I went to have my car inspected for a leak at a friendly garage I know. They said I need a new water pump and in the mean time just keep the levels always checked and filled. Is it safe to drive for a while or can the pump totally fail and overheat the engine. As far as I know it's just leaking at this stage, the pulley and belts are fine.
Yes it could fail and end up doing more damage then just fixing it now.Pay now or pay more later if something happens.
Post basics: make, model, miles, yr, engine type. It's more likely to fail suddenly on a '95 Neon w/ 200k mi, than a 2010 Honda w/ 10k.
It's safe as long as the levels are full and the pump doesn't fail. Here's the bad news - you have NO idea when that pump is going to go bad. Recommending to drive it that way is a dumb idea. Yes you can do it, no it's not a good idea. If your water pump decides to lock up now you popped or shredded a belt causing extra damage not too mention your vehicle overheating if you keep it running. You might get lucky, but I strongly suggest you stop driving the vehicle until it is repaired. It's asking for trouble.
I am a lead mechanic my comment would probably be like this any vehicle that is leaking fluids is not a safe reliable vehicle although in some cases such as a water pump it is ok too drive a little with it leaking you need too make sure that the water pump does not start making noise that would mean the bearings are going out if it where me and ive done it before i would drive little as possible until i could get it fixed but yes the garage is correct just be cautious
