5 SYMPTOMS OF A BAD WATER PUMP
purpose
The purpose of the water pump is to circulate coolant throughout the cooling system.
location
The water pump will usually be located behind the timing chain cover or outside of the engine near the serpentine belt.
symptoms
check engine light
The first symptom of a bad water pump is having the check engine light on. You won’t get a code specifically for a bad water pump, since most water pumps are mechanical. However, you might retrieve a P0217, indicating that the engine is overheating (engine overheat condition). This code could pop up if the ECT (engine coolant temperature sensor) senses the engine coolant temperature getting too hot.
Ensure you can access your car's diagnostic codes by acquiring an OBD2 scanner here.
You can still have a faulty water pump with no check engine light so let's move on to the next symptom.
Leak from the weep hole
The second symptom of a bad water pump is noticing a leak coming from the weep hole. When the seals inside the water pump start to fail, the coolant will leak past them and go out of the weep hole. The weep hole was designed to let you know that the water pump is starting to go bad. There have been instances where after-market water pumps leak from the weep hole. That’s why I recommend using OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to save you time and money.
overheating engine
The third symptom your car could be experiencing is the engine overheating. You’ll notice the temperature gauge on hot or in worse situations, you might see smoke coming out of the engine. This could happen if the water pump fails to circulate the coolant throughout the system to cool down the engine.
WHINING sound
The fourth symptom of a defective water pump is hearing a whining noise. This happens when the bearings inside the water pump start to fail or the pulley attached to the water pump is loose. This will create a back-and-forth motion, creating a whining noise.
heater not warming up
The fifth symptom of a bad water pump is noticing the heater not warming up. The heater in your car works by having hot coolant going through the heater core, which transfers hot air inside the car by a blower motor. If the water pump fails, it will never be able to circulate coolant to the heater core, resulting in poor heating performance.
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