Not good... water pump damage, Suggestions?

[Skapunk4everr]

Hey guys,

Well I replaced my fan clutch the other day and it seemed to be running fine. Then today on my way to campus the Brake light and the battery light come on indicating the alternator and water pump stopping. So, i pull over and to my surprise, the entire water pump was split in half as if someone had knocked it into two pieces, my radiator is damaged as well as the fan and the shroud. here are some pics,

What do you think caused this,(maybe a mis-installation, on my part but I did not use any hammers or anything to create a crack in the pump)

I know i need a new pump, new shroud, and new fan, and maybe a new radiator but I just don't want this to happen again...



















any comments will help thanks guys,

Andy-

[Gerardjg]

WOW-- Looks like something was in the pump and jammed the blades.

[yodawill2000]

That is BIZZARE !!!!Could uber overtightened belts snap that pump housing like that ??Very weird indeed.

[SteveTheTech]

Could be overtightened, could have been loose. You alwaysneed to make sure that the coupler volts are tight more than once as you tighten them the already tightened ones are no loner tight. The fan may have been out of balance. It really looks like the fan may have been too tight.

I have seen couplers snap before but never to extent of taking the shaft of the WP with it. That does not look like a cheap repair.

Good Luck

[Skapunk4everr]

Yeah... I now that I think about it, I think it is a combination of an off-balance, and the then the tension of the belt added to it to create the final snap.

Whats a good rule of thumb for the tension in the belts, I know they need to be just tight enough to avoid slipping, but how will i know its overtightened?, there was still s small amount of flexibility when I put the belt back on.


Modified by Skapunk4everr at 10:30 AM 9/25/2008

[coolyun_98]

Did you have an overheat? Better check if head gasket is ok.

For the next few month, monitor the quality of your engine oil and the level of your coolant. If your engine oil is milky or you keep loosing coolant, there is a strong possibility that the head gasket is damaged.

[Skapunk4everr]

no, I don't believe I had an over heat luckily when it happened, I killed the motor and coasted into a parking structure, then had it towed back to my place.

I will keep an eye on it though, god knows when I will have the time to fix it.

[GerryO]

Those photos are amazing. So many severely damaged parts. Were any bolts loose or missing when you took things apart and did you replace only the clutch, re-using your old fan? Does the fan attach to clutch only one-way?

Time for some Loctite? A bad WP casting?

I was able to use a belt tension gauge on two of the three belts; AC and Alternator, but not the PS. Belts that are too tight won't squeal, but they sure will cause belts and bearings to wear more rapidly.

[Skapunk4everr]

well I put everything back per FSM.

And honestly, I feel that it was a combination between the pump ready to go, and my just adding that tiny bit of adjustment by removing and adding the fan clutch. No bolts were loose or missing, and I replaced all bolts tight to hold. I just need some advice on what NOT to do this time around...

[coolyun_98]

If I remember correctly, I make sure the water pump and its pulley are tigthen to correct torque before tighten the belt. Maybe this little procedure will help...

[yodawill2000]

no, I don't believe I had an over heat luckily when it happened, I killed the motor and coasted into a parking structure, then had it towed back to my place.

I will keep an eye on it though, god knows when I will have the time to fix it.

Please tell us you had it towed with the front wheels rolling and not the rear. Or a flatbed.

[Jakw]

I suggest you purchase my car and have me deliver it to you. Low miles on the engine and so on...

[Skapunk4everr]

oh i had it towed on a flatbed for sure. How much for your car? and what year is it.

[Jakw]

93. 70k on a jdm engine, 230k on body. 60k done, new tires, brakes done a few months ago, HID kit. Interior is nice, paint is kinda beat, and there's a few dings. I don't even really know what I'm asking for it. We can talk about that.If you want, go ahead and email me. [email protected]

[Skapunk4everr]

ok bad news...

Ran into a problem, I need to remove the crank pulley, but i cannot get a good angle on it with my impact wrench because of the a/c cooling unit.

I do now have a large breaker bar to do it manually, but i need to somehow access the flywheel so I can lock the crank in place. Any suggestions??

[GerryO]

ok bad news...

