Ok so it happened again! i dont know if you guys remember when i posted that my water pump blew and it took out my radiator......well here it happenes again. This time i was about 25 miles away from home and the water pump blew. The fan shot out and took out about 3/4 of my radiator, made 5 new dents in my hood, fan shroud is...well not there, cut all my hoses and belts....this time the car actually caught on fire...both pump were built by duralast.....and i got them from autozone....what can i do??? this is the second time a duralast pump has "gernaded on me" any sugestions of what to do and well what pump should go in its place...never again will a duralast part go under my hood
Is that a rebuilt pump? I replaced my water pump a couple years ago, bought new from TA, no problems so far.
I go up to Autozone and ask for a rep to contact you regarding all the damage. I doubt there is anything that store manager can do for you. It almost sounds like a pulley misalignment that may be causing you to do through water pumps so quickly.
Take the repair bill to your autozone and file a damage claim. Ask for the cost of new parts and labor to repair your car. You may have to wait a while but they may pay for the whole deal.
F.y.i. (A) be sure to use a repair bill from a trusted professional local shop . a gm dealer would maybe be better . make sure they document all the info you tell them , exact vehicle info and their estimate of why the damage occured and total cost to repair correctly . from " AS IS " condition - don't fix it half way so its runnable and then take it in , let them see and assess the damage . put road kill pieces in a box and take with ya also . resist the temptation to jack the bill up - it is obvious and makes ya look like a golddigger . use regular list pricing . (B) do not have a mechanical garage assess the body damage - much more credible to have a good local body shop give you a similar estimate done as above . (C) did ya buy both water pumps at same location ? - good . take both bills to the store and inform them that you are doing the above estimates and ask if there is any more info they need and if you should contact anybody above the local store level to get the matter corrected to your satisfaction . have a note pad with you and write down names and phone numbers . ### hint - don't go in the store drunk and pissed-off acting with your greasy AC-DC shirt on and couple of buddies with ya . although it may not hurt to drag along a couple guys that are good customers at the store . resist the temptation to bring a hot girlfriend into the picture , distractions not needed , unless she is a lawyer of course . then by all means introduce her . dress good but casual , suit not needed , you'll look desperate unless ya wear a suit everyday . do not stand at a front counter and rag on a counter person in front of other customers , take a management type off to the side , make eye contact , be firm but willing to listen , if they give ya the " maybe not much we can do but give ya a new water pump " attitude get some phone numbers etc and make some calls . make notes on who ya talk to along the way with dates and times . follow up with the people that need to be contacted but don't be a pain in the ass and call 80 times a day . most people like to help people - don't make them dislike you . the bad news - this isn't a couple day procedure , it takes some time to grease some wheels . the good news - larger regional companies have more money to work with to keep customers happy than small local guys on a tight budget in todays tighter economy . if the bill comes to a good chunk of change ( fire - yikes ) don't be afraid to mention small claims court and actually use it . it is hard for a company to win in that situation , you may actually have the upper hand there . the place i work for ( chrysler dealership ) has been down that road a couple times - with good documentation - and lost . good luck and happy hunting . del * edit * if you had someone with some mechanical backround "help/look over your shoulder" on the installations a dated maybe even notorized (typed) note could be useful . is that person willing to show up in small claims court ? and don't worry about autozones pocketbook - they are most likely getting reimbersed from their supplier . this type of action helps the rest of us out too - gets the crap workmanship off their shelves .
Not electric. Definitely follow thru with the suggestions to go to Autozone and get a claim started. Is it still under warranty?
yup the water pump is still under warrenty. does anybody know about putting in an electric water pump on a buick 350? how do you run a belt to the alternator
water pump again Do you have a fan clutch? A bad bearing will put the housing off center and cause a vibration that could snap the shaft.
nope no fan clutch...i have had this 6 blade fan on my car since i got it about 3 years ago and ever since i rebuilt the engine and eveything was still fine. Then i moved out of az to cali and ever since then they have been taking a dump. My dad thinks it is because of the power increase due to elevation and moisture.
