Miata Mailing List: October 1995, Message #92
sponsored by



     


   From: nims@cris.com (M. Inman)
Subject: Re: Water Pump Longevity
   Date: Tue, 3 Oct 1995 21:28:22 -0400

> OK Miateers and professional and backyard mechanics,
> Tell me about water pumps.  I either over-zealously reinstalled my
> alternator belt after my timing belt replacement, or my water pump's
> bearings have reached end-of-life and given up the ghost.  I just noticed
> today while pulling into the garage that the water pump bearings are
> rattling.  My question is - how long will it run before the seal gives
> up and starts leaking coolant.  I commute about 65 miles each way and
> don't really want to get stuck that far from home.  Has anybody had any
> experience with this?  Does anybody have an idea how much a [good -
> non-rebuilt] water pump costs?
> 

FWIW:

After I bought my (91 Basic Blue) Miata, I kept my 1980 Honda Civic for
a few years.  At 150Kmi, its third water pump went out, and I had always been
curious how long one would go after the rattles started...  I kept it close
to home for about 2 weeks, and maybe 175 miles before it siezed up on me,
meaning I had to stop, remove the belt (which needed replacing anyway), and
make the 4 miles home in 30 sec. spurts with 3 minute cooldown stops, maximizing
coasting time to get as much air-cooling as possible (yeah, sure).  Nothing bad 
happened to the engine as a result of this - not that I found out about in
the ensuing
year/15Kmi, anyway.

I don't think I'd push my luck this way with my Miata, and definately not
if it were my only transportation.

Mike Inman
minman@ix.netcom.com

I'm not a Miata list subscriber, but I play one on TV....
M. Inman
nims@cris.com