How to tell if the water pump has gone bad in an automobile?

Answer 1

Most automobile water pumps have a seal or weep hole that will spill out your coolant to let you know your pump is bad or going bad. The coolant will drain from the water pump instead of elsewhere such as a radiator hose so your not guessing what the problem is.

The warning signs we encountered which led to finding the pump was bad:

a/c stopped blowing cold; the smell of hot rubber and antifreeze filled the cab.

After lifting hood we found antifreeze on everything between the radiator to halfway towards firewall and pouring out from under center of engine (skid plates hid the exact location).

I refilled the radiator with water. The water level held until I restarted the engine. Upon restart, the level dropped rapidly as the coolant and water were drained through the seal or weep hole on water pump.

If it had been a radiator leak or hose leak it would have leaked out before I restarted engine.

Because the Dodge Dakota has over 300,000 miles on it, I plan to replace the water pump with a re-manufactured water pump as well as changing the serpentine belt, any rotted/ damaged hoses and the thermostat and anything else I can get to while everything is taken apart.

I'll re-post the steps I take changing everything and the time it takes to do each as well as the cost of anything I replace.

Advice; keep your radiator fins clean of debris and build up of dust, dirt and mud by spraying the radiator fins with water. If the fins are really dirty, spray a mild soap or degreaser solution on the fins first and let it soak then spray with water. DO NOT use high pressure water as it can bend the vents. Only spray the water straight into radiator, never at an angle. Never let the fins get bent. They are made of soft aluminum which can be bent by hitting a large insect while driving.

If a few fins are bent you can gently straighten them with a flat head screw driver. DO NOT push screwdriver deep between the fins. You can puncture the coils and have to replace the entire radiator. A few bent fins wont hurt the cooling system. A lot of bent fins will not allow the fan nor the air coming from the front of vehicle to flow through and cool the radiator which cools your engine.

**(if you were picking a splinter from your arm you would only go as deep as the splinter. You wouldn't push the tweezers through your arm to the other side. I hope)

If the majority of fins on your radiator are bent, you can buy a fin comb and straighten them all by gently combing them open with an up and down motion.

I hope I've been of some help.

**Take care of your vehicle maintenance and your vehicle will take care of you.

NOTE; I am not a licensed mechanic