lowes dirty water pump

Is it common for water pumps to go out suddenly? - Maintenance/Repairs - Car Talk Community

post by Lisa59 on Jul 10, 2014

I have a 96 Chevy truck that went into the shop recently for something completely unrelated, and shop owner calls me and tells me that the car is leaking radiator fluid. Later he calls and tells me the water pump had to be replaced. The car just had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago and the coolant levels were fine then. No strange noises, no high temp lights. Is it common for water pumps to just up and quit?

post by PvtPublic on Jul 10, 2014

Nothing says it “went out” suddenly. It is possible that the shop saw coolant leaking from the water pump weep hole, and that usually is a precursor to the water pump failing. And yes the leak could have developed in the couple weeks since the oil change.

post by the_same_mountainbike on Jul 10, 2014

Pvt is reading my mind… IMHO the shop did you a favor.

post by circuitsmith on Jul 10, 2014

A very small leak from the water pump might not change the coolant level noticeably for a long time, at first.

post by Lisa59 on Jul 10, 2014

There was no coolant level in the reservoir and radiator was halfway empty.

post by ken_green on Jul 10, 2014

And… here’s another thing about pressure related leaks. it is very common… to see only one leak at first…fix that leak …then see a second…then ( in my case ) fix that and find…leak number three ! Pressure has everything to do with each potential leak actaully leaking, the weakest will naturally be the first to give way. Then, when pressure builds anew …

post by Whitey on Jul 10, 2014

When was the water pump last replaced? Water pump failure is not as common as it used to be, but they still happen, especially on vehicles that don’t have timing belts. On cars with timing belts, the water pumps get replaced every 60,000-90,000 miles before they get a chance to fail.