13
I think the main reason for this is convenience. It's an easy place to run the water pump. If you ran it out to a fan belt, it would be in the way of the timing belt while doing it, or it would be a really awkward mess trying to work around it. The second reason is for compactness. With the water pump stuck out of the way, it physically makes the engine ...
11
Engine safety. If you lose an accessory belt driven water pump, you're likely to keep driving, thinking the "oh, I just don't have an alternator" while you're busy cooking your engine beyond repair (normally with no temperature notification/change, if anything it'll read cold). When the water pump is on with the timing belt (or geared to crankshaft as is ...
10
It is unlikely that you would be able to drive a car without coolant for three weeks. I suspect what actually happened is that there was a coolant leak, possibly (probably) as a result of the work carried out to your car.
It's likely to have been a small leak and it's taken three weeks for what remained of the coolant to seep away.
What I would say is to ...
9
BMW abandoned their mechanical water pump in the 3 series when they moved to the E90 generation in 2006. The electric pump is the only pump. A quick search reveals that all other typical cooling system components (i.e. thermostat) still exist, so even when the engine is warming up the coolant circulates. This is probably to prevent hot spots which could ...
7
This particular bottle is knows as a degas bottle. The reason it has a strange shape is two fold. First, the bottle needs to fit somewhere and the shape helps that. Second and more important is that these degas bottles hold pressure. The shape reinforces the bottle so that it does not explode.
In cooling systems with degas bottles the coolant does not ...
6
Obviously the timing belt needs to be replaced. Then they could change any followers or guides which mechanically get worn out. I would always recommend getting the water pump changed if it is driven off of the belt, or located in the same vicinity as the belt. The reason for this is, if you have to remove everything to replace the pump (ie: timing cover, ...
6
I think the overheating episode did a permanent damage to your car. A gasket could have cracked or the head could have warped or even cracked, thus allowing water into the engine itself.
Too much heat in an engine can cause serious problems because heat
causes metal to expand. The hotter the engine gets, the tighter
clearances become until there are no more ...
6
The lifespan of a replaced waterpump will vary with quality. You have no way of knowing what type of pump you paid for. Was it a factory new pump, an aftermarket new pump, rebuilt pump or remanufactured pump.
Factory pump is an exact replacement of what the car came with
High quality new aftermarket pump may include improvements to the original design
Low ...
6
Is there as much to gain as what has been achieved with electric fans?
Remember you aren't gaining anything. Just like a belt run fan, each is a parasitic loss of power. When you put an electric water pump on the engine, you are regaining some of the lost power which you didn't have access to in the first place. This will allow for better fuel mileage, etc. ...
6
The W12 engine produced by VW utilizes both mechanical and electric water pumps (underlined with green). According to VW's documentation:
The cooling system of the Audi A8 with W12 engine is made up of the
following components:
Water pump in cylinder block/crankcase driven mechanically by Poly-V belt
Map-controlled electrically operated ...
5
If this looks like your water pump, then yes you can:
The tilt in the pulley is caused not from a broke shaft, but from a worn bushing which the shaft rides upon. This is just one of the symptoms which shows up when the pump is dying a short miserable death. As the bushing wears out, there is created more and more space (slop) which allows the shaft to lilt ...
5
Well, I need to do more studying before I post here. I was under the assumption that the teeth-side of the timing belt was driving the water pump. In fact, the smooth side of the belt is driving the pump, and especially if the belt or pump is very old like in my case. It is possible that the belt is either not causing enough traction to move the pump or ...
5
I've been wondering this too as a lot of overheating related questions come up.
There are 2 ways water pumps fail - leaks and impeller failure. Leaks can typically be seen, so they are easier to diagnose. Impeller failure is difficult to detect.
Typically, the engine will overheat, but the heater core and radiator will still be cold. With a thermostat ...
5
Given that the water pump is in such a bad condition it could be that rest of the timing related parts (idler, tensioner, something else?) is in the same condition. I suspect the previous owner did (if he did) only the belt itself, and not the other parts. I would recommend you to apply the full kit.
Should you decide to estimate the condition your timing ...
5
I would say you should replace the belt and tensioner while you are in there and everything is apart. If you really want to put the old belt back on I would consider:
How close the vehicle is to the recommended service interval
Dry rot (flip it over and bend it. Look for cracks)
physical damage (chipped teeth)
Wear in the back of the belt
Tensioner ...
