URGENT PLEASE.. Can i drive my LCR if water pump has/is gone/going??

[DGF264]

Driving home..could smell something..Spirited drive later and temp gauge is at 120 degrees and beeping at me!! fan kicked in, temp dropped to normal, bonnet opened and the smell i 'think' was coolant as there was steam coming from round/from the coolant bottle. Steady drive home temp gauge stayed at 90..climbed a small hill, tiny bit of boost and gauge started to rise again!

Cambelt and pump were done (well, the book is stamped!) at 60,000 (has 82,000 on now) When i had thermostat and green temp sensor done mechanic said it looked like the pump was a plastic blade, and not the metal one i hoped for

Anyway, mechanic said aslong as i keep an eye on the gauge it should be ok to drive till i get it fixed (which i dont know when that will be!) What could/will happen guys.. And what price am i looking at for the metal pump replacement if thats what it is??

(mods are in my sig)

Cheers in advance, Darren

 

[lj03]

Driving home..could smell something..Spirited drive later and temp gauge is at 120 degrees and beeping at me!! fan kicked in, temp dropped to normal, bonnet opened and the smell i 'think' was coolant as there was steam coming from round/from the coolant bottle. Steady drive home temp gauge stayed at 90..climbed a small hill, tiny bit of boost and gauge started to rise again!

Cambelt and pump were done (well, the book is stamped!) at 60,000 (has 82,000 on now) When i had thermostat and green temp sensor done mechanic said it looked like the pump was a plastic blade, and not the metal one i hoped for

Anyway, mechanic said aslong as i keep an eye on the gauge it should be ok to drive till i get it fixed (which i dont know when that will be!) What could/will happen guys.. And what price am i looking at for the metal pump replacement if thats what it is??

(mods are in my sig)

Cheers in advance, Darren

hi not wise to drive it with water pump gone as this can damage the head wich would cost LOADS OF DOSH if its a simple case of driving it home then should be ok as long as temp dont go in red for any amount of time if it does turn off and give it a good 30-45 mins to cool down Dont put any water in it untill its cooled right down if you do it can crack the head...... a water pump with metal impeller shouldnt cost you more than £50 but its alot of work to fit as cam belt etc needs to be removed while your there best fit new cambelt pulleys and tensioners cost more to do but will save you loads in long run....hope this helps if any one disagrees will stand corrected..

 

[LEE69]

No don't drive it no water is being circulated and will end up a big bill.

 

[Pyro]

 

[cupraslayer]

Wouldn't drive it. If it gets too hot it can damage the head. Plus you can cook the rest.
Not a wise thing to do unless you have a deep pocket full of £ notes. Happened on the m6 to me when I had my old escort. Put it this way...... It didn't get back on the road again.

 

[DGF264]

Nightmare!!! Day off not till thur and have to drive to work tomorrow! I 'think' my coolant bottle looks emptier now.. Could this be right? If so do i just top up with water (as i dont have any coolant!) Anybody know any good Durham based garages (as thats where i work) Thanks for the help so far, and Sam that little smiley made my heart sink lol!

Mate just txt (not my usual mechanic) can do waterpump/cambelt for about £325 and he can do it thursday... Ahhhh what to do!!

 

[lj03]

you can just top it up with water.......coolant on the other hand will keep temp down a bit better but not by much....check to see if it is waterpump and not coolant bottle split....do this by checking top hose when its been running for 10mins see if top hose is warm/hot if it is then you do have water circulating ie water pump working... if cold and can be squeezed easy water pump needs sorting....£325 for fix and cambelt is very good price

 

[DGF264]

lj03 tell me a bit more about checking hoses etc as ill do it now! Which 'top hose' do i squeeze etc etc! (as there was vapour/steam coming from coolant bottle when gauge was up to 120!) Could this be a split or just the system breathing?? Cheers guys...

 

[DGF264]

Squeezing top hose (above right hand side rad fan) its soft to squeeze, feels hot, and when i squeeze it water goes into the coolant bottle from the top pipe that is attached to it??

 

[lj03]

you have a hose at the top of the radiator(top hose) and hose at the bottom this is how water is circulated round engine and cooled the top hose as mentioned is the one you want to check the steam you mention is because the water circulating the engine is not cooling properly (wich could also indicate thermostat failiure) or sticking thermostat the thermostat controlls engine temp if it has stuck either in the closed or open position the engine will over heat as temp is not being regulated......to begin with though just check the top hose connected to the radiator...DO NOT TRY UNSCREWING THE COOLANT BOTTLE TOP UNTILL ENGINE HAS COOLED the water will be boiling and under extreme pressure and will take your skin off mate

 

[lj03]

the hose your talking of is the overflow not right one you need one attached to radiator bout inch and half diameter

 

[lj03]

another way you can check it is when engine cool disconect the top hose it should be connected with jubilee clip once disconected start car if water gets pumped out of that pipe then water pump is working or how would water get pumped out!!!!

 

[lj03]

SORRY you have right hose... getting bit confused myself now if its soft when engine is on then water pump is probably the cause ....can you squeeze it enough so that the pipe comes together???

 

[DGF264]

Like i said above mate, top hose is warm/hot and can be squeezed easy.. just mentioned 'overflow' pipe to try and explain further ie-when i squeeze top warm rad hose, water comes out of the overflow. So what does that mean?? Where does the steam come out of if nothing is split? ie- how is it escaping? where from? And finally, thermo and temp sensor where replaced recently! Will top up in morn

 

[DGF264]

Yeah can squeeze the warm top pipe together mate

 

[lj03]

steam will come from coolant bottle overflow pipe.....and anywhere else it can escape from as i said under extreme pressure would not happen when engine colling system running ok...if you can squeeze that pipe easily then definately the water pump water and steam may also be escaping from the water pump seals wich is why you are loosing coolant.... if this is the case i would personaly have it towed to garage and would definately not drive it untill its fixed

 

[RS6]

LMAO

but no deffo do not drive it

 

[lj03]

you disagree???????

 

[RS6]

???

 

[lj03]

whats the s4 and rld like wanting detection device unsure of wich one to get