basically a dumb question. but what job does the water pump do for the basic v8 chevy small block engine.

and how do you know if its gone bad?


ive heard about a weeping hole taht collent would flow out of if its bad. i see a small puddle under my car of coolent. nto a lot jsut enoguh for a slow drip drip over night. i dont think its from any hoses.

so can anyone explain the water pump in children terms?

 

go here it explains how a water pump works...http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system4.htm

yeah when fluid comes out of the weeping hole that means the seals are gone inside of it, which in turn indicates a bad pump

 

In "child terms": http://www.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system4.htm

You will know. Your car will overheat, just monitor your temp guage if you have it. Your weeping holes will leak when the gaskets are worn

Note were the leak is under your car and see whats above it. Heres a couple of common things that cause that little dribble your talking about. 1) Tighten up those screw clamps around your upper and lower radiator hoses. They will cause little drips. 2) Or it could be the temperature sending unit thats threaded into the side of your heads (usually on the drivers side) Make sure thats tightened. 3) Then check to make sure your thermostat housing is tightend down. 4) And also check around your water pump were it mates up to the block for wetness, cause your seals could have went bad too.

 

sounds familiar

 

ok thanks guys. if left un-noticed or untreated. what could a bad water pump do to your engine?

 

well if you let it go bad it will not be able to pump coolant (the purpose of it) through the motor which would make it overheat and either blow a gasket or, warp the head and still blow a gasket. they are cheap, you can get a stock on from a parts store for like 20-40 bucks. find out where the leak is coming from and if it is the pump replace it, it is pretty easy to do. good luck!!