The water pump and thermostat work together to ensure you have plenty of coolant circulating through your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s engine. The thermostat tracks the engine’s temperature so it knows when to release the coolant. Once the temperature gets too hot, the thermostat opens the coolant valve so the coolant flows out of the radiator.
The water pump takes the coolant and circulates it through the engine. This makes sure that all parts of the engine have their temperatures reduced. Ideally, you always want your engine’s total temperature to be under 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above this temperature will overheat the engine. Here are signs you’ve got a bad pump or thermostat.
Corroded Cooling System Parts
Both of these cooling system parts can get corroded if they start to leak slowly. Whether it is the water pump or thermostat, the coolant can start to leak slowly out of the part and puddle around the part. When this happens, the liquid corrodes the water pump’s metal and the thermostat’s metal housing.
Leaking Engine Coolant
Naturally, this corrosion will start to eat through the water pump or thermostat. What this means is that, eventually, you will end up with coolant on the garage floor. This can be coolant spots or coolant puddles. Either way, it is crucial that you avoid driving your automobile if it’s leaking coolant.
Erratic Temperature Changes
In the case of the thermostat, you may start to see the temperature gauge needle on the dashboard move up and down sporadically. This is a sign that the thermostat can no longer read the engine’s temperature correctly. Consequently, it is releasing the coolant at the wrong times.
Poor Coolant Circulation
In the case of the water pump, you may start to see the temperature gauge needle move into the red zone every time that you drive your car if it is no longer able to circulate the coolant. This can happen if the water pump is older than 10 years and/or has 100,000 miles of service on it.
Overheating Constantly
Finally, either cooling system part will make your engine overheat constantly if it is failing. We recommend that you have your vehicle towed to our shop if the engine is overheating. Driving the automobile could cause serious and expensive damage to the engine.
Call us today if you suspect that your water pump or thermostat is bad. We can replace either part.