Ran into a problem, I need to remove the crank pulley, but i cannot get a good angle on it with my impact wrench because of the a/c cooling unit.

I do now have a large breaker bar to do it manually, but i need to somehow access the flywheel so I can lock the crank in place. Any suggestions??

One of the recommended methods is to loosen the starter in order to be able to wedge something into the flywheel teeth, but it would be just my luck to break a flywheel tooth and it's nice to remove/disturb as few things as possible.

My son can up with the idea of wrapping a fairly small diameter vinyl coated stranded cable type dog leash a couple of turns around the crank pulley/harmonic balancer and attaching the swivel clasp end to a frame member. Makes it a one-person job, both loosening and tightening, and be sure to first hit the bolt with plenty of penetrating oil and give it at least overnight to do its' thing.

[Skapunk4everr]

That's a good idea... Ill try that this weekend.

Now the bolt should not be reverse threading or anything crazy like that, just so i don't end up in more trouble.

[picaday]

I had the same problem with a new water pump splitting apart about six months after having it installed as a replacement for the original water pump. I went after the service station that did the work as well as the distributor and the manufacture of the replacement pump. It took about six months to get a full refund of the entire repair bill which was over twenty two hundred dollars Canadian. The conclusion was a there was a manufacturing problem.

[j-30 green machine]

i went through two water pumps for my areostar in three days , the metal on both water pumps (both of the replacement ones)seemed to be: cracked prior, welded together and then spray painted to look new. the last one i put on began seeping fluid anyway, it wouldn't suprise me if a poorly remanufactered water pump is the culprit

[Skapunk4everr]

Yeah, I think that may be part of the problem. The water pump I purchased to replace it is brand new. Still working on getting the crank pulley removed, hopefully this week.

[Skapunk4everr]

Update:

Got the crank pulley off by removing the started and locking the flywheel. Popped off nice and easy.

Got the timing belt cover off and installed new water pump, and put the pulley back on, and timing covers. going to finish the job over the next few days because i want to make sure everything gets put back correctly.

[yodawill2000]

Be sure to torque the crank pulley to spec !I went 5 Lbs over to be sure.

[Skapunk4everr]

Yoda do you remember what ft-lb you used?

[yodawill2000]

165Per this how to he used 160..zerothread?id=198122

[Skapunk4everr]

Well the car starts up good and seems to be working ok. Fluid levels are fine but there is still one issue.

When I am driving around the block, the is a clanking noise that comes from the top of the motor near the back of the plenum.

Could this be a timing issue? I did not remove my belt or adjust any timing at all and the belt was replaced about 30,000 ago and still looks to be in good shape. Ill try to get a sound clip up

[SteveTheTech]

Is the noise coming from the back of the plenum or from the transmission. Are you sure that nothing is damaged inside the bellhousing?

Does the noise match RPM speed or is it random? Does anything effect the noise (load,heat,throttle position)?

[GerryO]

When I am driving around the block, the is a clanking noise that comes from the top of the motor near the back of the plenum. Ill try to get a sound clip up

Only when the car is being driven and the starter is tight?

Or sort of a loud ticking sound, when the engine is idling too? The car/engine had been sitting quite a long time? Try adding about half a quart of 20-50 weight synthetic oil.

[Skapunk4everr]

Sorry, double post.

[Skapunk4everr]

The noise happens only when i punch the throttle. It actually occurs when the car is in park and neutral as well. The started is on nice and tight, and it is definitely coming from the back of the plenum. Here are a few videos to try and give you guys an idea of what it sounds like. And yeah the car was sitting for about 4 months.

This one is of when I punch the throttle. http://s83.photobucket.com/alb...2.flv

This one is when I rev it slowly the noise is not there. http://s83.photobucket.com/alb...3.flv

I am going to add the 20-50 weight synthetic oil right now.

[GerryO]

The noise happens only when i punch the throttle. I am going to add the 20-50 weight synthetic oil right now.

If adding the synthetic oil is going to help, things should get quieter after idling the engine for about 5 minutes.

I haven't listened to your files yet and the origins of noises under the hood can be hard to pin-point. Motor mount? Alternator? AC pump? PS pump?