Repair the broken water pump on the car
You recently discovered in your car that you were losing radiator water. Upon closer inspection of your car, you noticed that the water pump was broken. A visit to the workshop is expensive and you dare to install the broken water pump yourself, but you do not know exactly how to proceed. Here are the instructions.
What you need:
- well-assorted tools (Allen key, wrench, etc.)
- clean bowl to catch the radiator water
- new radiator antifreeze for the respective engine (aluminum or cast engine antifreeze)
- 1 new water pump with new seal and sealant
- 1 sheet of paper and pencil
- Sealant
How to fix a broken water pump in the car
- To repair the broken water pump in the car, have yours first engine cooling down.
- Now open the expansion tank for the radiator water so that air can be sucked in and the water runs off evenly and not in gushes when it is drained.
- Now let the cold cooling water run into a clean bowl so that you can then repair the water pump. There are two options here: Either you will find a drain plug on the radiator, or, if this is not available, pull off the water hose at the bottom (important) of the radiator. The bowl should have a capacity of approx. Have 5-6 liters.
- Now loosen the V-belt on your car to repair the broken water pump. To do this, you have to release the tension on your V-belt. However, the V-belt is different for every car. Advice from the experts: Before removing the V-belt, make a note of the exact path it has to travel. In most cars, the V-belt runs over the alternator, oil pump, water pump, servo pump and also has a tension pulley for the belt itself. Depending on the model, however, the V-belt can also be tensioned via the alternator, in which case the tensioning pulley is not required. So now loosen the tension on the V-belt and remove the V-belt.
- Now unscrew all the water hoses on the broken water pump in the car.
- If the fan blade is attached to the water pump in your car, it must be separated from the water pump. This is a left-hand thread in 90% of all cases. If the fan blade is not connected to your water pump, this step is not necessary. Now the expert says: Most modern vehicles have a viscous coupling in the fan blade. In this case, the fan blade must be stored upright, as the viscous coupling could otherwise be defective (expensive replacement part).
- Now loosen the broken water pump from the engine.
- Now clean the sealing surfaces of your engine with sandpaper (approx. 120 grit).
- Before installation, apply a thin layer of the special sealant to the water pump sealing surface of the water pump.
- Now carefully place the seal on the water pump sealing surface of the new water pump.
- Now apply another thin layer of sealing compound to the seal that you have just attached.
- Now you can flange the water pump back on (screw it tight).
- Now screw all radiator hoses tight again, making sure that they are tight and that they are properly seated.
- Now bring the fan blade and the V-belt back to their original location. The V-belt must only be able to rotate sideways by a maximum of 45 °.
- Now slowly fill the previously drained radiator water into the cooling water expansion tank in your car. However, there is now water and air in your cooling system. It is important that there is no longer any air in the system. Depending on the vehicle, you have a self-bleeding system or it has a bleeding screw. So now the two systems are vented. To do this, proceed as follows: With self-bleeding: close the cooling water expansion tank, start the engine, now turn on the heating in the passenger compartment fully, leave the engine at medium speed approx. Hot run at 90 °. Make sure that the coolant expansion tank does not become empty; if necessary, be careful with the coolant tank Open (caution: risk of burns - observe operating instructions) and radiator antifreeze according to the manufacturer's instructions refill. For vehicles with a vent screw: The engine must not run here, fill up the coolant expansion tank, then open the Vent screw and leave it open until the cooler water comes out without air bubbles Coolant tank after.
- Now close the coolant tank and the vent screw again and let the engine warm up as described in point 16.
- Finally, check the water level; if necessary, top up the cooler water again
- Done, hurray! However, if the engine starts to boil (overheat) or the passenger compartment is not heated, it is with safety there is still air in the cooling system and the process starts all over again.
Replacing the water pump on the Audi 80 - that's how it works
Replacing the water pump on an Audi 80 is not that difficult. If you are …
- If you have no previous knowledge of this area, connecting a broken water pump in the car can be difficult. The instructions have been developed for people who have a little knowledge of cars. If you do not know your way around or not, it is better to leave the installation to an expert workshop.
- Also, when opening the cooling water expansion tank, make sure that you do not get burned. Do not keep your face bent over the container.
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