Had my car in to the shop this morning, it's a 2000 Ford Escort ZX2. The water pump and radiator need to be replaced, and they said they can do it for $380. Is this a reasonable price? Also, if I don't get them fixed right away, am I risking a lot of permanent damage to the engine?
Good chance you have a leaking head gasket. Try this, with the engine cold, remove the radiator cap, start the engine and let the car idle until it heats up. Look into the radiator, can you see large bubbles (like blowing slowly through a straw into a glass of water) or a foamy looking coolant in the radiator opening? You also need to see if there is oil in the radiator. Is the cooling system loosing coolant with no apparent external leaks? Does the car loose coolant , but never leave a puddle on the ground? A leaking head gasket is common on engine with aluminum heads and iron blocks, especially if the engine has been previously overheated. Some shops have a chemical test for combustion gasses in the radiator. It is also possible to use a system pressure test, where the entire system is pumped up to 15-20 PSI and then allowed to sit and see if the pressure drops. A quick drop in pressure indicates a leak. A pressure test can allow you to see where a leak originates, since the car is sitting and a leak will be very apparent.
yeah,,,if they are including labor YES. its a lot of work replacing the water pump....why does it need to be replaced? if your car was over heating then yes.. if you dont replace those parts..you can blow your engine...only if you been having overheating problems,,,and water pumps some times make a bird sound or cricket sound not exaclty but similar..it could make those sounds when the pump is going bad,,,...if the car doesnt have many miles...the pump might not be bad..the radiator is easy to replace.
If that includes labor rates, then that is a heck of a deal. But as far as causing any damage by delaying this repair, not really, just when the water pump fails and your car overheats. The radiator is probably just leaking and as long as you keep fluid in it, then you are fine.
Radiator is around $80-100.00, water pump around $30-50, But mechanics can get these parts at a cheaper price. A tad bit high for labor cost of 230 I think, just my opinion. Yes, if cooling system fails, engine will overheat and cause more damage.
that's not a bad price at all, considering the radiator is $150 or so by itself, and $50 or $60 for the water pump. So over $200 worth of parts, leaving roughly $180 for labor, not bad at all. Possible engine damage, yeah, lots of it. Blown head gasket is the most likely, a $500 repair.
