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Well yesterday I paid $402 to replace a seized water pump!
I'd just gotten off the highway about 40 miles from home when clanking and the smell of burning rubber clued me into the possibility that my water pump was gone. Temp gauge headed into the red before I managed to get it into a mall parking lot.
Opened the hood. Pump was seized, belt had burned off. Managed to loosen pump, but was rough turning, shaft with a lot of play. Put on spare belt. Clanking when engine started. Turned off, because didn't want to ruin spare belt if it seized again. Didn't figure I could drive the car far because if coolant not circulating, running interior heater wouldn't do much.
So went over to nearby car repair facility. was quoted $360 plus tax (CDN). Water pump was $65 (good price to me) but labour 3.3 hrs at $80. Didn't figure I had much choice.
After the water pump installation, the service manager appeared to be trying to milk me for more (new thermo, belts, maybe rad etc.) and abused my car while trying to prove it (ran the car for over 1/2 hr maybe over an hour at around 1500+ rpm, sometimes engine was screaming). Telling me my thermo was defective because the upper rad hose was hot. Telling me my rad was plugged because the lower hose was cool compared to the upper hose. Telling me the temp in the overflow bottle should be 150 degrees (not 90-100). Continually squeezing the upper and lower hoses "to bleed the system" (hopefully all that squeezing didn't weaken them), Etc. This was even though the temp gauge in the car read steady at halfway through all this. (The mechanic indicated that he felt everything was fine but that "he's the boss")
So, how far would I have been able to go with a seized waterpump without causing damage?
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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans
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