I have a 1992 Buick Century. About 2 1/2 years and 21500 miles ago, I had the water pump replaced after it seized. Last spring, my radiator fan failed bringing my engine to the verge of overheating. Recently, I noticed the water pump is making a loud chattering sound (like a deisel). Can overheating cause premature wearing of the water pump? Could a bad mix of water/antifreeze cause a water pump to go bad? Could I ignore this noise for awhile? Is there any additive that can quiet a noisey water pump? Or, should I get it replaced pronto?
I don’t think overheating can damage the pump. How many times did the engine overheat?
Anti-freeze also contains anti-corrosion ingredients, so maybe if there were an improper mix of water and anti-freeze (too little anti-freeze) it might hasten pump failure.
Can you ignore the noise? Sure, but I don’t recommend it. If the pump fails you’ll be stranded.
Additive? No.
If you’re SURE the noise is coming from the water pump the only remedy is to replace the pump.
The serpentine belt runs a lot of things, any one of which can make noise.
Sometimes “Rebuilt” parts like water pumps fail much sooner than a NEW OEM part…if you saw the “line” on which these parts are “Rebuilt”, you would understand…
I temporarilly removed the serpentine belt and manually spun the water pump pulley with my finger. I heard a knocking noise as I spun it. I did the same to the other pulleys and heard no noise.
Replace the water pump, there is a worn out bearing. Don’t wait or you could end up stranded on the side of the road.
There is no additive for a noisy pump and you should not ignore this; all assuming that you’re positive the pump is the problem.
Are you running Dex Cool in this car? My son went through several aftermarket water pumps in the first 4 years on his 96 Camaro which uses the Buick 3.8 engine. After the second failure (2 aftermarket pumps + the original pump failure) I flushed the cooling system out (again) and converted to green anti-freeze.
That’s been about 8 or 9 years and 150k miles+ ago and the car is still running fine with the last replacement pump still operating fine.
I also had a radiator replacement about six months after the last water pump replacement. I don’t know what my mechanic filled the system with. What is Dex Cool? Is it a god thing or a bad thing?
Dex Cool is simply the recommended coolant (orange) for late model GM cars. It’s been prone to sludging and can create some serious muck in the cooling system.