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So can anyone confirm or deny if coolant will destroy my belts?
Water pump packed in today. I got it changed last year. Where do I stand?
- Thread starter Ricochet J
- Start date
Apparently it does cause damage to them, destroy is a bit of an overstatement but it does damage them it seems.
I wasn't being sarcastic before, I did not know that, I wouldn't have imaged coolant would have done anything to the belt other than made it went. I did a bit of reading and apparently dalin is correct.
I wasn't being sarcastic before, I did not know that, I wouldn't have imaged coolant would have done anything to the belt other than made it went. I did a bit of reading and apparently dalin is correct.
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Well, then, whilst the belt is off to replace the pump, might as well replace the belt as well 
I note you want the pump paid for. This will be around £50.
I'm not sure if this is true to all cars but my current car and the last car i owned both basically had the have cambelts done for the water pump to be replaced...
I'm not sure if this is true to all cars but my current car and the last car i owned both basically had the have cambelts done for the water pump to be replaced...
Caporegime
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Until you've established for certain that the pump has failed, then this discussion is futile really. Implicitly trusting the AA man's roadside assessment isn't something I'd be too keen to do.
If you find the pump has failed, contact them and ask for a partial refund on the basis that it wasn't manufactured to a satisfactory quality. Choose a price you think is reasonable considering the benefits you have enjoyed from the good.
The onus is on you to argue that the good should have lasted longer than 1 yr 4 months. You can argue this on the basis that the previous one lasted 9 years and that it is not typical for a good of this nature to last only 1 yr 4 months.
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/know-your-rights/SGAknowyourrights/
The fact that it comes with a 12 months warranty, which is an absolute legal guarantee that it must be free from even minor defects, failure after 16 months isn't normal.
The onus is on you to argue that the good should have lasted longer than 1 yr 4 months. You can argue this on the basis that the previous one lasted 9 years and that it is not typical for a good of this nature to last only 1 yr 4 months.
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/know-your-rights/SGAknowyourrights/
The fact that it comes with a 12 months warranty, which is an absolute legal guarantee that it must be free from even minor defects, failure after 16 months isn't normal.
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Same problem with certain items from the britpart (****part) replacement spares for landrover stuff here. I have no qualms using pattern parts for air/oil/fuel filters (I change them every 6 months or so anyway), but for something like a water/fuel/oil pump, power steering box etc etc then I'll pay more for OEM kit. Too many folks have had their britpart water pumps fail. The end result of this is a cooked headgasket. By the time your temp gauge registers 'tooooo hottt!' it's probably too late.
That aside, trading standards, consumer direct etc. A new pump should last much longer than 18 months. I recon the garage could well have used a pattern part instead of OEM in this case.
If you can compare the price of the pattern vs OEM part, see if they have charged you for the latter and fitted the former.
That aside, trading standards, consumer direct etc. A new pump should last much longer than 18 months. I recon the garage could well have used a pattern part instead of OEM in this case.
If you can compare the price of the pattern vs OEM part, see if they have charged you for the latter and fitted the former.
Was about to say this.
What car do you have? Maybe someone can say how much of a job it will be to do it
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X reg Focus.
Yeh it's old. Yeh it's a banger. But TBH I don't give monkey. I paid for the parts, and service of labour, and I'd expect the product I'm recieving to perform well.
The annoying this is, all of this has seemed to have happened when I need my car the most.
I called the garage up. Explained the situation. They asked me to bring the car to the garage so we can "talk" about it face to face.
Watch this space.
Yeh it's old. Yeh it's a banger. But TBH I don't give monkey. I paid for the parts, and service of labour, and I'd expect the product I'm recieving to perform well.
The annoying this is, all of this has seemed to have happened when I need my car the most.
I called the garage up. Explained the situation. They asked me to bring the car to the garage so we can "talk" about it face to face.
Watch this space.
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Soldato
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Well, then, whilst the belt is off to replace the pump, might as well replace the belt as well
That is wise, you should also think about the tensioner and idler. Might as well make it a cam belt service if it has to be timed anyway.
But don't worry about leaks harming belts in the short term.
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Update.
Sorry for the late reply, got it all sorted now. I took the car to the garage who changed the pump. Naturally they rejected that it was the pump before they conduct tests of their own. I supervised whilst they were conducting the tests to see where the leak was coming from. It was infact coming from the thermostat and not the pump.
So they replaced the thermostat. And retested for leaks, and none were apparant. I asked if leaking fluid would damage the belts. The mechanic responded with what everyone else said, that it does. However, he was confident that due to the position of the thermostat, and that the belts were half obscured by another componant, no fluid actually leaked onto the belts. Which meant not needing to replace them.
Naturally I'm sceptical about this. But, since the fault of the leak wasn't the water pump but rather the thermostat, it means for them to replace the belts, it would cost me rather than them. So, I've decided to play the risk game and see what happens.
I've taken the car for a blast on A roads, and in traffic stop-starts, and the temps seem very stable - i.e. don't move at all from the middle.
Sorry for the late reply, got it all sorted now. I took the car to the garage who changed the pump. Naturally they rejected that it was the pump before they conduct tests of their own. I supervised whilst they were conducting the tests to see where the leak was coming from. It was infact coming from the thermostat and not the pump.
So they replaced the thermostat. And retested for leaks, and none were apparant. I asked if leaking fluid would damage the belts. The mechanic responded with what everyone else said, that it does. However, he was confident that due to the position of the thermostat, and that the belts were half obscured by another componant, no fluid actually leaked onto the belts. Which meant not needing to replace them.
Naturally I'm sceptical about this. But, since the fault of the leak wasn't the water pump but rather the thermostat, it means for them to replace the belts, it would cost me rather than them. So, I've decided to play the risk game and see what happens.
I've taken the car for a blast on A roads, and in traffic stop-starts, and the temps seem very stable - i.e. don't move at all from the middle.
Except that the EU law states that something has to last a reasonable amount of time, up to 5 (or was it 10) years, so even if a manufacturer only lists 12 months warranty it does not the actual warranty under law is 12 months