How long will a leaking water pump last

[philw349]

Ok, after some thought I decided rather than jump headfirst into a water pump job, I should make sure I'm prepared. I'm getting the 60k video for reference and wanna get some belts replaced at the same time. My question is how long will the water pump hold up. I'm planning on doing it next month as opposed to this one. Should I do the timing belt? It has ~28,000 miles on it. The coolant leak is noticeable but not too bad. I topped off the overflow a week ago and the low coolant light hasn't come back yet.

 

[Jim B.]

A leaking water pump means the shaft seals gone bad, shaft seals start going out you'll start getting "wobble" on the pump empeller, which could in-turn, worse case, start gouging/ scrapping into the engine. I've seen that on other vehicles, still have my original on my '89 SHO. Take Care,

Jim B.

 

[220ksho]

Your crankshaft position sensor will fail before your water pump lets you down. That's I would worry about. The pump leaks directly on top of the CPS.

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

Your pump will probably last as long as your CPS holds out with the water leaking on it. Nice safety system when you think about it...I know its a PITA to have the CPS go, but it certainly keeps you from driving a car that no longer has the ability to cool itself. squint

 

[sdpatt]

The leaking seal should be able to make it until you can schedule the complete front end job.

I have my doubts that leaking water pumps guarantee the demise of the CPS. I have had the CPS fail without a leak from the pump. I have also destructively disassembled that and other failed CPSs to determine why they may have quit. I found no evidence of water intrusion or even a possible path for the coolant to enter. The only *********** into the sensor body is the electrical conductors and those are epoxy sealed along with the entire electronics package.

If you are concerned about the possibility of coolant causing the failure of the CPS, remove the lower timing belt cover and place a dab of RTV on the conductor penetrations. If you are installing a new sensor, you can easily apply the RTV prior to mounting it.

<small>[ March 15, 2002, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: sdpatt ]</small>

 

[philw349]

Yeah I wasn't to concerned about the CPS. I had it replaced in '99 and its held up this far,I doubt the theory that water leaking on it does much from what I've read here. I was mainly worried about overheating, my friend told me to watch the temperature gauge closely because on other cars it's real critical.

 

[cRaZySHO.]

my water pump leaked severely for two weeks before i changed it. and that was 6k ago. and i never replaced my CPS. and my car still runs; strong. so there may be instances where the sensor goes bad, others could last through 4 water pumps. you never know.

 

[Catfishphillip]

Your water pump could last months - mine did. Upon inspection after removal, I found the bearings were quite fine, but the seal inside was leaking coolant through the weephole. Regarding your question, should you change the timing belt with 26K miles on it, no, probably not - my 60+K belt still appeared to be quite new. However, you will have to remove the timing belt to change the water pump. The pump comes out as a unit, and it's behind the TB. The impellor part of the water pump is removed from the housing with the unit on the workbench. So, you'll have to take care to install the belt w/o altering the cam timing. How is your oil seal holding up? It's very easy to change and inexpensive insurance. If your old seal is getting hard and brittle, it may soon allow oil to slowly and increasingly seep out. Good luck!