5
There appear to be three problems here:
Loss of coolant, and
Overheating, and also
No heat.
That's a lot of problems to have show up all at once, so it would be good if we could find a common element that would explain all of them.
Coolant loss means that there must be a leak someplace. If you refill the cooling system and it stays full then you might ...
4
Cheap waterpumps - like any mechanical component - can fail quickly, sometimes this happens. Do you have a warranty on the replacement pump?
Also, are you certain that the water pump has been replaced? It's not too uncommon for some mechanics to skip the water pump replacement because the pump "still looks good" only for it to fail shortly after the timing ...
4
The 3.8 Natural Aspirated Engine was a rather solid design and were rarely known to blow head gaskets. Their weak point seemed to be the plastic Intake Manifold. Here are the three possible causes to your issue.
If you are 100% sure that it's oil in the coolant then remove the intake manifold and check the Intake Manifold Gaskets upper and lower for any ...
4
They are basically the same thing. Use the gasket and put the gasket maker on either side of it. It will do the same job and work just as well. Don't put it on too thick, just enough to hold the gasket in place on the block or on the pump. Should leave you in good stead.
4
In answer to the original question you asked, yes, I happen to know for a fact that the Mk3 Volkswagen Golf VR6 uses an electric water pump. The purpose of this pump is to keep hot coolant circulating after the engine has been shut off to prevent hot spots and heat soak causing damage. However, this is used in tandem with a mechanical pump which runs all ...
4
In most vehicles the seal on the water pump will fail when the bearings go bad, or something else bad happens to the pump. Water leaking from the pump is almost always an indication that the pump is shot and needs to be replaced.
Of course, also check all your hoses for bursts or clamps that have come off. The water might look like its coming from the ...
4
There are typically two ways to tell if a water pump is bad.
The water pump won't turn.
The water pump is leaking.
In the event of a water pump not turning, the belt driving it will usually be ruined so that's usually easily diagnosed. With the belt off of it, the water pump should be able to be turned by hand. If the water pump is leaking, that's also ...
4
It it was my car, I'd do the timing gear whilst it was apart. I'm not a fan of reusing timing belts if they have to be disturbed plus it's a good opportunity to do it whilst everything is already in pieces. If you don't do it now and the belt fails, you'll only be angry with yourself.
4
The 98 Mazda 626 owners manual states the timing belt should be replaced every 105k miles, or every 60k miles if you drive in extremely cold weather (indirect source https://mazda626.net/topic/31256-timing-belt-change-interval/). (Note: I'm using miles not km)
Given the vehicles age I'm betting its safe to say you're over 105k. So if you havent had the belt ...
4
While I know you're asking about fit specifically, keep the following in mind, which I found on a forum discussing the differences between the N54 and N52:
Both engines have an electric coolant pump, but the N54 has a 400W pump (9000 l/h), while the N52 has a 200W pump (7000 l/h)
While the 528 is normally aspirated and probably doesn't need that extra ...
3
I would check the water pump, it sounds like the blades may have corroded away. From your description it certainly sounds like the water isn't circulating.
3
I'm in general agreement with Ben.
Cooling fan not working. The description of high vehicle speed = okay and low speed not means your fan isn't working for you. This could be a problem with fan controller, fan motor or temp sender used to turn on fan.
Note, the fan shrouds matter big! Ensure they are sealed off to radiator correctly.
Please check the ...
3
Historically the water pump was at the front of the engine in close proximity to the vehicle radiator, when vehicles were mostly rear wheel drive. There is no real advantage with todays vehicles but they continue to be at the front of the engine. Using the timing belt to drive the water pump lends itself to compactness at the front end of the engine. Some ...
3
Water pumps are expected to last at least as long as the timing belt change interval. It's a relatively cheap part in a high labor location, so it's common to replace it with the timing belt just to potentially save on labor later on.
It shouldn't fail so rapidly, however, it is possible. Bad parts and early failures do happen sometimes.
3
I had this issue on one of my cars. The impeller on the water pump was plastic and had cracked. The timing belt was spinning the pulley, but the impeller was not necessarily spinning. The new one I put in was metal.
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