Earlier today I was driving and my car shut off at a stop sign. I got it to start again and it shut off at the next stop sign, so after a few minutes I got it to start again and immediately pulled over as there was a small amount of smoke coming from under my hood. The temp gauge didn't say it was overheating, but I think it mightve been stuck, because that had to be what happened. After sitting there for a while it started and stayed that way for a while, I let the engine run. I drove it to the gas station and put some coolant directly in the radiator and the resevoir, and almost all of it leaked right out. I started to drive it home and had to pull over about 6 times to let it cool down because it kept overheating( temp gauge showed it this time). I think its the water pump that is leaking, but I know very little about cars, and was wondering if it could be anything else? Also, the heater wasn't working in the car today at all.
If it's leaking from the water pump, you may as well do the timing belt, idle and tension pulleys too since they have to come off to do the pump. That pump is visible, you should be able to see the coolant dripping from under the belt drive pulley.
This Site Might Help You. RE: water pump leaking? 99 dodge neon? Earlier today I was driving and my car shut off at a stop sign. I got it to start again and it shut off at the next stop sign, so after a few minutes I got it to start again and immediately pulled over as there was a small amount of smoke coming from under my hood. The temp gauge didn't say it...
The heater wasn't working because you were losing the coolant. If the cooling system is not full, the coolant won't circulate and warm coolant won't flow through the heater core. But the water pump on the Neon is not a known problem. I'm not saying that it's not the problem but it's not common. What I suggest you do is fill up the cooling system with water and start the engine. See if you can spot the fluid leaking out. If it is indeed the water pump, the pump is driven by the timing belt so the water would be leaking out at the bottom of the engine on the passenger side. If you don't see the coolant/water dripping out under the engine bay, it could be a bad head gasket and the coolant is disappearing inside the engine ( check under the oil cap, if it looks like a milkshake film under there, it can be the sign of a bad gasket ).
