Think Me Water Pump is, .. ****ed?

[Dum*P*ster]

Righty, think I may have a lil prob..

My Water Pump!

So, every 2-3 weeks I check my Fluid Levels, Brake..oil..Gearbox.. Radiator..Overflow bottle.

BUT! Every time I check my Overflow bottle it's always damn empty..However, the radiator is never empty.. (Takes about 3 months before its empty if I dont top it up)

I was lookin at Morts "How To Guide" to replace the pump.. Seems easy to do.. But, is mine shagged? If the car sits idle at red lights it will reach Half temp in 10-15 secs..then thermo kicks in

I have taken some vids of my engine , please check !

[Morton]

Looks like the water pump is working just fine.

It's not unusual for a car to slowly drink water - mine does it over time, maybe a litre every couple of months in winter.

You'll probably find that due to the unusually hot weather up north recently, your car runs naturally hot. Then when you park it, the engine continues to heat up the coolant, and it purges into the overflow tank. When the overflow tank fills up, it then dumps coolant out of the purge valve and onto the ground underneath the car.

Then as the engine cools down, it draws water back in through the overflow bottle until it is stable, and as such you slowly lose water.

You can run the purge valve hose into another bottle (any sort of bottle will do) to catch the overflow water, and then see if that's where it's all going. That's what I do

If you want to test your water pump, simply take off your serpentine belt and play with the water pump pulley. If the pulley spins around smoothly, it's fine. If there's any lateral play in the pulley, or it sounds a little grindy, then you probably need a new one before it throws a bearing

[Dum*P*ster]

ahh, great.. Load of my mind

will defiantly get a bottle and see how much im losin

[Morton]

When was the last time you properly flushed your system? It's possible some galleries are clogged up too.

I'd suggest getting two good bottles of coolant flush, and running them through - then changing your thermostat for a 180deg or even 172deg number to keep temperatures down

[Dum*P*ster]

The last flush I did to it was when I first got the car..Start of this year,

But, I don't think I done a great job.

What I done:

Unpressurized the System, by releasing the Valve Air pressure thing.
Un-did the Clamps on the Bottom hose from the Radiator, and it poor out :P..

Once it stopped.. I put it back on, started the car for the fluid to move again..

Then I put the coolant in.. Started the car again.. left it for 5min before it got too hot, then repeated again

[Dum*P*ster]

And, I think my engine is Series 2?? (Not sure lol) So Im not sure where the Thermostat hides :P

[Morton]

lol, series 2 thermostat is right up the front.

Next time for a flush:

0) remove thermostat, and refit housing
1) remove bottom hose from the radiator and let the water pour out
2) replace hose
3) remove top hose from thermostat housing
4) shove a hose in the end, and force water into the radiator at a decent pressure
5) keep doing this 'till the water pouring back out the thermostat housing is clean.
6) add a bottle of coolant flush to your now clean system
7) refit everything minus thermostat
8) drive car for 45min
9) park car, allow to cool
10) drain everything, do the thing with the hose again 'till it all runs clear

then rinse and repeat as many times as you want until you're satisfied everything is clean. I've done this process three times to my V8, and it's pretty damn clean now Coolant is still bright green after 5000ks.

[Dum*P*ster]

Should ad.. When I first bought the car, there was Water in the Radiator :P .. but that Rad is long gone.. It had a crack hidden and would leak when the engine was hot

[Dum*P*ster]

lol, series 2 thermostat is right up the front.

Next time for a flush:

0) remove thermostat, and refit housing
1) remove bottom hose from the radiator and let the water pour out
2) replace hose
3) remove top hose from thermostat housing
4) shove a hose in the end, and force water into the radiator at a decent pressure
5) keep doing this 'till the water pouring back out the thermostat housing is clean.
6) add a bottle of coolant flush to your now clean system
7) refit everything minus thermostat
8) drive car for 45min
9) park car, allow to cool
10) drain everything, do the thing with the hose again 'till it all runs clear

then rinse and repeat as many times as you want until you're satisfied everything is clean. I've done this process three times to my V8, and it's pretty damn clean now Coolant is still bright green after 5000ks.

oo thanks Glad you here to teach me these things
My car would thank you ;p hopefully one day you will get to see it hehe

[excalibur]

also check that your radiator cap is holding pressure.

I thought mine might have been shagged took it to get checked and pressure tested found out it was just the radiator cap $10 bucks later all fixed !!!!

[centy]

check for a leak in the recover bottle.
if you use coolant a uv light shoud show up any leaks.