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Where'd the broken pieces of my Water Pump go & how do I find them?!?!?

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    #1

    Where'd the broken pieces of my Water Pump go & how do I find them?!?!?

    So I nearly overheated a few days ago - the best I can tell is that a chunk(s) of my water pump broke off near the gasket, and caused a leak that I didn't see. The engine got hot enough that a coolant hose burst while driving and sprayed coolant everywhere, but I was able to shut the car off before any real damage was done (I hope!). I duct-taped the hose, and added a bunch of 50/50 mix and limped my way home.

    I replaced the hose, water pump and thermostat today, but in the process I couldn't see or fish out the little missing chunk of water pump that seems to have disappeared into the bowels of my M42. The chunk that's gone is about 3/16" wide by about 1" long, so not very big.

    Any thoughts as to where this little chunk of metal could have gone to? how would I find out? is my little m42 going to explode as soon as I get coolant back into the system and start her up? I don't have a garage, so I would essentially have to tear this thing down in the street in front of my apartment - not fun!

    Thanks in advance . . .
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    #2
    omfg, this sounds like it could be a serious PITA. well, what open ports could there be where it would have gone? ... chase the trail of hoses to the block. If its not in the hoses, it could be in your block. your motor probably wont explode but if it got into any of the water jackets or coolant lines, it could prevent your motor from being able to properly circulate coolant again. Thats bad, and what is worse, is you may NEVER be able to find where it went. Worst case scenario.
    best case, it just went bouncing down the street... if you limped it home, and it didnt overheat to bad... you may be okay.

    drive it around with 1 eye on the road, the other on the temp gauge ;-)

    Originally posted by ApexGoblin
    well make sure your priorities are straight... e30 first :up:

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      #3
      Maybe a pic of the old water pump showing where the broken bit was would help.

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        #4
        Sounds like M42 rebuild time. There is no way to be sure unless you rebuild you can only speculate. I would recommend taking thurmostate off and water pump off then stick a hose in the thurmo state housing and turn it on full blast if you are lucky the peace may fall out.
        sigpic

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          #5
          Originally posted by Massimo View Post
          Sounds like M42 rebuild time. There is no way to be sure unless you rebuild you can only speculate. I would recommend taking thurmostate off and water pump off then stick a hose in the thurmo state housing and turn it on full blast if you are lucky the peace may fall out.
          as odd as it sounds, this is probably not a bad idea.

          Originally posted by ApexGoblin
          well make sure your priorities are straight... e30 first :up:

          Comment

            #6
            the piece is now chilling in the bottom of the block most likely. is it something that will ruin your engine? no probably not.

            Turbo M42 Build Thread :Here
            Ig:ryno_pzk
            I like the tuna here.
            Originally posted by lambo
            Buttchug. The official poster child of r3v.

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              #7
              Thanks for the responses guys! I've been driving it (softly) around for the last few days, and it seems fine. I do think I may have heard a rattle when I was bleeding the coolant and had to rev up the engine - it sounded like something small was bouncing around somewhere in the block @ around 3000rpm. Below that, no sounds. Haven't heard it in the last couple days though.

              Sorry, I forgot to take pictures before I tossed the old unit - but here's a diagram of where it chipped. It's really just a chip that allowed coolant to get past the O-ring and leak out:



              Originally posted by xikyle View Post
              as odd as it sounds, this is probably not a bad idea.
              Next time I get a chance to do this, i'll definitely do it! I don't have access to a hose (stupid apartment living), but it seems like a good idea. I did use my trusty telescoping magnet tool to poke around a bit from where the water pump sits, but didn't come up with anything.

              I'm used to keeping one eye on the temp gauge with e30s anyway, so i'll just continue as normal :)

              If something catastrophic happens, i'll call that divine intervention and go for that 24v swap i've always dreamed of. No way am I willing to tear everything down right now - no time or garage space to do so.

              Comment

                #8
                I'd say that piece is laying on the road somewhere. The rattle you heard was probably the valves or timing chain.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by vpilarrt View Post
                  I'd say that piece is laying on the road somewhere. The rattle you heard was probably the valves or timing chain.
                  This^^ + I don't think the piece you highlighted would be near enough to an open channels to go in... however, still possible. and it never hurts to drive responsibly

                  Originally posted by ApexGoblin
                  well make sure your priorities are straight... e30 first :up:

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