Q: Is it possible to drive car with no water pump?
My car was acting up earlier this year so I took it to my new mechanic (alternator problems). He told me that my car does not have water pump and I need to put one in as soon as possible. All the car has is this tall jug that I put antifreeze/water and it has no connections or cords. I have been driving car for months with no problem but now the car desperately needs water pump. The engine looks rusty and its moldy in spots plus it keeps overheating. Also early last year I got a engine head job (removed entire engine and cleaned it and put in it back piece by piece) from old mechanic. My new mechanic guy said when old mechanic put engine back together they did not put water pump back in. I was looking at videos on YouTube and it seems like you need water pump for engine to work and I have been driving it but I don't know anything about cars. My question is it even possible to drive car with no water pump especially for 1 year and half? Thank you
My car has 175656 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hey there,
To answer your first question, yes, it is very possible to drive a car without a water pump. In fact, in the late 90’s, it was popular with many shade tree mechanics or hot rod enthusiasts to remove the water pumps (especially from their Mustang, Firebird, Camaro) in order to gain some extra horsepower. However, there are significant problems that will come up, one of which is overheating.
Sometimes mechanics have a hard time articulating the actual problem. In this case with your 2001 V6 Ford Mustang, it’s quite possible that the new mechanic is trying to tell you that you need a new water pump. I have a hard time believing that somebody took the stock water pump out of the V-6 engine entirely at some point and that the engine hasn’t completely shut down. But it is possible to run a motor without one – but highly unlikely.
If you plan on keeping your car, then you definitely need to have a new water pump installed, flush out the coolant system, and make sure all the coolant hoses are clean and free of holes. If you want to have this done, a technician from YourMechanic can look at your car and perform these replacements at your preferred location.
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