Noisy Water pump

[Spanish S2]

On my last outing in the S, I noticed a noise from the engine that I hadn't heard before. Took it to my trusty mechanic, who diagnosed worn bearings on water-pump. Have got one on order, but until it arrives, do you guy's think it would be O K to drive the S ?

[phillpot]

Could last for "ages" ???

Main problem is that if bearing wear gets too bad shaft will "slop" around which will let the seal leak.... keep an eye on coolant level!

[glenrobbo]

Hi Graham,
I would strongly advise you not to risk it.
The water pump could either seize, or the gland could fail. In both cases you compromise the cooling system & risk overheating the engine.

Have you got an alternative means of transport until the pump is replaced?

[steve j]

My waterpump broke down in France , it almost ruined a trip to Spa. Fortunately a spare pump was produced luckily I had no other damage. I would change the pump before you have further problems.

[Sandgrounder]

Hi Graham, drove mine for a about a year with a squealing water pump, before getting it changed. Having said that, I might have been lucky. Plus my coolant did require regular top-ups!

Graham

[Alan461]

Just checked the water pump bearings on the S2 tonight and found maybe 10 thou play, don't remember any before. How much bu99eration is fitting a replacement?

[AutoAndy]

Alan461 said:

Just checked the water pump bearings on the S2 tonight and found maybe 10 thou play, don't remember any before. How much bu99eration is fitting a replacement?

...I am sure Steve though it was a doddle...



...in a car park in Calais...

Edited by AutoAndy on Wednesday 12th November 21:42

[glenrobbo]

It's a quite straightforward job Alan, as long as none of the screws shear off
Just give them a good soak with plusgas beforehand and shock them to free any that are seized.
Good luck.

[greymrj]

Presumably yours is a 2.9? In which case the job is actually easier in that you do not have the thermostat housing mounted on the pump casting, but on the inlet manifold. If it is on the pump casting there are a couple of through bolts which get corroded inside and have to be removed very carefully to avoid possible damage to thin alloy casings. The thermostat housings are getting hard to get hold of.
If the bolts do come free it is quite an easy job.

[jned2]

Changed mine about 6 months ago and apart from shearing one bolt, which thankfully drilled out easily, it wasn't too difficult. The biggest problem I had was bleeding the system afterwards. Good luck.

[Kitchski]

Chances of it failing totally and ruining the engine are practically non-existent, but you'd still be taking a risk you probably don't need to take.

[steve j]

Alan461 said:

Just checked the water pump bearings on the S2 tonight and found maybe 10 thou play, don't remember any before. How much bu99eration is fitting a replacement?

Alan, as you can see from the pic on this thread, it can be tricky to get to the bolts There are 12 bolts on the S2, plus a couple of hoses, so not to difficult. I really got stuck into it in Calais as the trip was the S club 2012 to Spa and I wasn`t going home

[Alan461]

Cheers fellas, enough technical and moral support for the job to run sweet
Bonnet hinge mod allows easy access, shouldn't need to involve yoga or twister.



Did anyone spot bypass hose thrombosis?
Massive ball bearing stuffed down the hose at the swirlpot end,
water pump has managed to suck it near all the way down the hose!