Can you hear it making noise with the engine running? If you remove the belt and run the engine, does the noise stop? With the belt off, spin the pump by hand, does it feel rough or smooth?
The above should help you pinpoint whether the problem is the water pump. As for whether you can drive it or not, sure, if the risk of being stranded at the side of the road doesn't bother you. If you do choose to drive it, run the belt as loose as possible. bs Sent from my iPad On Jan 18, 2011, at 8:41 PM, Stefano Iachella <[email protected]> wrote: > Cats: > > Can I just get a quick confirmation that my water pump is giving up? > This morning a heard a sound like ducks passing overhead, but > it was coming from my car. I lift up the hood and see a line of black > on the hood tossed up from the pulley. It was damp but dried > quickly to look like flat paint. I first thought oil was dripping from > somewhere and being flung up, but since it dried, I guessed that > it must be grease from the water pump bearings. > > Am I diagnosing this correctly? > > If yes, can I keep driving for a while, or should I best park it until > I get a replacement? > > Thanks, > Stefano > Concord, CA > -- > to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi > or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected] -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
