Water pump failure / replacement advice (3.0Si)

[biojo]

i know the specialist when i was in last had some women's car in, her pump failed, but she kept driving up the motorway despite all the warning lights

engine eventually seized up!

if it fails and you stop then there shouldn't be any issue.

ok you're potentially going to have inconvenience of then getting it fixed if it randomly breaks. Where as as preventative you could plan when your least likely to need car.

recently my abs pump broke, I was without car nearly 2 weeks. another fairly common fault on bmws, oh then theirs the electric power steering... Where do you draw the line

[Marlon]

As someone with a 3.0si I found the advice in this thread very useful - thanks everyone.

[mr.tourette]

any way of telling if a car has already had this done? I got a fully stamped service book with my car when i bought it but no history of reciepts for work done and I guess I'm sailing close to the limit at 85k if not already been done

[Mr Tidy]

Thanks for your thought biojo. I was talking to a mate tonight and he is very much of the opinion I should just get it done for peace of mind, but there are too many others saying otherwise to ignore their point of view.

I can see that it's a lot of money for something that *may not* fail perhaps for years yet; I can also see the point of view that if I'm keeping the car, just get it done as I will have to fork out anyway. The biggest barrier to this simply seems to be the random nature of the failures as you said.

Also 2 out of the 3 indys I spoke to today claimed it was unlikely you would end up with engine damage as long as you didn't keep trying to drive it, one claiming the car would eventually go into limp mode to stop you driving it, so the main risk is simply inconvenience; the other mentioned the temp gauge would go into the red a long time before the engine was actually at risk. If that is true then it at least partly puts my mind at rest.

OK, to put your mind at rest mine did go into limp mode even though I was driving like a nun! (Sorry, I forgot that bit - but it did happen nearly a year ago and I'm getting on now)!

Those quotes you got look very competitive! Whether to do it as preventative, well only you know. It depends on your personal circumstances. Do you have another car or a bike? Do you need the car for work? Is it the only way to get to work?

Personally I hope your pump just keeps pumping!

[Ed Doe]

So what happens if the pump goes during a spirited drive and although you stop driving fast and pull over, the engine can't dissipate that additional heat? You're looking at a couple of grand to do the headgasket.

I took mine in to get the faults read purely by chance (wanted to check the vanos operation), and the pump already had clocked up 17 underspeed vs requested speed faults - on about 70k miles. Personally I'd rather avoid a) being inconvenienced by the side of the road, potentially in a dangerous position, and b) running any risk of damage to an engine where so many one-use bolts need to be replaced when it comes apart for a headgasket - at a not insignificant cost! Maintenance bills like that are to some extent part and parcel of owning a sports car - they cost more to fix and need a bit of love every so often. Why skimp on something that could potentially cost you so much worse?