92 accord: where is the water pump located?

[lilshaun1983]

I think it seized up and thats why i dont have any water in the radiator and that im over heating cause i changed the thermostat and it wont stop. Where is it at and how hard is it to change. Pics will help.

[ceelooboob]

remove your timing belt cover...its under there.

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=55332
take a look at that link

[batever]

water pump is a pain to get at. You should download a manual and look at the timinb belt change/engine section and the cooling system section to get a good visual.

Also, to clarify from a previous thread, the driver's side is usually referred to as "left side" and the passenger side is "right side it wasn't clear that that was straight in your other thread. Left and right sides are given from the point of being in the car looking forward over the hood.

If you are getting a leak on the left side (driver's side) of the engine, it definitely could be a water pump leak.

it's on the left side of the engine, not visible but about 3 inches in from the left side engine covers (just look down the left side of the engine toward the ground--the water pump is 3 inches or so inside that engine cover, behind the alternator belt that you can see from the hood)

It's not easily accessible and if you need to change it, you might as well replace the timing belts as well as you have to take them off anyways just to get to it.

Best thing is to start by downloading a manual as it's a somewhat major undertaking if you've never done it (as I recently discovered!).


If you have a good tool set, time and patience you can do it. Otherwise it's probably a $300-$400 job at the mechanic's.

good luck and keep us posted.

[lilshaun1983]

Its at the bottom behind the engine cover? Do i have to replace the belts or can they wait?

[Shay91Racer]

its better to go ahead and change the belts. The water pump is behind the covers on the right side of your engine. I had to move from top to bottom to the top to get it out lol but its not hard. You generally change the water pump and timing belt at the same time, but be careful with that because if you're inexperienced you'll mess up something. Get a manual and take ur time tho and unless ur gifted, you'll be fine.

[92bently]

yeh you definately need to do the waterpump and timing belt at the same time....also is the water pump was seized up, the car wouldnt run...it would shred the timing belt causing the car not to run.....if its leaking thats one thing but u said u had no coolant in the radiator, i would fill it with water and run it and see where its leaking...also after the thermostat how many time did u fill the radiator??if u only filled it one time, and didnt use a air lift to remove the air in the system before u filled it, the thermostat might have opened giving the false impression the cooling system is low, just a thought

[lilshaun1983]

well the water pump is not leaking at all though and other than the ac there are no other leaks that i can see. yea i only filled it one time. and what is an air lift?

[batever]

Okay, maybe put the waterpump issue aside, I have a feeling that is not your problem. I think you probably haven't used the right procedure/sequence in refilling your cooling system and that is why it isn't full enough and you are having other problems.

I never heard the term "air lift" before that 92Bently used. However, I think he is talking about bleeding the air out of the cooling system, which you have to do. You never said whether you bled your system of air when you filled it with coolant. Several people have mentioned the need to bleed the air out, but you haven't said whether you've done it so I'll mention it again.

I can't recall whether you said you are using a manual or not, if you're not download one from the site or get a Haynes manual. Actually, get the Haynes manual because it explains in words how the cooling system works, whereas the Honda shop manual doesn't, it just had all the diagrams and procedures. It will be helpful because it will have a diagnostic chart and suggestions.

In the meantime, here's the actual procedure for refilling the cooling system.

Here is what the Honda manual says to do and the order to do it in:

If the coolant system has just water in itinstead of coolant mixture, , set the heater temperature to high and drain the ater/coolant out. If it were me, I'd drain ALL the water out, using both the valve at the bottom of the radiator and the bolt on the engine block. Or, since that's a pain, just use the radiator drain valve and be aware that at some point you'll have to test the coolant for the correct mixture and fix it (particularly if you live somewhere where it freezes outside). (setting heater temp to high will open up the the heater core and let you drain that along w/the rest of the system). When you refill, use 50/50 Honda coolant mixture. Not another kind of antifreeze, get the Honda kind. You need a little more than around 7 quarts, almost 2 gallons, to fill the system.

0) make sure the heater in the car is set to full hot. Leave the car off for now.
1) fill the reservoir (the plastic one) up with coolant mixture to the Full level
2) loosen the air bleed bolt, (which is just behind where the upper hose attaches with a clamp, near the thermostat. )
3) fill the radiator up with coolant, tightening the air bleed bolt once a steady stream (with no bubbles) of coolant flows out of it.
4) finish topping off the radiatore until it's full up to the bottom of the fill neck
5) leave the radiator cap off, and start the car. let it run until the car is warm (radiator fan comes on at least two times)

in the meantime, keep an eye on your temp. guage and make sure the car isn't overheating!!

6) once the car is warm, retop the radiator if necessary. Shut off the car, put the radiator cap on, and restart the car.
7) Pray that this solves your overheating problem. (okay, that part wasn't in the manual).

If it does solve it, I would still keep an eye on my coolant level and look for leaks.

PS

You have used the term "water" a few times in your post. If you are actually using just water, that might be ok just for short diagnosis of leaks, but really water boils at 212 F and is not a good coolant so don't run your engine for long on just water. If you fill it up with water then run it a short while to see if there are leaks, make sure you drain all the water out and replace it with 50/50 Honda coolant/water mixture.

