Water pump impeller erosion

This water pump (allegedly new) was installed early 2007 by a shop. I never had any cooling issues until about 3 months ago when the radiator started leaking. The coolant was a nasty brownish/red color, but figured it was that way because it hasn't been touched since the pump replacement. I thought I did a good job flushing the system out and replacing everything per the :: recommendations in the 1000s of overheating posts I read through.

After the job, I noticed that the coolant almost right away reverted back to the rust color. I didn't really care until I started having overheating issues the last few weeks. After draining the system, pulled the pump and found that all the impeller blades have severely eroded away.



I've talked to some people and they've never heard/seen something like this before, at least for a part that was new in 07. Is there anything I should look at to make sure this doesn't happen again? I'll probably do another flush in the near term if there is any remnant material in there.

4 years on a replacement water pump, sounds fine to me.

Use good quality parts, name brand coolant mixed to 50/50 ratio, flush the system using a chemical flush and refill every 3 years or 36,000 miles using distilled water and ethylene glycol coolant.

I will bet the shop used the cheapest rebuilt water pump they could find. I always buy new water pumps, rebuilts never seem to last.

Tim_MN said:

Use good quality parts, name brand coolant mixed to 50/50 ratio, flush the system using a chemical flush and refill every 3 years or 36,000 miles using distilled water and ethylene glycol coolant.

I will bet the shop used the cheapest rebuilt water pump they could find. I always buy new water pumps, rebuilts never seem to last.

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This.

Also look for radiator caps that have "sacrificial anodes" attached (easier for the later system,) it's essentially a zinc slug that is meant to corrode first.

The same principle is at work in better home water heaters - the key difference is that instead of checking them every six months or so, you check the ones at home every couple of years or so (they're larger, even though they deal with more volume.)

As far as flush/change coolant, I do it every time I have to go in for wretched smog - which is two years. Seems excessive, but maintenance is almost invariably cheaper than repair...

Seen only one other one do that but it was on a 99 3.0 Taurus and it actually corroded bad enough to eat into the timing cover. Once coolant loses the anti-corrosion additives, its time to change it, no matter how many balls it floats. Coolant, PS fluid and brake fluid are mostly over looked; as long as they're full, they're fine people think. They break down and collect moisture just like engine oil or trans fluid and should be changed/flushed every 3-5 years.

saw that on my nephew's 98 TJ with a 4 banger. my brother (cheap a$$) bought the cheapest reman he could find, it lasted 2 years and then I ad to re replace it. not many miles between.

Bump - I'm pretty sure that my XJ is suffering the same fate.

My coolant was the color of chili. My radiator was fried and leaking. I replaced the radiator, and flushed the system, and my jeep is still quickly overheating. The upper radiator hose is to hot to hold, and the lower radiator hose is barely warm. The same goes with the heater core hoses.

Simple. Low pH in the coolant. 7 years is too long without a flush or at least a drain and fill.
Edit:
Didn't notice this was a revival from '11

Digger87xj said:

Simple. Low pH in the coolant. 7 years is too long without a flush or at least a drain and fill.
Edit:
Didn't notice this was a revival from '11

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Yeah sorry. I went five years. During that time I flushed the heater core and refilled coolant. Heading to the parts store today.

Turns out this was exactly my issue. Incidentally, my pump was replaced by a shop also, a vender on . I'm going to chalk this one up to poor maintenance on the owner's part

Holy smoke, that impeller looks like a Chinese throwing star!

Does ma mopar still offer a better pump than the generic auto parts store reman?

I like to go mopar only when it comes to parts on these jeeps.

Gohuntga said:

Holy smoke, that impeller looks like a Chinese throwing star!

Does ma mopar still offer a better pump than the generic auto parts store reman?

I like to go mopar only when it comes to parts on these jeeps.

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Many factors involved, the quality of the part and coatings is only one of them.

One of the main factors is the quality of the coolant, what type and how much additive it has. The coolant has additives that are supposed to coat the inside of the motor and help suppress oxidation, insulate (slow leeching) and neutralize the PH.

Electrolysis is a tricky thing. No one size fits all solution. You basically have a glycol solution, which is a good conductor, in contact with dissimilar metals which can produce there own current and electrolysis. Along with rotating parts that may build a charge of their own. Current flow through the metals from the charging system. And even moisture and which parking spot you choose, some places are more prone to electrolysis than others, it depends on the underground current flow..

Air mixed in with the coolant can also cause a chemical reaction, everything from electrolysis to PH imbalance. PH imbalance can also generate electricity and accelerate leeching (metal migration). The PH in the coolant can start to change in a few days inside a motor.

Air does it

Put a couple of drops of green coolant on the battery, it will be red in 2 days

I used a dealer water pump for about $80. My factory one lasted 317,000 miles. I have seen customers at repair shops go back 2 and 3 times because whatever the shop was using kept leaking. I figure the QC on Mopar parts is higher and its not worth the hassle if you're broke down, getting towed, laying on your back in the snow, etc. over $45. Plus its an easy way to keep the Chinese content of my Jeep to a minimum.

md21722 said:

I used a dealer water pump for about $80. My factory one lasted 317,000 miles. I have seen customers at repair shops go back 2 and 3 times because whatever the shop was using kept leaking. I figure the QC on Mopar parts is higher and its not worth the hassle if you're broke down, getting towed, laying on your back in the snow, etc. over $45. Plus its an easy way to keep the Chinese content of my Jeep to a minimum.

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I tend to agree. You know I tried to pick one up but the dealer wasn't open on Sunday. Sadly, I was there the day before picking up an OEM t-stat, but I didn't know my waterpump was shot at the time. Even though the prices were the same ~$35, I went with a Napa unit over Autozone and O'Reily.

Rebuilt "Lifetime Warranty" water pumps last 1/2 to 1/3 as long as genuine Jeep or brand new water pumps. Cheap parts are cheap for a reason.

Preventative maintenance pays for itself.