Water Pump???

I

IRISHdjt

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The car's been getting hot. The belt was squealing, so I replaced it today. No more squealing. But before I put it on, I checked all the pulleys to see that they spun freely. They all did, but the water pump made a faint ticking noise when I spun it.

After replacing the belt, it is still getting hot. Does this mean the water pump is out?

For the record, the fan is working properly and it is filled properly.
 
When posting something like this, the year and especially the milage help. :) Water pumps don't really "age" they are pretty much just a milage wear item. If you pushing over 100k, then there is a chance its on its way out.

Best replacement is a 99+ Cobra 4.6. Somehow you gain a couple HP as it is more efficient and wont cost much more than any other for you car. I did this to mine and noticed no difference in design, but thats what is recommended a lot. With my 180 thermostat I rarely go above the L.

The t-stat would be the other potential problem. But the water pump should not tick at all so my money is on the pump.

Just to clarify "properly filled", you filled at the crossover, ran it, filled more then drove it around for a bit to shake bubbles in the heads out, then filled again? Just wanna make sure! :)
 
It's a '98 with 95,000 miles, so it is nearing the 100K mark. I figured the water pump was on it ways out.

And, it is filled properly. I've had to do it a couple of times now since I've owned it, so it should be done correctly.

I've heard about using the 99 Cobra pump, and also possibly using the 03 Navi pump...

I guess I'll look for a pump, and watch the temp. carefully in the meantime.

Thanks
 
Hello from GB Mr. Kenosha! Hate to disagree, but not always. Sometimes they can fail and not leak, but yes they typically do. The clicking sound is just not right to begin with. Its been burped right. If there was no clicking I would suspect t-stat.

But if you are going to replace the water pump you may want to think about getting a t-stat too. And I too heard about the 03 pumps, but they are not much better, either will do just fine.

And since you have a 98 you REALLY wanna keep an eye on that gauge. The 97/98 model years have a computer controlled gauge, not direct line. This is why most 97/98s all read at the same level when working right, i.e. on the M. Where as 93-96 owners can report a wider range and be fine. This was done as to not "panic" the driver. Stupid, yes, but it also means the car will lie to you and the gauge may not be an accurate representation of heat. Think of it like you would the gas-gauge with its "anti-slosh" reading.
 
Oh, and forgot to mention that I replaced the t-stat about this time last year, which is why I didn't suspect it. But then again, that's not to say that it couldn't have fouled during the year, especially since the car has been hot a couple of times.

I'm going to plan to replace the water pump and see what happens from that.
 
The t-stat probably is good, but if I was doing this, I would put a new one in. They are cheap and this way you know fore sure. Probably only a 5% chance it is bad, but if you gonna dump all that coolant, why not?
 
I have a '97 w/100K and when mine started going, the Check Engine light came on and the belt was squealing pretty badly.
 
The water pump will not trigger a CE, might want to check the codes.
 
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