Water pump or...?
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Water pump or...?
Hi everybody! I have started to hear a grinding sound coming from water pump location on my 2007 RX-350 with 120K miles on it. This could be a water pump going bad, but what is really confusing me is absolutely no coolant leak at all. It's been for a 5-6 months since the some sound has appeared and now it's getting louder. My mechanic did a quick check by removing the serpentine belt and the noise was gone. It still there (noise) with AC off or on. My question is: Is there absolutely HAS TO BE a leak of the coolant when the water pump goes bad? Maybe I hear a sound of some other spinning parts going bad like tensioner or idlers? Thank you for your help.
#2
if the bearings are bad, then you could have a noisy pump with no leak
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
#3
Moderator
if the bearings are bad, then you could have a noisy pump with no leak
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
if the bearings are bad, then you could have a noisy pump with no leak
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
but the puzzling thing here is how bad your mechanic is: The water pump runs off the timing belt, not the serp belt. thus; if he removed the serp belt and the noise went away, it cannot be your water pump, it has to be something on the path of the serp belt.
So where to go from here. find a new mechanic, cuz if he didnt know that, he shouldnt even change your oil.
Last edited by Alfa777z; 03-21-15 at 02:02 PM.
#6
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
#7
IMHO, a noisy pump bearing leads to a failed pump bearing which leads to a failed coolant seal and a coolant leak. It's your money (and this is not a cheap repair) and if you won't be taking any long trips you can wait until the seal fails, but engine over-heating and engine damage become a possibility it the pump is not replace now.
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#8
Your mechanic should be able to answer your question. One time I had a noisy water pump in a Toyota Corolla and no coolant leak. The grinding noise was really bad, sounded like if you have a bearing spinning with no oil. Eventually the water pump busted from the bearing neck creating a big mess leaving me stranded.
#9
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Your mechanic should be able to answer your question. One time I had a noisy water pump in a Toyota Corolla and no coolant leak. The grinding noise was really bad, sounded like if you have a bearing spinning with no oil. Eventually the water pump busted from the bearing neck creating a big mess leaving me stranded.
Do you guys believe that this sound can be produced only by a water pump going bad and by nothing else? Thank you all for your help.
Last edited by Alfa777z; 03-21-15 at 01:56 PM.
#10
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
IMHO, a noisy pump bearing leads to a failed pump bearing which leads to a failed coolant seal and a coolant leak. It's your money (and this is not a cheap repair) and if you won't be taking any long trips you can wait until the seal fails, but engine over-heating and engine damage become a possibility it the pump is not replace now.
#11
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Guys, I'm thinking to buy the water pump from e-bay. I'd prefer OEM. Any particular brand I should consider? My budget for the pump is $100 -$120. Thank you very much.
#12
The water pump in my 1995 Avalon (3 liter) lasted 180,000 miles, but I"m very **** about changing the coolant. I wonder if the OEM pump has been updated since installed on your car so it is more reliable? If that is the case, ebay might not be the place to purchase it. Changing the water pump on a 3.5 engine is quite labor intensive, so spending money to get the latest and greatest OEM pump (if there is one) may be worth it.
#13
Moderator
#14
Pole Position
iTrader: (1)
In theory the noise could be produced by any of the spinning pulleys that the belt travels on: AC, PS, water pump, tensioner, alternator, etc. You didn't mention whether your mechanic rotated each one by hand individualy to see if the bearings felt rough. Then again rotating by hand is different than the engine running at 800+ rpm.
The water pump job is so pricey that it may be worth a second opinion. We just had ours replaced under warranty on our '07. We noticed a rumbling noise start for about four months before it started leaking. Even had noise checked out and serpentine belt replaced at dealer 600 miles before it started leaking but they "couldn't reproduce the noise".
Years ago on a previous car I had a whining noise come up suddenly, the dealer diagnosed it as the AC compressor and gave me a $1k repair estimate. Since it was October and I didn't want to shell out that much $ at the moment I cut off the AC belt myself and ran without it for the winter. When the belt was off I spun the AC pulley and the tensioner individually by hand. It was obvious to me the tensioner bearing was shot. Next spring I took car back to dealer and had them replace the <$100 tensioner and put a new belt on. AC compressor was still fine when I sold the car 50k miles later. Fortunately that car had two accessory belts so it was easy to isolate the AC from the PS & alternator.
The water pump job is so pricey that it may be worth a second opinion. We just had ours replaced under warranty on our '07. We noticed a rumbling noise start for about four months before it started leaking. Even had noise checked out and serpentine belt replaced at dealer 600 miles before it started leaking but they "couldn't reproduce the noise".
Years ago on a previous car I had a whining noise come up suddenly, the dealer diagnosed it as the AC compressor and gave me a $1k repair estimate. Since it was October and I didn't want to shell out that much $ at the moment I cut off the AC belt myself and ran without it for the winter. When the belt was off I spun the AC pulley and the tensioner individually by hand. It was obvious to me the tensioner bearing was shot. Next spring I took car back to dealer and had them replace the <$100 tensioner and put a new belt on. AC compressor was still fine when I sold the car 50k miles later. Fortunately that car had two accessory belts so it was easy to isolate the AC from the PS & alternator.