If you hear strange growling or grinding noises coming from your car, truck, or C/SUV’s engine, it could be that the water pump is telling you it wants to be replaced. The pump will start to make strange sounds if its internal mechanisms are worn down. Hightech Automotive can replace your water pump when it needs it, which is usually after 100,000 miles. Aside from the strange noises in the engine, here are other signs that your water pump is ready to be replaced.
Rusty Water Pump
If you inspect your water pump and see that it is rusty and corroded, it needs to be replaced because it has a slow coolant leak. As the coolant leaks out of the water pump, it does not have enough force to drip onto the garage floor. Rather, it puddles around the pump and corrodes it. Unfortunately, this will lead to a more severe coolant leak that we will talk about next. The reason why the leak gets worse is that the coolant eats away at the pump’s metal housing and causes a hole.
Coolant Leak
Eventually, you will end up with spots or puddles of coolant on your garage floor because the water pump’s leak has gotten worse. You cannot afford to have a coolant leak in the engine, whether it is coming from the water pump or another cooling system part. A leak reduces the level of coolant in the cooling system and opens your engine up to the probability of overheating. We will talk more about that below, but an overheating engine is soon to be a damaged engine.
Poor Circulation
Another sign that your car’s water pump is going bad is if the coolant is not being circulated through the engine to reduce its temperature. The water pump is the part in the cooling system that moves the coolant through the engine after the thermostat releases it. A condition of poor coolant circulation immediately points to a malfunctioning water pump as the problem.
Overheating Engine
Finally, and as promised, if the water pump is unable to do its job properly, you will end up with an overheating engine every time you drive your automobile. The engine is also going to overheat if the water pump is leaking coolant because, as we mentioned above, this reduces the level of coolant in the cooling system. Do not drive your vehicle if the engine is overheating.
Hightech Automotive in Forest City, NC, advises that driving an overheating engine will damage it. Rather, have your vehicle towed to our shop today so we can replace the water pump.