If I was to troubleshoot this problem I would have to look for mechanical failures,there's got to be something wrong somewhere.I respectfuly disagree on the elevation or moisture comment,or is this a common thing in California o No: ?I would look at correct pulleys,routing of belts and especially at the alingment and the tensioning.Is the pump located properly with the dowell pins on the cover?,(I have a new pump to go back on my engine,new casting,it has 5/16" holes and the pins are 1/4") a misalingment of the pump could potentially make the impeler rub inside the cavity and create some loads on the pump's shaft.Those things you can check and remedy yourself,if everything is fine it has to be the pump.If you still have the pump try to get to the shaft and look for signs of gaulling where the bearing rides,if there's gaulling there it probably happened just before it grenaded.Just trying to help,if you figure this out please let us know,there could be some bad pumps out there.
you also have to take into consideration where you get the part.the mega stores like autozone usually buy from the cheapest most consistant supplier that can keep the shelves full.that is usually not the best remanufactured part,quality wise uzzled: also these days new isnt allways a good sign either.research what you buy.but for these to grenade like you describe with no warning,i would look at pulley alignment,balancer condition first.elevation has nothing to do with it,moisture? its a water pump!!! the bearing is sealed,or it should be. :error:
no moisture and elevation do factor in a cars performance. i know this cause my roomates car got a large gain in horsepower when we moved here from 7,000 feet in arizona. the way my pullys are set up there is no way for them to be misalligned, there is only one way for the belts to go on. Well my belts did not seem to be tight. My mechanic is my dad and acording to him there was nothing wrong with the car...he said he has checked everything that could be possibly wrong, we says it is the water pump and nothing else, but i dont think he looked at the harmonic balencer though. ...i called autozone today...i was real nice and they pretty much told me that there was nothing they could do. So i went in there and talked with the manager and he said the same. He said that they were not reliable for anything in the car that was broken...why??? "because there is no possible way that a water pump could break the way that mine did" that what the manager said....so i called my dad and he went in and raised hell. i am talking he went in and pretty much yelled at the manager and now he is dealing with a guy at corprate and sounds like we are going to get our money....other wise...off to small claims court.
fans turns into propeller Take it from a repair shop owner. Never, Ever use a rebuilt water pump. or a rebuilt master cylinder, for that matter. Rebuilt parts are just that...RE-built. they intall a new bearing, press a new impeller onto the old shaft, paint it and call it new. this leaves the possibility that the shaft is worn or bent, the housing is worn or damaged, and, depending who was on QC that day, defects are not caught when they should be. Face it, 30 or 40 bucks for a rebuilt pump barely covers the cost of the bearing and the impeller, so the maker of these pumps has to cut corners elsewhere...usually in the payroll dept. Whenever repairing or restoring an old automobile, dont go for the cheapest...go for the best.
AutoBoner strikes again! These guys are the Wal-Mart of auto parts stores. I'm not saying that everything they sell is bad but you have to be careful what you buy there.When I had my own repair shop,I had to explain to some customers who just couldn't get it that a lifetime warranty at a price that was below my cost from other suppliers just means that they are building parts so cheap that they can afford to give a few away. I would rather have a AC Delco reman part from a reputable company than a Duralast made o No: new one. Mike B.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- no moisture and elevation do factor in a cars performance. i know this cause my roomates car got a large gain in horsepower when we moved here from 7,000 feet in arizona you are correct on this,i was reffering to it having anything to do with your w/p failure
I agree totally and I've taken it a step further after an experience with two NEW Beck Arnley water pumps (not from a cheap parts store) on an '83 Honda years ago. I installed a new pump from the dealer ($10 or so more) and never had trouble again. Now I buy my water pumps at the dealer only.
i always heard that duralast was junk. i replaced my water pump 4 years ago with a pump from car quest and havnt had any issues. dont use checker auto parts either, they to are junk.
