Help me asap please!!?

Question

I have a 97 toyota camry and today it overheated.. Now it has overheated once before but it was 3 months ago, Now if I have a leak in my water pump and need to replace it will that cause me to overheat?? If so do if I replace the water pump will the radiator be fine and will I still overheat???

Answer 1

Dear Overheated-

Do not take a shotgun to your vehicle just yet. Sounds to me like you may have a couple of problems.

First I would turn the car over to your DEALERSHIP, and let them take a look at the vehicle. These newer cars are a little tricky. But here is the basic.

Your vehicle is 10 years old. Time for belts and hoses. You need to have them completely flush the cooling system and pressure check for leaks other than the Water-Pump.

There are several things than can attribute to your vehicle overheating. Lets go to Automotive 101.

The cooling systems on today's vehices are a closed pressure loop. This means that they are operating under pressure when your vehicle is at operating temprature 185F to 195F degrees. In order to maintian the efficency of your cooling system all of the parts need to function properly. If one part fails they all fail, (eventually).

Something as simple as a worn or faulty radiator cap can cause a car to overheat. Punctured hoses, low coolant levels, scale and rust buildup, damaged or plugged radiator or heater core. Improperly mixed coolant, damaged or leaking water pump, blown head gasket, cracked block, or cracked cylinder head, damaged thermal control switch for radiator fans, burned out radiator fan motors, blown radiator fan fuses or relays.

All of these can cause an overheating problem. This is the reason to have the cooling system pressure checked and the associated electronics checked so the offending part(s) can be replaced.

So lets just say that you have the simple radiator and water pump replaced. Your overheating may indeed be cured, but if its not, then there is indeed another issue that has been over looked.

So here is the short answer. Have your cooling system completely diagnosed, then whatever the mechanic finds wrong, its in your best interest to have those repairs performed.

You might only be out the Radiator Cap! Woo Hoo! But if not, at least you will know exactly what needs to be repaired. FYI, demand that you have all of the hoses changed. Radiator upper and lower, and the heater hoses, and a new radiator cap installed. If you are going to the expense to have the water pump and the radiator replaced, its cheap insurance to replace those other parts too.

I hope that helped, but remember to have the system completely flushed, then do the diagnostic, you may find that a couple more items on the car could be at fault.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Usually water pumps leak because the bushing is worn out.
There's a small hole on the bottom of the pump that leaks when the bushing goes bad. If it's leaking there, it's a good indication that you need to replace the pump.
Have the cooling system flushed and pressure tested.
Most likely the pump will take care of the cooling problem.
It may be a good idea to replace the thermostat at the same time.

Answer 3

The cause of your overheat is because the pump leaked out your coolant. Just replace the pump and hope that you done no other damage to your head gasket. Did you drive on it very long once it overheated or did you shut the car down right away?
If you shut it down you should be Ok with just replacing the water pump and new antifreeze coolant. If the thermostat wasnt replaced recently, now is a good time. Also if you have more than 60,000 miles, you may want to replace your timing belt, it is located behind the pump as well, so you may want to replace it now and save yourself a tow later.
good luck.........

Answer 4

I'm not sure if you have a leak in your water paump or not. From the wording on your question it is kind of confusing. If you do have a water pump leak, you'll need to replace the pump, and while you are at it, replace the thermostat too. The radiator hopefully be fine. Check out all the hoses for damage while you are at it. good luck.

Answer 5

Replace water pump and thermostat and check the radiator for leaks that should stop your car from over heating, hope this helps

Answer 6

If you are losing water, determine where it is coming from, look in the middle of the bottom of the water pump to see if that's where it's leaking, if not, replace thermostat.Could be your clutch-fan also.If it's only happened two or three times, the clutch fan may very well be the problem.

Answer 7

you need to go by auto zone GET IN THE ZONE and get a timing belt kit and a water pump, this is not a do it yourself project, bank about 700 dollars at a shop

Answer 8

look at the easy stuff first, like thermostat, belt, fan switch before you start buying out autozone.

Answer 9

its probly a goner patch it up and get a charger