w124 230E water pump question

[tonyd]

There's coolant appearing in my lower tray each day, about a pint every weekend, & I suspect the waterpump is leaking.
.Is there some way of making sure? If so, is it urgent?
If so, is it a straightforward job to replace it ? . My 230E is a standard W124 saloon...lovely nick! 186K miles and still better than the wife's new Omega..bye, Tony

 

[Spike]

Are you loosing coolant? check the level of your resevoir.

I suspect the water is coming from elsewhere as losing those volumes of water you would be overheating massively by now.

If yoiu are not losing coolant then you should look at your water run off's on either side of the car below the windscreen - maybe they are blocked by leaves or debris.

 

[tonyd]

continued...

The coolant reservoir confirms that the engine is losing coolant, but I always top it up before getting near the stage of overheating.
It looks to be leaking from the front of the engine where the waterpump is located, and I was wondering if the waterpump does leak externally, and what causes this?

 

[NormanB]

There was a mod issued (if your pump is not the original to fit a tube to divert the tell tale leak off away from the belts - if you have water dripping from here then the waterpump is shot. However, saying that I have just popped the bonnet on mine and I cannot see it! (You probably need to remove the undertray - and it is too cold to do that at the moment -I'm a wimp!! Leaking waterpumps are not the easiest things to detect as they can often hold when cold and only let go when hot.

Anyway, there is nothing repairable on the waterpump and it is probably the mechanical shaft seal that has gone.

If it has gone then you should replace with a genuine MB one the cost difference to alternatives is minor. There are other bits and bobs to replace while you are in there to save you going back later. Here are a few threads from another forum which while not directly relevant will 'read you in to the issues'

It is not normally a big job - Have you got a Haynes?

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopfor...hreadid=42369&highlight=waterpump+replace

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=34831&highlight=antifreeze


Hope this is helpful
NormanB