Ever had a water pump impellor fail?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What do you think of Elon Musk? Have your say | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 30 Jul 2014 21:09
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

I'd appreciate it if this is left here just for a bit, it's not strictly a technical query.

Just wondered what the chances are of waterpump impellor failing.

My 54 plate 1.9 Berlingo gets hot easily on the motorway or going uphill. Previously I could/did on occasions, drive with foot buried in the carpet and it would not move from just under 90C.

It's had a new radiator, 2 thermostats, 3 coolant changes, and the pump itself is only 2 years old.

Currently I have cut slots in the thermostat surround to allow more flow and that keeps things reasonable. I had to do 90 to get the temp to start rising, and it took longer.

I'm all out of ideas and will book it in for a water pump and timing belt change (Might as well get them both done at once), but that is £500 I could do without spending.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 21:17
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - Manatee

Fan working? I doubt that's relevant anyway at 90mph.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 22:22
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

Fan working? I doubt that's relevant anyway at 90mph.

I did have a bit of a saga with the fan, detailed in technical section, but that was a seperate issue!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 21:19
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - Cyd

It is possible for water pumps to fail. Impellors can corrode, errode or even become detacted from the drive shaft. Cheap aftermarket pumps would probably be most susceptible to the latter.

You should be sure it's not just an air lock before you lash out that kind of money.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 22:24
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

It is possible for water pumps to fail. Impellors can corrode, errode or even become detacted from the drive shaft. Cheap aftermarket pumps would probably be most susceptible to the latter.

You should be sure it's not just an air lock before you lash out that kind of money.

The heater always gets hot, and it soon cools down if I back off to 60ish so I think(?) the system is bled properly. I've done it enough times now... :-)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 23:10
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - SteveLee

If doesn;t have to be an aftermarket pump that's at fault. There are plenty of OE water pumps known for failing early with skipping or melted plastic impellers - Mercedes Benz and Jaguar are just two of the many offenders.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Jul 2014 23:12
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - focussed

Yes- On a BMW E34 520i- overheated quickly from idle, heater stopped working.

Horrible plastic water pump impeller broke up, hope I got all the bits out.

BMW not helpful - had to buy a modified exchange water pump, not pleased, penny pinching on parts quality does not encourage postive thoughts on buying more of their products.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Jul 2014 10:42
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - YG2007

VAG water pumps are liable to failure if not changed with a cambelt kit replacement.

I had a V6 petrol mondeo a few years back fail on a test drive for a customer. Fortunately I was able to get the customer to stop the vehicle. We let it cool, limped back to garage. A water pump fitted problem solved. Customer lost (but better than him coming back demanding a new engine etc..or cash back on a £ 1500 car as it was then). Car sold a few days later with no come backs. I guess plastic impellors don't corrode but can detach from the shaft

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 18:42
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

Thanks for replying everyone, as no-one has said "Don't be silly it's probably just xxxxx" I will get it booked in and update this thread with any new info!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 19:23
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - John F

Yes - son's Citroen Xantia. I seem to remember it had plastic vanes which had disintegrated. Perhaps they continued to fit it to your Berlingo model? Yet another example of the motor industry saving a few pennies at the expense of a reputation for reliability.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 20:32
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

Yes - son's Citroen Xantia. I seem to remember it had plastic vanes which had disintegrated. Perhaps they continued to fit it to your Berlingo model? Yet another example of the motor industry saving a few pennies at the expense of a reputation for reliability.

Thanks John - more than likely!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 20:39
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - double_tap_that

My grandad had a 1997 mk3 Astra, it was making a "whirring" sound for some time, and with my grandads attitude, it was, well, if it aint broke, why fix it?, anyway, needless to say, it was the water pump failing, ending in total disaster, flung the cam belt off, and caused massive engine damage.

Scrapped next day, as it was just not worth the money to repair it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 22:28
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - Wackyracer

My grandad had a 1997 mk3 Astra, it was making a "whirring" sound for some time, and with my grandads attitude, it was, well, if it aint broke, why fix it?, anyway, needless to say, it was the water pump failing, ending in total disaster, flung the cam belt off, and caused massive engine damage.

Scrapped next day, as it was just not worth the money to repair it.

That sounds very similar to a relative of mine who decided that it was not important to change a leaking waterpump on his mk3 escort, His theory being that water was cheaper than a water pump. In the end the water had caused the bearing to fail and the pump jammed and broke the timing belt. The result being bent valves etc. Like your grandad that car got scrapped after he left it on my drive for too long.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Aug 2014 23:20
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - double_tap_that

Seems that in the good old years, 80s/90s, cars were easy to work on and you can look at an engine and see what does what etc...

Nowadays its as complex as a woman...Impossible to work out!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Aug 2014 21:10
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

Seems that in the good old years, 80s/90s, cars were easy to work on and you can look at an engine and see what does what etc...

Nowadays its as complex as a woman...Impossible to work out!

This is a non turbo, indirect injection diesel - one of the last vehicles to have such a basic lump and one of reasons I bought it! Even with this issue and with the gauge hovering around (But not near or over) the red, it made a 1700 mile trip to the Pyrenees and back with two motorbikes and a hefty trailer in tow! Pretty tough old lump but I'd like to get it sorted as things like this just bug me...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Aug 2014 16:18
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - John F

In the end the water had caused the bearing to fail and the pump jammed and broke the timing belt. The result being bent valves etc. Like your grandad that car got scrapped after he left it on my drive for too long.

Poor design. One of the reasons I decided never to change my A6 V6 cambelt was because the water pump is driven by the flat, not toothed, side of the long strong belt. In the very rare event of pump bearing seizure only the most insensitive of drivers would fail to notice a problem before the belt fried.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Aug 2014 10:21
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - corax

I'm all out of ideas and will book it in for a water pump and timing belt change (Might as well get them both done at once), but that is £500 I could do without spending.

Is your engine working properly? No flat spots or feeling gutless?

The reason I ask is because my old Audi Tdi got very hot climbing steep hills. Nothing wrong with the cooling system, but I knew that the engine wasn't producing the power it should.

Anyway, a vacuum pipe had detached from the back of the ECU, so it wasn't getting the right information from the engine. It was reconnected, the engine was noticeably stronger (as much as a 90bhp engine can) and no more overheating.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 2 Aug 2014 21:13
Ever had a water pump impellor fail? - mss1tw

Is your engine working properly? No flat spots or feeling gutless?

The reason I ask is because my old Audi Tdi got very hot climbing steep hills. Nothing wrong with the cooling system, but I knew that the engine wasn't producing the power it should.

Anyway, a vacuum pipe had detached from the back of the ECU, so it wasn't getting the right information from the engine. It was reconnected, the engine was noticeably stronger (as much as a 90bhp engine can) and no more overheating.

Actually apart from this I couldn't be more pleased with how well it runs - see post above - it's not quick but pokey and responsive enough around town. It will do 90mph with a run up :D

Between 50 and 70 is the only place I find myself thinking "A turbo would be nice" I thnk because it's the no-mans land between max torque and max power??

Oh and some hills!

Edited by mss1tw on 02/08/2014 at 21:14

Reply | Report as offensive | Link