what could cause a impeller on a water pump to be completly shredded up i just had to change mine in my toyota camry and was wondering if i could do anything to prevent this from happening again?
It was prob just a cheap water part. make sure you get one with a cast iron impeller
the pump bearing did that. all you can do is change the pump and hope it last a long time.
I have seen this once before, the impeller was so old and corroded that it partially separated from the bearing or shaft on which it spins, and came into contact with the pump housing. No fault of yours, just replace the water pump with a new one.
never, ever run it dry. Make sure there is enough water in it, especially when you first put everything back together. Massage the hoses and keep filling it. Try to get all the air bubbles out before you start it. A bad water pump quickly, very quickly, leads to a bad head gasket. So a $300 job turns into a $1200 job in a matter of minutes.
I'm guessing it had a plastic impeller. Sometimes there are updated pumps with metal impellers.
