Any mechanic in the house?

doggie750

Since ur a mechanic, what would cause a sudden lost of coolant and overheated the car?
-possible leak (hose or water pump housing). Hard to verify with the weather
-faulty water pump?
-radiator(seemed to be fine)
-engine failure?

There was an engine check a while back but just didn't have chance to look into it. Damn me... By the time I get home just lost track of it with kids on weekdays and even weekends.
I hear a metal to metal grinding noise so I know it's something serious. I would like your opinion on the matter, pls advise.

1996yr Geo prism 262k miles.

Thank you

tonyb

Lost coolant ? Can be a number of things but all of them will result in your engine overheating. Can be a simple fix, like a hose that burst at the bottom of the radiator or the radiator itself.

Given the miles on the car though, It most likely is the water pump. Which will probably cost more in labor than the cars worth.

Msabot1

If there are no noticeable leaks..check for a closed thermostat...if the radiator is drained..it could be a number of issues...a visual look with the radiator full and the engine running could tell you tons...also..those engine lights on the dash most time indicate a faulty sensor..or incomplete combustion..something to do with emissions..

ken brydson

Check the oil, if it looks milky you've got a blown headgasket.

tonyb

ken brydson wrote: »

Check the oil, if it looks milky you've got a blown headgasket.

Yep, forgot about that one too. Though I dunno...seems like he's losing coolant in bucket loads.

jeremymarcinko

Water pump replacement is usually pretty straight forward, you may be able to do it yourself. But if you did not notice a leak then I would guess a bad head gasket or cracked head, and that wouldn't be worth fixing. I busted hose makes a mess and would be fairly easy to locate. Another possibility is a cracked heater core, again wouldn't be worth fixing. The thing is a sudden loss of coolant would be typically of a bad hose, but you would notice that. Thermostats are supposed to fail open nowadays but being a 96 it could be stuck closed and could cause a hose or head gasket to go. An easy way to check the water pump is to remove the belt and check the pulley for play, oh yeah, be sure you didn't break a belt that will do it too. Metal grinding noise though(just seen that part), I'm in agreement with Tony, it's the water pump.

tonyb

While water pumps themselves are cheap, depends on the vehicle and where it is located to get to. Some require a good amount of labor intensive work to get at it. For instance, on My Honda Accord, it cost 900 bucks to replace a water pump. Might as well replace the timing belt while their in there too.

If the Geo is similar, then the 1000 bucks is going to be more than the cars worth. You may have to make a decision on that. Assuming of course it isn't a simpler thing like a broken hose.

If you blew a head casket though, you'd have seen other symptoms like smoke coming out the back like a fog machine. lol

charley95

Getting ahold of a pressure tester would tell ya.

sucks2beme

You could try pulling the belt driving the water pump and give it
a spin. If that's the problem, you'll hear it.
There is a u-tube video on water pump timing belt
change out for the Geo Metro.

doggie750

Thanks Polks.... It's confirmed a faulty WaterPump. I could Diy this per time permits otherwise $300+ to fix....