I had a re-manufactured water pump installed and after 14 months I started smelling my radiator occasionally. Never suspected the pump since my original pump lasted 60,000 miles and was still fine when they replaced it feigning quot;it is customary to replace water pump with timing beltwhen in actuality my Hyundai Elantra just needs the pump checked every 60,000 miles. The re-manufactured water pump was diagnosed leaking for sure after 20 months. Anyway I believe the leaking pump which didn't get discovered for at least 4 to 6 months caused the early demise of my radiator. Does that make sense?Thanks,Mitzi
completely unrelated and it is customary to replace water pump with timing belt BECAUSE the labor require to replace the pump is the exact same as replacing the belt. If the pump was to fail shortly after replacing the belt, you would have to pay for the same labor charge again and a leaking water pump will contaminate a timing belt requiring the belt to also be replaced. Your radiator developed a leak, that has nothing to do with your water pump
No, but if the leaking water pump was leaking for that long, and you didn't check the coolant level, you probably ran out of coolant, overheated the engine and damaged more than just your radiator. The mechanics weren't feigning anything, they were trying to save you money in the long run, but you don't know enough about engines to realize this, so you blame the mechanic. In your case, if being a mechanic is so easy, you should do the work yourself.
Completely unrelated issues. Radiators usually fail because of these reasons. Corrosion. Physical damage. Something like a stone getting thrown from another vehicle and hitting the radiator. Blockage. Deposits build in a radiator that must be routinely flushed. If neglected this can block the passages. Most antifreeze should be replaced every 3 years or 36,000 miles. You generally flush the cooling system at this time. Neglect this maintenance and your radiator can fail. There is nothing that a water pump can do to cause a radiator to fail on most engines. About the only way I could damage the radiator is on a rear wheel drive vehicle where the cooling fan is connected to the water pump, and a bearing fails, the cooling fan can come into physical contact with the radiator. You would hear this making noise. However, your car has an electric fan so this can't happen to your car.
i strongly disagree. a leaky pump, loosing fluid, replaced by air via a recovery system, will create excess water jacket pressures. ergo, the radiator. even if it has air trapped in it. that excessive pressure, if the rad is marginal/old, can cause rad leaks. any seasoned mechanic out there has experienced a vehicle that had air in it, and be so hot as to charge the system. on some, you can actually here them go bang as water/coolant, flows into a part of the systems that has just air. that sends pressure shock waves through out the system. i've experience some so hot, they won't shut off. dieseling per say. ---------- EDIT, Michael sir. i'm an ex fighter jet hydraulic/pneumatic tech USAF. 40 yr auto mechanic. 5 yrs on Harley's (iron blocks). been dealing with the use of compressed fluids and gas for some time now. ex boeing employee on the 747 as well. i just don't ahve all that in my profile. mostly, i just let facts speak for themselves. weather or not an OP see's that is up to them. --------- pressure can built up faster than it can be bleed off in *some* cases. especially if it's a slow leak. those were generic statements. meaning, they are a possibility. not out of the realm of possibility, and would be far from the first time it ever happened, that a bad pump can cause other parts of the coolant system to malfunction. i've seen marginal rads, hoses, and even heater cores go as a result of over pressureazation of the water jacket. but i meant no disrespect here. i will delete my seasoned mechanic remark. simply stating i have seen/experienced, in the shop, over the years, many instances like what i stated. it's not impossible!!! i'll delete all this crap too if you delete your remark. how bout it? friends?
It is not likely that your water pump leak caused your radiator to fail. Your system was not holding pressure due to the leaking pump so the radiator probably did not fail from the most common problem of too much pressure.
