Bleh never ending repairs 2001 Dodge Ram 5.2 seized water pump

[Rmay635703]

I’m not messing with this one, mom has been driving the truck, idler pulley has always been garbage.

Truck started making a minor belt chirp sounded like a bad idler, gave her my car until I figured it out.

Started it to drop it off 2 miles away and the belt grenaded and the water pump failed before I got to the end of the block, turned around and parked, take off the radiator cap and mass of water dumps by the water pump. Can’t hand spin the pump.

I’m tempted to give the truck a radiator flush since the repair guys will probably just replace and fill.

Hate spending good money over bad, would you risk driving it 2 miles (35mph) into the repair place with no water pump, power steering or alternator?

My newer cars wouldn’t survive but this old v8 thing may not matter, my concern is it could grenade and the water temp gage may not notice.

 

[bdcardinal]

Personally I would change it myself and flush the system properly. Probalby replace the idler and tensioner, t-stat, belt(s), and hoses while I'm in there.

 

[zfasts03]

pretty straight forward job, parts are reasonable.

Did my 5.9 magnum in the `97 Ram some years ago.

 

[c502cid]

I've overheated a 5.9/360 motor in my wife's long gone Durango and it lived more than once. But two miles....that's a long way. Do you feel lucky?

 

[cptbarkey]

If you dont care about it, sell it as-is and make it someone elses problem.

Chances are that truck needs alot more when it comes to maintenance then a water pump if you are already at that point of it being seized.

 

[joekingcorvette]

It will get very hot driving 2 miles without a water pump. I would tow it in.

 

[92saturnsl2]

No way would I drive an engine (that I cared about) two miles without a water pump. Unless one happens to own one of these:

How Cadillac's Northstar V8 turns into an air-cooled engine to prevent overheating - Alt Car news

The Cadillac Northstar engine was a revolutionary V8 engine for 1993. One interesting feature was this engine's ability to run even without coolant.

tiremeetsroad.com

If engine is nice and cold with a 2 mile straight shot, no stops and assuming the 5.2L is all iron construction (my guess is that it is) I think you have good betting odds.

 

[Rmay635703]

It will get very hot driving 2 miles without a water pump. I would tow it in.

Used to be I always towed it on all 4’s myself, my father never paid for a tow, sadly I’ve allowed myself to get down to one vehicle with a hitch.

If you dont care about it, sell it as-is and make it someone elses problem.

Chances are that truck needs alot more when it comes to maintenance then a water pump if you are already at that point of it being seized.

I’ve had several water pumps that just dumped with no warning over the years, this one made it under 10 miles from squeak to stall. In this year apparently the water pump isn’t the best.

Truck has 90,000 miles, oil has been changed every 2500 miles, transmission every 15,000 miles. Brakes and lines were rebuilt replaced in all 4 positions 8000 miles ago. Top end intake cover and gasket replaced with steel 25,000 miles ago

Radiator has been flushed several times.

If by maintenance you mean replacement of aged original parts like the alternator , ecu etc. Nope gotta fail to be worth worrying about, truck lacks any appreciable components to do maintenance on, doesn’t even have grease points, just replace.

I’m not if the mindset that tearing the engine half apart is normal maintenance though others disagree.

 

[atikovi]

2 miles is probably 5 minutes. At such low engine speeds and loads, I wouldn't worry about it. The oil will keep the engine from getting too hot. If you get to a red light you can always shut it off for a minute.

 

[92saturnsl2]

2 miles is probably 5 minutes. At such low engine speeds and loads, I wouldn't worry about it. The oil will keep the engine from getting too hot. If you get to a red light you can always shut it off for a minute.

I have to disagree with you here. OP stated that the coolant was puked out and much of it lost from the system.

If a significant portion of coolant has been lost, I would be extremely cautious. It's not the same as "**** my belt broke" and drive a couple miles (starting with a cold engine with coolant in it) to the nearest repair shop.

A full cooling system will naturally thermosiphon to some extent. No coolant (or low without flow) will result in hot spots in critical areas very quickly.

 

[Rmay635703]

2 miles is probably 5 minutes. At such low engine speeds and loads, I wouldn't worry about it. The oil will keep the engine from getting too hot. If you get to a red light you can always shut it off for a minute.

Thanks
Yeah my concern is some cars don’t register things getting got when the water pump is gone

Also takes about an hour to cool if it’s heatsync’d .

One of the local women might still give towes for $75, If she is still in business I will do that and not sweat it, a few places are rediculously expensive which I want to avoid.

Ah well, appointment is moved to Monday so I have a while to source a wrecker

 

[atikovi]

Yeah my concern is some cars don’t register things getting got when the water pump is gone

Correct, it won't work if the water level is below the temperature sensor. But for 5 minutes it won't be a problem if starting it from cold and the oil level is full. It's not like you're driving with no oil. Some cars like Cadillac have camel mode where the engine can run in limp mode with no coolant for up to 50 miles by running alternate cylinders. If towing it feels better, do that.