car has run out of water and then the tempreture guage starts to rise up,so i am pretty sure it is just the seal around the pump,i have been reliably told that this pump does not run with the cambelt but i am still not competant enough to have a go so i will have to wait till i have some dosh and stick it in a garage,as one of the earlier posts said i may just get the pump changed anyway and get the shims done at the same time.thanks for all of your replies