Driving belt and water pump replacment

ANSWER : Hello. You can just replace the water pump in this case. Although, the cost of just the timing belt is fairly negligible in comparison to the total labor of the job. My estimator says the water pump is a 6.5 hour job. Multiply that by whatever the shop rate is and you have the total labor without parts. You end up saving about $100 or less on parts if you only replace the pump.

The deciding factor will be the condition of the timing belt. If it has problems, you won’t be saving yourself any money by reusing it. In addition, there are seals and pulleys that may need to be replaced as well.

Assuming all the related parts were replaced the first time around, there isn’t a reason you can’t reuse them. I would say you should weigh the savings of reusing them against the actual condition of the parts. This is best determined after a complete disassembly. Keep in mind, time estimates will vary a bit depending on many factors. Either way, the labor is the largest cost.

If you would like to have the water pump replaced, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to perform this service at your convenience.

ANSWER : Driving or running the engine without the water pump working to circulate the coolant through the motor will cause the motor to overheat and may damage the engine costing thousands of dollars versus using a tow truck to take the vehicle to the shop that will cost a lot less. I would not recommend running the engine more than a few minutes at a time or you will overheat it.

ANSWER : Hi, thanks for writing in. There is no reason to replace the water pump every time the belt is changed, unless the pump itself is damaged or not working properly. The belt may show signs of wear which is fairly common between 80k-100k miles. I would not recommend putting the belt service off as this can cause major damage if the belt were to snap. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your home to inspect your belts to determine when and if they would need to be replaced, while at the same time inspecting your water pump and cooling system to be sure there are no issues with it.

ANSWER : Hello. Yes you can replace the water pump without replacing the serpentine belt. If the belt is worn, and it breaks while you are driving, you can damage a lot of other components in that area. Typically the price of a serpentine belt is relatively inexpensive. You will have to remove the belt to replace the water pump anyway. Since you are likely going to have to purchase a new pump, we do recommend that you purchase a belt at the same time. You SHOULD replace the belt if it is worn, and this is a perfect time to do it. It is not necessarily required, but you are putting yourself at risk of another break down at a later time. Not to mention if the belt is already worn, manipulating off and back onto the vehicle while changing the water pump can further damage it, and shorten the amount of time its got left. Belts should be replaced before they break, as to the amount of damage they can cause when they do break. Again, you may be able to get away with not replacing the belt right now, but if its as worn as you say, its going to break sooner than later and should be replaced.

ANSWER : Hello there, 45,000 miles is a short lifespan for a water pump on your 2000 Honda Odyssey. There are a few reasons the water pump will need to be replaced, such as a pump bearing failure, water pump seal leak, or rust/contamination damaging the pump. Faults such as rust or particles in the cooling system are formed in the cooling system over time and the parts break down, or regular coolant flushes are not performed. These particles can cause the pump to fail prematurely. It would be a good idea to ask why the water pump needs to be replaced or take note of any symptoms you are experiencing with the car before moving forward with this. If you would like to have an expert give you a second opinion on this, a certified technician from YourMechanic can come to your location to inspect the car and replace the water pump if necessary.

ANSWER : Hello. If your vehicle just needs the serpentine belt then that needs to be replaced. There is no reason to replace the water pump if it is not leaking or making noise. You could have it changed as maintenance, but there really is not reason to do so. As for the other items, with this many miles I would have the vehicle tuned up and also change any fluids that have not been changed. You should have these items replaced by a certified mechanic, like one from YourMechanic, as they can come to you to [replace your belt and do the maintenance on the vehicle] https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/serpentine-drive-belt-replacement

ANSWER : Hello. They should have told you exactly what component was leaking. It’s still unclear if it’s the water pump, radiator, or something else leaking. The drive belt (also called the serpentine belt) should be replaced if it has cracks or got coolant on it from a water pump leak. The serpentine belt needs to come off when the water pump is worked on, so there should only be a charge for the part and no additional labor. I suggest you get a second opinion from another qualified mechanic. Consider YourMechanic, as their certified mobile mechanics can come to your home or workplace to inspect what’s causing the leak.

ANSWER : Hi, thanks for your question. The best thing to get when purchasing a car are service records. If the seller doesn’t have them in hand, you can go to the shop that did the work and they will have records of the repair details. If the car looks meticulously maintained, that is a really good indication of the condition of the car. And yes, the timing belt likely would have been replaced along with the water pump.

To add, an experienced technician can tell if the timing belt has been replaced. A timing belt with 100,000 miles on it will look significantly different than one that has been replaced. There will need to be some disassembly to see the belt, but it isn’t that much work to be able to take a look at it. The water pump on the other hand takes significantly more work to see. I can say that almost all shops, including YourMechanic, will advise a customer to replace the timing belt and water pump at the same time. This is standard in the industry.

If there is any question, ask for the records. It should be an easy thing to go to the shop that repaired it and get the information. Sometimes the customer will have to call the repair shop to allow them to release the information.

Good luck! Sounds like a good car.