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no water pump, yet must drive!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by 100MPG, Jul 24, 2007.

  1. 100MPG

    100MPG New Member

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    shop told me that best and pulley for water pump bad on my '06. have been driving several days with the odd behavior, so am thinking that one more probably will not be catastrophic -- thoughts?

    the triangle of death comes on occasionally, but goes off again , too. the coolant has never boiled over, leading me to believe that the engine is not getting hot enough for morbidity or mortality. i guess since i am driving at sub maximum horse power, and in relatively cool climate (SF), that it's still within operating limits. (spits codes P0117 and P1121)

    so the question is, drive it home again tonight, to bring back in morning once shop has parts? or suffer horrible transportation problems.
     
    #1 100MPG, Jul 24, 2007
  2. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Risk ruining engine vs. inconvenience. I really don't want to sound condescending, but why are you even asking this question? All of the things under that hood that are cooled need to be cooled for a good reason. Cylinder heads warp and inverters crap out, and either way you're talking a lot of money and down time.
     
    #2 brick, Jul 24, 2007
  3. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    There's gotta be a way for you to get around that's cheaper than a new engine.
     
    #3 hyo silver, Jul 24, 2007
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the horrible transportation problems would be risking having your engine crap out on you.
     
    #4 galaxee, Jul 24, 2007
  5. 100MPG

    100MPG New Member

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    ouch! OK, i give.

    i'll admit i have been stupid. i guess i figured that as long as it didn't boil over, and since it was not always on, that it was so hot it would damage the engine, but perhaps that was naive. these engines are precision instruments, aren't they.

    i will suffer now, for future security and solvency...

    thanks for the sanity and forthrightness!

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ Jul 24 2007, 04:24 PM) [snapback]484331[/snapback]</div>
     
    #5 100MPG, Jul 24, 2007
  6. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Don't take it personally. We just hate to see a good Prius go bad, and a happy Prius owner head to the GMC dealership. Hope you're back on the road soon!
     
    #6 brick, Jul 24, 2007
  7. KTPhil

    KTPhil Active Member

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    SF has a great public transportation system--just use it instead!
     
    #7 KTPhil, Jul 24, 2007
  8. 1fixitman

    1fixitman Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(100MPG @ Jul 24 2007, 05:20 PM) [snapback]484324[/snapback]</div>
    I agree on the public transport thing.....on the other hand....how many miles are on your prius and has it ever been involved in a accident on the front end?
    D Rock
     
    #8 1fixitman, Jul 24, 2007
  9. 100MPG

    100MPG New Member

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    how'd you know? indeed, it has been in a fairly serious frontal-offset collision. 15K miles.

    previously, it had a weird, subtle problem that confounded everyone, including the dealer; turned out to be a *hairline* crack (non-structural) in the intake manifold -- which i fixed by cleaning with brake cleaner then applying a bead of high-temp RTV. worked like a charm, $5 insteat of $500, tho i guess a little kludgy to some aethetic tastes, a bit like fixing something with baling wire and duct tape, but hey...

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(D Rock @ Jul 24 2007, 09:46 PM) [snapback]484483[/snapback]</div>
     
    #9 100MPG, Jul 25, 2007
  10. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    What's the VIN?
     
    #10 richard schumacher, Jul 25, 2007
  11. 100MPG

    100MPG New Member

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    JTDKB20U753089377

    why?

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jul 25 2007, 04:28 PM) [snapback]484984[/snapback]</div>
     
    #11 100MPG, Jul 27, 2007
  12. 9G-man

    9G-man Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(100MPG @ Jul 27 2007, 06:54 PM) [snapback]486405[/snapback]</div>
    So he knows what pre-owned Prius to avoid, why else?

    Previous accident damage is always the likely suspect when unusual malfunctions occur. Why wouldn't insurance cover the damaged manifold, even if post repair claim.
     
    #12 9G-man, Jul 27, 2007
  13. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    Yeah, the shock of an accident can put stress on the water pump bearings, which will fail much sooner than normal.

    FYI, see my post about increasing water pump longevity: PriusChat Forums
     
    #13 pEEf, Oct 5, 2010
  14. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Just to add a bit of tech info to the mix, while the engine may not -boil- the coolant, it can boil in small locations if the coolant isn't flowing. Probably didn't happen to you, but I've seen it on other engines with subsequent ring failure due to overheating (they soften and don't seal any more). You can actually get away without a radiator as long as the coolant -flows- through the engine, as long as you aren't producing a lot of power (highway) and/or the ambient temp is not very high.
     
    #14 David Beale, Oct 5, 2010
  15. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    As another aside, Long before I got my Prius, I heard from a 2004 Prius owner that had a pump start to seize up at around 140k. He was driving from Saline valley (in the middle of nowhere) so he decided to cut the belt off and try to keep driving. It was not hot outside, and he simply kept the heater on max and drove slowly out (which you have to do on that trail anyway). Combined with the low temps, The electric heater pump must have circulated enough coolant to avoid an overheat.

    Not saying that this is recommended by any means, but he did it and his car is still on the road!

    I suspect the pump failure, especially in this manner, was due to the belt being too tight, which is why mine is loose now! (see post linked in my above post for more info)
     
    #15 pEEf, Oct 5, 2010
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