Car Water Pump
Your car water pump is an important part of your car that works to keep your car from overheating. How? The car water pump, which is powered by a belt, moves water out of the radiator and into your car's engine, which ultimately keeps the temperature lower in your engine. These car water pumps are designed differently for certain vehicles but they all generally work the same.
Where the Water Pump is Located
You can find your vehicle's water pump either in the front or side of your car. The water pump should be located right behind your car's fan belt. The car water pump appears similar to an octopus as it contains a large, and distinct, disc-shaped center and multiple arms (hollow pipes) sticking out. One of these arms will be connected to your vehicle's radiator, and one will be connected to your car's engine. The rest of the arms are used to support the car water pump and keep it from shifting out of place. You should also notice an axle and a fan belt.
How does it Work?
When your engine is running, you fan belt will be turning. The fan belt will then turn the axle which is in the middle of your vehicle's water pump. The car water pump functions by an outward force. The axle connects to multiple blades that continuously turn as the axle does. Suction is created from everything processing properly and this will cause water to be sucked up from the radiator.
When the water gets sucked out of the radiator, it has to get to your engine. While the water is surrounding the outside wall it will go down a drain that delivers the water to the engine block. Once it arrives to your car's engine block, it goes through the cylinder heads, and then filters back to the radiator. This cycle will then repeat itself to continuously keep the engine cooled down with the same water.
Signs of a Bad Water Pump
A car water pump has a small opening (referred to as a weep hole) that is found on the side of your car's water pump. Some are designed to be on the bottom, facing the ground. The small opening should have a gasket keeping it tightly sealed. After the car water pump is used for a while it will start to wear out and it will cause the gasket to deteriorate.
If the car water pump does wear out, it will cause coolant to start to drip out of the small opening as it's no longer completely sealed by the gasket. When this happens, the water pump will no longer work properly. If you ever notice coolant leaking from the weep hole when your engine isn't in use, it's important to hurry to a mechanic. If you don't, there's a possibility that your vehicle will overheat and this can do much worse damage that could cost a lot more to repair.
Replacing a Car Water Pump
It can be a very difficult job to replace a car water pump. Depending on your vehicle's design, your engine may even have to be removed, which is a strenuous task that even licensed mechanics hate is performing. If you decide to get a professional mechanic to do the job, you could be looking at spending $300-600 easily. The water pump should cost around $100-150 depending on your car, and the labor will easily be a few hundred dollars.
If you prefer to do the work yourself, you'll definitely need the tools and experience. As long as you've had previous encounters with replacing/swapping parts under the hood of your car, you stand a good chance of doing a clean water pump replacement. You can find guides that will help tutor you through the process online as well. These guides are in step to step format so you can keep up with the process without running into any serious issues.
No matter what, it's important that you fix any problems with your vehicle's water pump as soon as you find out about it. This can be a very dangerous problem to continue driving with as it can easily cause your engine to overheat, which could in return lead to thousands of dollars in repairs needed.
