water pump

[cobra]

My water pump recently went on my 92 accord wondering if i can drive it about 2 1/2 miles to my garage if i keep putting water in it on the way there

[H22Artman]

My water pump recently went on my 92 accord wondering if i can drive it about 2 1/2 miles to my garage if i keep putting water in it on the way there

as long as it stays in the acceptable heat range you'll be fine.

[batever]

My water pump recently went on my 92 accord wondering if i can drive it about 2 1/2 miles to my garage if i keep putting water in it on the way there

Do not drive it more than like one minute at a time with the water pump not working.
I could be totally wrong about this. So if others know from experience or understanding that it's safe to drive as long as the coolant temperature gauge is in an acceptable range--I would be very careful driving it that 2.5 miles. The coolant isn't flowing so it's actually hard to tell when the engine is in the correct temperature range by the coolant temperature indicator, because parts of the engine could be absolutely frying because no coolant is flowing past them, while the coolant near the temperature sensor could be relatively cool.

Safer just to spend $30 and call a tow, in my opinion. Everyone would agree with that.

But some people on here might have a decent sense if my concerns are reasonable or out of whack.

It's true that your oil pump is working, so the oil should be getting cooled as long as there is enough coolant around to absorb the heat from the oil. Also, your coolant pump probably is pumping some fluid around--unless it has seized. If it's just running fluid out of the weep holes then...well i'm not sure to tell the truth but I think it still pumps some fluid in that case. But unless you can keep the coolant topped off adequately then there might not be enough in the engine (or there could be enough air pockets) that parts of the cooling channels might be partly filled with air instead of coolant.

You could warp the head ....etc etc.

Too many unknowns for me. I'd just call a tow unless it were a life or death situation. Or, if you are in an unpopulated area, you could get the car up to like 30, drop it into neutral so it can coast, so the engine can go down to idle...or even turn off the engine while the car is moving. You will have residual brake assist vaqcuum in the brake booster so for an emergency stop there would be enough in there for one or two good mashes of the brake. You wouldn't have power steering but that's ok. YOou could easily go 2.5 miles that way by starting up the car like 3 times, getting it to speed, then coasting it down to zero.

[eight]

Batever is right.

I believe the temp sensor is near the filler cap and the fluid needs to be circulating for that to be worth anything. I would tow it or just turn it on, get going a little, coast, wait a few min., repeat.

[H22Artman]

2.5 miles is barely enough time to get the engine to operating temp.

if it takes 10 mins to warm the car up in the morning what is five minutes driving it to the shop gonna do?

unless ALL the impeller blades on the pump have rusted completely away or the impeller itself has come away from the pump shaft the pump is pumping some water. just not enough to keep it from coming out the weep hole. certainly enough to get you a couple miles down the road.

[Solus]

I personally wouldnt risk it. I'd just as soon see you spend the money on the tow, rather than spend a whackload more to replace the engine if it doesnt make it there. It could be alright, but its a sure bet everything will survive having it towed.

[batever]

2.5 miles is barely enough time to get the engine to operating temp.

if it takes 10 mins to warm the car up in the morning what is five minutes driving it to the shop gonna do?

unless ALL the impeller blades on the pump have rusted completely away or the impeller itself has come away from the pump shaft the pump is pumping some water. just not enough to keep it from coming out the weep hole. certainly enough to get you a couple miles down the road.

I basically don't disagree with your general thrust here, it is very likely that a good deal of coolant is getting circulated, and for all I know you actually have practical experience with this issue that I don't (for example, you've actually moved a car, or several, with a bad water pump this way).

My cb7gets to full operating temp (according to the coolant temperature gauge, and again there's the issue of where in the engine that temp reading is coming from) in 2 to 3 miles, too. But that's with a fully operating water pump and a full load of coolant that's fully bled. The head could get a lot hotter, faster, without a well functioning water pump.. Oil flow will be carrying heat away from the valves and pistons, but the coolant won't be as effectively removing the heat from the oil and the head is going to get a lot hotter than it normally would is my guess. However, there are approximately 4 liters of oil in the engine and that takes a bit to fully heat up so that adds some cooling buffer for a short run of the engine.

If someone is aware of all the issues then they can more safely gamble by running the car with a blown water pump--i tend to be cautious by nature so I wanted to get my opinion and thoughts out there in case they would be of use to the OP--because I didn't know how much he knows about it and it's usually better to have more knowledge than less. I would make sure it has a full oil crankase, and maybe even overfill it by half a quart. That much won't harm the engine but will add an extra buffer by increasing the time it takes for the engine oil to exceed normal maximum operating temperature (which is around 210 Fahrenheit).

[H22Artman]

I basically don't disagree with your general thrust here, it is very likely that a good deal of coolant is getting circulated, and for all I know you actually have practical experience with this issue that I don't (for example, you've actually moved a car, or several, with a bad water pump this way).

My cb7gets to full operating temp (according to the coolant temperature gauge, and again there's the issue of where in the engine that temp reading is coming from) in 2 to 3 miles, too. But that's with a fully operating water pump and a full load of coolant that's fully bled. The head could get a lot hotter, faster, without a well functioning water pump.. Oil flow will be carrying heat away from the valves and pistons, but the coolant won't be as effectively removing the heat from the oil and the head is going to get a lot hotter than it normally would is my guess. However, there are approximately 4 liters of oil in the engine and that takes a bit to fully heat up so that adds some cooling buffer for a short run of the engine.

If someone is aware of all the issues then they can more safely gamble by running the car with a blown water pump--i tend to be cautious by nature so I wanted to get my opinion and thoughts out there in case they would be of use to the OP--because I didn't know how much he knows about it and it's usually better to have more knowledge than less. I would make sure it has a full oil crankase, and maybe even overfill it by half a quart. That much won't harm the engine but will add an extra buffer by increasing the time it takes for the engine oil to exceed normal maximum operating temperature (which is around 210 Fahrenheit).

this is all assuming ONLY the water pump has failed. we really dont know the OP's symptoms other than "the water pump is gone".

its possible that his water pump took a complete shit and is totally non-functional.

its more likely that the pump has simply worn out due to age. in which case it is designed to let you know that its no longer pumping efficiently ala the weep hole.

if it was my car, which i am in LOVE with, has an H and is my only source of transportation. i would do it.

the risk of such a short distance vs engine parts/sensors being affected is very low.

let the car sit all night, fire it up early in the AM (less traffic) and go drop the car off.

i bet the half of my life that i spent under the hood that as long as the pump is in otherwise functional condition and there are no other outstanding factors that a quick trip to the shop with a cold engine and even a half functional WP will do no harm.

[batever]

this is all assuming ONLY the water pump has failed. we really dont know the OP's symptoms other than "the water pump is gone".

its possible that his water pump took a complete shit and is totally non-functional.

its more likely that the pump has simply worn out due to age. in which case it is designed to let you know that its no longer pumping efficiently ala the weep hole.

if it was my car, which i am in LOVE with, has an H and is my only source of transportation. i would do it.

the risk of such a short distance vs engine parts/sensors being affected is very low.

let the car sit all night, fire it up early in the AM (less traffic) and go drop the car off.

i bet the half of my life that i spent under the hood that as long as the pump is in otherwise functional condition and there are no other outstanding factors that a quick trip to the shop with a cold engine and even a half functional WP will do no harm.

Coming from you, I'll buy that--what's in the yellow and the rest of it too.

Thanks for the input. It's always great to get the perspective and experience of people on here that will round out what you already know.