Re: water pump dead?

["Steve Rubano" <srubano@xxxx>]

If your water pump died, you would know. You would hear a loud sound 
coming from the pump as the engine ran and/or leaks from it. 

One quick check before you do any of the things I describe, take out 
your oil dipstick and check to see if you have any coolant in your 
oil, if you do than you have a big problem. It could be your head 
gasket or the seals under the Piston Liners. This would cause any 
loss of pressure in the cooling system. If not then wipe your 
forehead and say "Whew!" and continue on:
What I would do is bleed the entire system to be sure that there is 
no air in it. 

Another that would cause it would be if the cap on the water bottle 
is not keeping the presure in, then that can be the source of the 
problem. The system is a pressurized system and needs pressure to 
operate properly. I have a Jeep cherokee that has the same type 
cooling system as the Delorean. I was having problems with it 
overheating all the time and it turned out that the rubber seal on 
the water bottle cap rotted out letting all of the pressure out of 
the system, that's why you get that "sssssss" sound when you removed 
the cap. I think this is the source of your problem here since you 
said that you don't get that anymore, check your Cap and make sure 
all of the seals are good. If you want to, buy a new cap and replace 
it (does no harm and not that expensive)and see fi the problem goes 
away. If you were losing pressure from anywhere else in the system 
you would see coolant leaks (ex. the weep hole on the water pump, bad 
hose, etc.) I've also expierinced (on another Jeep) the threaded 
portion of the water bottle (where the cap goes on) was warped. That 
caused a loss of pressure since the cap could not make a seal. 

If that does not help then remove the thermostat and run the engine. 
If the engine stays cool after you do that, then get a new thremostat 
and replace it. Most likely the old one is stuck closed and is not 
opening when the engine reaches it's normal operating temp. Don't 
drive around without the thermostat otherwise it will keep the engine 
to cool (not reaching normal operating temp) and you won't have heat, 
at least not hot enough for heat. 

The only way your water pump would be dead is if the impeller broke 
off and like I said, you would hear it if it did. If you need 
specific instructions on bleeding out the cooling system or any help, 
email me and I will send them to you, otherwise follow the procedure 
in the shop manual and you should be fine. Please let me know if any 
of this helped.

Thanks,
Steve
www.dmcman.homestead.com

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx, Delorean17@xxxx wrote:
> Hello,
> My car gets hot really fast now. If I start it up for a minute 
or two, 
> the gage is near 225 so I have to turn it off. I have the cooling 
fans set 
> to run at all times and I also have an overheat protector from DMC 
Joe on it.
> I used to get a ssssss noise when I removed the overflow cap 
but I no 
> longer do.(when it stayed cool) someone mentioned the water pump. 
how can I 
> test it to see if it is working correctly? the system is full of 
coolant and 
> I have about an 1-1/2 inches in the overflow bottle. I checked 
everything 
> out and I dont see any leaks. any ideas on what this could be 
would be 
> greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> David