1999 Dodge Neon water pump leak?

BWINDERS

MEMBER
1999 DODGE NEON

Earlier today I was driving and my car shut off at a stop sign. I got it to start again and it shut off at the next stop sign, so after a few minutes I got it to start again and immediately pulled over as there was a small amount of smoke coming from under my hood. The temp gauge didn't say it was overheating, but I think it mightve been stuck, because that had to be what happened. After sitting there for a while it started and stayed that way for a while, I let the engine run. I drove it to the gas station and put some coolant directly in the radiator and the resevoir, and almost all of it leaked right out. I started to drive it home and had to pull over about 6 times to let it cool down because it kept overheating( temp gauge showed it this time). I think its the water pump that is leaking, but I know very little about cars, and was wondering if it could be anything else? Also, the heater wasn't working in the car today at all.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,912 POSTS

There's a lot of things that could be leaking, but regardless of the cause, low coolant level will stop it from circulating through the heater core, so the heater will still blow air, but it will be cold air.

With a leak as fast as you described, it should be rather easy to locate. Corroded engine block core plugs and ruptured heater or radiator hoses will leak pretty fast. Water pump leaks usually start out rather slow, and get worse over days or weeks if you ignore it long enough.