So I have a '94 Corolla with around 60,000 miles on it.
I had an overheating problem last December and had the water pump and radiator replaced at my local Toyota dealership.
I noticed that coolant was leaking about a week ago, so I took it into the dealership to have them look at it. They told me that they would replace the water pump (it was leaking) because it was under warranty.
Then, they rechecked the engine/leak and found that the head gasket is also leaky. Now they want to replace that as well.
My question is: Did the water pump cause the leak in the head gasket? Or the other way around?
I have heard that water pumps cause head gaskets to leak. Here is the evidence supporting this:
- nothing else was leaking from my car except for coolant
- the car was not leaking coolant for very long (I had just had the oil changed and the engine checked a week before I noticed the leak)
Or, is there no connection between these two components in the car?
A Leaking Water Pump Causes Coolant Level To Drop And Introduces Air Into The Cooling System, Causing Overheating That Takes Out A Head Gasket. That’s Likely The Scenerio.
Frequent checks under the hood (and under the car) of a 94 car can sometimes mitigate peripheral damage from a somewhat benign leak.
CSA
It sounds to me like your original overheating last December probably warped your head, and now you’re experiencing the result, which is a leaking head gasket. So the head was probably already damaged. Hard to argue that the new water pump caused the problem, unless you experienced ANOTHER overheat after it was installed…which doesn’t sound like the case.