Seicento Worn/Faulty Water Pump?

[myself]

I think I might have a faulty water pump in my car- a Fiat Seicento Sporting 1998 with 72,000 miles on the clock.

It makes an intermittant grating/screeching noise for a couple of days or so and then goes quiet for weeks/months.

Recently, I've been noticing a small puddle of coolant under my engine each morning and I need to top up my radiator to bring it from minimum to maximum on the plastic tank every couple of weeks or so.

A pressure test did not reveal any leaks.

Can anyone confirm my suspicions or point me in another direction?

 

[imported_Ransoman]

Apologies for the lack of replys so far. I am sure someone will come along with some good advice soon.

I am not sure what could be causing this problem, all i can suggest is, when you hear the engine, pop the bonnet and have a look at the timing belt side of the engine and see if you can see water leaking. FIRE engined fiats are prone to head gasket problems, that could be causing problems too.

 

[myself]

Thanks, Ransoman.

I had the cylinder head gasket replaced a couple of years ago, so I'm hoping that it's not that.

The coolant is leaking very slowly. Like I said, it takes between a week and a fortnight to drop from maximum to minimum and a pressure test revealed no leaks.

 

[imported_Ransoman]

out of interest, what area is the water leaking from? aka, where exactly is the puddle in relation to the underside of the car?

Assuming the head gasket was fixed properly, then that should be ok for another few years yet.

 

[myself]

The puddles seems to form right between the front wheels. Possibly a bit closer to the driver-side.

 

[imported_Ransoman]

hmm, tricky.

To the left of the engine is the waterpump (looking from the front), to the right are the radiator hoses and thermostat. I am not confident enough to say which part could be leaking though. need more info.

When was your timing belt last replaced?

 

[myself]

Thanks, Ransoman.

The timing belt was replaced at the appropriate service whichever that was. 50,000 miles?

The radiator annd heating matrix were replaced a couple of years ago.

Been keeping an eye on the water loss this week and it goes from the Maximum line to just about half way between Maximum and the Minimum line in a week.

I'm more confident that it's the water pump after googling the symptoms of a failing water pump and talkng to a mechanic.

They're not that expensive, so it'll be no great loss if it turns out to be something else.