water pump leak questions???

[marmstrong]

how long do i have if the water pump is leaking. would i be able to drive the car for 250 miles if i carry coolant with me to refill along the trip. i bought it in one state but need to transer it to another which is that far

[old guy]

Tough question to answer. How bad is it leaking? No need to add coolant if you are going to be replacing the pump after you get it home. Just add enough water to keep everything under control. I assume you will be draining it and replacing the pump/timing belt/etc once you get it to your destination.

[marmstrong]

its at least a drop every minute. also yes i plan on doing everything once i get to my destination

[old guy]

its at least a drop every minute. also yes i plan on doing everything once i get to my destination

I think you would be safe driving it home.

[marmstrong]

yeah i hope. it got me nervous. car is coming from new york to maryland

[03a4sport]

You'll be fine (hopefully). I drove my car on a leaking water pump for over a year. I wouldn't recommend it, but I did. Just did a TB kit and replace the WP at the same time. It got to the point I was filling up the reservoir every day. Don't think a drip or two will cause you to lose enough coolant over 250 miles. Just grab a gallon of distilled water for your trip.

[BARRY]

a dribble is ok...if it was gushing out you'd probably be risking a blown motor.

good luck and get that waterpump and timing belt changed asap.

[Timtheguru]

I just changed mine, as evidenced by this post (Clicky), it would only leak when the engine was cold. As I'm sure the metals expanded when the engine was at operating temperature, and then shrink back down and allow the leak to occur. Unless you have a really severe leak while the engine is hot, you should be ok.