Also when water it boils it can overpressure your cooling system (because of steam pressure). It's easy for it to boil because--well just imagine, you've got gas burning/exploding in the engine and the water is going thru channels there in the engine block to help cool the engine block and the oil, which can easily average 300 deg F and even be more in certain parts of the engine. I believe coolant temperature can stabilize anywhere from 212-260 degrees fahrenheit when the system is circulating it reliably to the radiator and back, depending on the car and how how long/what kind of driving. That's above the boiling point of water, but not above the boiling point of the coolant mixture. ( I'm not sure what exactly waht temp Accords stabilize their cooling system at, but the coolant can easily get over 212 F that's for sure.)

That's why it's important to use a coolant mixture for one, because if you use straight water it can easily go to vapor form as circulates thru the engine. (It would take a good 5-10 minutes for all of it to do that, assuming the water pump and thermostat are working right, which you still haven't established.)

If the leak is on the right side (passenger side) like you said earlier, it's NOT the water pump and could be an issue/leak with any of the coolant hoses on the right side.

When the thermostat detects 194 deg F, it triggers the radiator fan and also circulates coolant to the radiator I believe. I'm not solid on the circulating to the radiator part, maybe that always happens, but I'm sure that the thermo. triggers the radiator fan.

don't open the radiator cap while the system is hot, it's dangerous, but you knew that. Wait for the system to come back to room temperature before opening a sealed radiator because it could be pressurized and spray out on you causing serious burns.

I think your problem may be as simple as doing the air bleed procedure and using actual coolant instead of water. You may also have a leak in one of your hoses though, and I believe there are O rings that could cause coolant loss if they fail-not sure about that though. I would leave the water pump issue aside for now as you aren't seeing liquid on that side of the car.

good luck figuring this out, I'll check back on the thread.

[lilshaun1983]

i think i might have found a leak coming from behind the motor cause i heard water or something hitting the down pipe. what hoses are back there?

[hondamikk]

perhaps check the lines going to your heater core and make sure they aren't leaking. hopefully it's not something nasty like a head gasket or freeze plugs.

[batever]

if you actually are hearing water, I would get an inspection mirror and a flashlight and look around and see if I could see the source.

have you put the car up and looked at it from below (make sure to do it safely--I don't have a sense for what your experience level is with lifting the car, supporting it and blocking it, and working underneath it. If in doubt for the right safety procedures, I would stick with using the mirror. Also, if by chance you don't know specifically and exactly how to do it and what to look out for, please post a question and someone of the forum (me for example) will gladly explain what we know.)

[lilshaun1983]

well i saw some water dripping on top of the driver side axle and a little bit on the cross member by the flex pipe but i cant pinpoint where its coming from though

[lilshaun1983]

i tried bleeding air from that bleeder valve and still it overheats and i also used coolant. im getting really pissed off right now!!! i dont know what else to do anymore.

[batever]

i feel your frustration.

the water dripping on the driver's side axle is definitely consistent w/ a water pump leak. It is also consistent with a heater core hose leak, so check that out too.

you could get under the car and look for a leak trail where the lower timing cover meets the engine, that would give you a clue.

you've changed the thermostat, so that (probably)isn't the problem.

maybe your water pump isn't pumping correctly.

before you go ahead and rip the car apart, try getting some more info about how the system is circulating coolant (or not). Try this: What you do is open the radiator cap (when the system is cold) and put a thermometer in the radiator (an instant-read kitchen one will work, they are like $5 at the supermarket) , then start the car and wait for it to heat up. The temp in the radiator will come up slowly. Wait for the fan to come on and check the temperature in the radiator. It should go up faster now because the thermostat is allowing coolant to circulate to the radiator now. When the temperature gauge on the cluster is in its normal range (say, 1/2 up or a little more), the temperature in the radiator should be approaching 200 degrees. If the radiator temperture doesn't get up that high and but the gauge in the cluster is halfway up or even higher (approaching overheating, the water pump might not be circulating the coolant enough. (the temp gauge in the cluster gets its reading from a temperature sending unit, not from the thermostat).

note that the cooling fan should come on around the temperature that the cooling fan comes on at. It should come on and off around: 190-200F, and switch off when the temperature drops somewhat below the temperature it came on at.


If the temperature in the radiator doesn't go up quickly, yet the coolant temp gauge on the dash is saying the coolant is getting hot (when it's about in the middle would be around 200 F) then the water pump might not be pumping sufficient volume to the radiator to cool it off.

unfortunately, there's no super simple way to even look at the water pump without taking at least the upper engine cover off, which involves the alternator, power steereing, and ac belt off, supporting the engine by the oil pan, taking the engine bracket off (so you can undo the upper engine cover) and taking the valve cover off (so you can lift the upper cover off ) then undoing the two bolts that hold the upper cover on. AT that point you could look down there with a flashlight and an inspection mirror. Anyways I'd say you probably have to replace the WP anyways.

B

changing that is a big deal the first time you do it. you can do it, but i'm warning you, its a big deal the first time you go in there. Once you know how, not so much but maybe 4 hours for an amateur who's done it before and knows exactly what tools he/she needs, much more if you haven't done it before.

[hondamikk]

that's not a half bad idea. i never thought of that to check the temp. seriously, i'm not clowning at all. my cb7 would do the same thing, but that was in 110+ degree heat. and it would only do it if the a/c was running and the car was sitting, like at a stop light or drive thru. pretty obvious reason for that prob. but i've had friends that their honda overheated no matter what we did (stopping just short of the water pump). that simple, easy little test there woulda saved a lot of headache. lol

lilshaun1983:
yeah, while you're in there replacing the water pump, do the timing belt. you gotta take it off to r&r the pump anyways