Most people who have driven for any length of time have either had to have their water pump replaced or have known someone who has.  The water pump is just one of those parts of your car that goes bad – usually around 100,000 miles or so.  Interestingly enough, the water pump on a car will usually go out before the water pump on a truck – trucks, having larger, more robust engines, usually have larger, more robust water pumps.  In fact, the water pump is usually the first part of the engine to need significant repairs or replacement.  So what does the water pump actually do?

Think about what happens in your car’s engine.  The engine itself is made of steel and small explosions take place in every cylinder.  Explosions generate heat, so your engine gets hot.  Since thousands of those explosions may occur every minute, your engine gets really hot – so hot, in fact, that the steel can warp. Obviously, if this unfortunate scenario occurs, you’re in for a pretty bad day – and some pretty expensive bills – when you take your car into the shop for repairs.

Something has to keep your engine cool enough to keep it from warping.  Enter the mighty little water pump.  The water pump circulates a mixture of water and coolant – also known as antifreeze – through the engine, through the radiator for cooling and then back again.

As the water pump circulates water to and from the engine, the water and coolant mixture picks up heat, taking it away from the engine and cooling the engine down.  That water and coolant mixture then enters the radiator.  The radiator combines a large surface area and the cooling power of a fan to lower the temperature of the water and coolant mixture.  From there, the water pump sends it back to the engine again and the cycle repeats.

The water pump gets its power to run from the engine itself through a series of belts and pulleys.  Depending on the car, the water pump can either be easily accessible and simple to replace or harder to access and complicated to replace.  Unfortunately, the ease of repairing or replacing the water pump doesn’t seem to correlate with the auto models that need these new parts more frequently.

In addition, a thermostat in your engine helps the water pump know when it needs to step up its work to prevent the engine from overheating.  A car that is beginning to “run hot” most likely has a thermostat that’s beginning to fail and needs to be replaced, or it could need more water and coolant.  You’ll need a mechanic to figure out which is the case.  When the water pump fails, the engine will overheat.  If this occurs, you’ll notice the engine temperature climbing and not coming back down.  If this is happening to you, pull over immediately and have your car towed to your mechanic to avoid permanent damage to the car.

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