# Waterpump Going Out - A/C Causing Smoke?



## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

I am still in the process of trying to replace my waterpump, due to financial hardship I have not been able to get the part. 

Now another issue, when I use my A/C I get smoke and a smell of oil. I am thinking that the waterpump is seizing up, causing there to be more tension on the belt? 

Is the A/C connected to the same belt as my waterpump even? 

Eitherway I cannot use my A/C without seeing/smelling smoke, my temps do not ride, but I can see the smoke when I am idle. 

Did my compressor go out? The air blows cold when I drive, but warms up at idle.


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

Any help>?


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

it could be the belt is slipping causing the smoke. take a look.

If the A/C works on the highway then all is at least working.
If idle, either its slipping or the A/C 134a is low or high ( mine was high) 

hope you get the Waterpump fixed soon.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

havnt posted this in a while


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

Thanks for the diagram, so the AC belt is the same belt that does the waterpump, right? I am not too good at comprehending these things correctly. 

So if I replace my waterpump and that belt, this should stop the slipping? 

The second I turn my A/C on, I can smell the burnt oil smell. I tried using it again today and no luck, it is fine when I am cruising at 45, but when I slow down it's instantly hot.

Was 110 out today here in Phoenix, not the best weather to be driving in, I was covered in sweat.


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## leapfrog (Jan 26, 2010)

Good diagram IANH,
Water pump runs independent of a/c compressor. However when ever you engage the a/c it puts extra load onto the engine. With a faulty w/pump engine is not cooling down enough, temp will increase especially at low speeds ( no air cooling) 
Possible causes of smoke
1)Is there oil contamination on the engine block/cylinder head? If so increased temp from w/pump not functioning and extra load from a/c will start burn off of oil - smoke
2)Is there a screeching sound when the a/c is engaged? If so belt slipping and maybe burning up but can't really see that happening.
Best advice though is make a plan to replace the w/pump, not worth cooking engine its an expensive to repair. Once that done then see if a/c prob persists.
Good luck


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

leapfrog said:


> Good diagram IANH,
> Water pump runs independent of a/c compressor. However when ever you engage the a/c it puts extra load onto the engine. With a faulty w/pump engine is not cooling down enough, temp will increase especially at low speeds ( no air cooling)
> Possible causes of smoke
> 1)Is there oil contamination on the engine block/cylinder head? If so increased temp from w/pump not functioning and extra load from a/c will start burn off of oil - smoke
> ...


My engine is pretty dirty, and does have oil residue on the engine, but I have never smelled it before. I know my rear main seal just started to leak, it's not dripping out by any means but I found a small amount of outside the seal. 

I sometimes hear a screeching/whining sound, like when a belt is wet, but it's not all the time, very random when the A/C was on. 

I have to wait two more weeks to get the money for the waterpump, any advice on how to keep my car running during this time? It's not running hot currently, and I am not using my A/C anymore, and I am only driving at night if possible. 

Any other suggestions? This is my only car, and I am in a financial hardship currently, I am getting married this year and most of my wedding money is going towards bills this car.


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## sup_mario (Jun 30, 2010)

It's getting serious and serious everyday. You need to fix it asap


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

check the coolant level often. check the belt tension.
power steering fluid level ?
watch the temp gauge, make sure its where it normally is, too low is bad if there is low coolant as well as hot.
if coolant bottle is empty top up the radiator when its cold by removing the cap, then bleed the system per manual. you can find on here. if you keep enough coolant in it then it should be fine.


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

IanH said:


> check the coolant level often. check the belt tension.
> power steering fluid level ?
> watch the temp gauge, make sure its where it normally is, too low is bad if there is low coolant as well as hot.
> if coolant bottle is empty top up the radiator when its cold by removing the cap, then bleed the system per manual. you can find on here. if you keep enough coolant in it then it should be fine.


I check the coolant every morning before work, when the car is cooled down. 

How do I check belt tension, just buy pulling on the belts with my hand? 

The power steering fluid is full, but I have been told by a few places that it should be flushed, which I didn't even think was possible, just figured they were trying to scam me.


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## PTXer (Aug 31, 2006)

Remember what I told you about the water pump. If the noise (which is probably pretty loud by now) stops especially while you are driving, the pump has let go altogether. The coolant will start pouring out and you need to shut it down quick to keep from overheating the motor. Mine didn't leak at all until it totally let go. Hope it will last until you are ready to change it.


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

PTXer said:


> Remember what I told you about the water pump. If the noise (which is probably pretty loud by now) stops especially while you are driving, the pump has let go altogether. The coolant will start pouring out and you need to shut it down quick to keep from overheating the motor. Mine didn't leak at all until it totally let go. Hope it will last until you are ready to change it.


I am driving without any music so I can always hear it to make sure it's still going. The noise hasn't changed, sometimes it's louder first thing in the morning but for the most part it sounds the same. 

I have until the 16th until I get paid again, I really hope I make it until then. 

How do I replace the waterpump? Looks like a tight fit, I don't even know where the bolts are. 

While I am doing the waterpump, I am replacing the thermostat, gasket, hoses, and belts, anything else? 

I am pulling the front motor mount to get to the pump, the rubber is cracked and dryed out, should I put in a new mount too if I can afford it?


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

The waterpump finally went out today, I was in a parking lot by chance, I heard the noise stop, the car felt like it was going to die since the RPM's dropped, I think the belt/pulley locked up, after a few seconds the noise started again as I was pulling off to park, all the coolant leaked out. 

I got the car towed back home, gotta wait til Friday to go buy what I need. 

Any write ups on to replace the pump?


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## sup_mario (Jun 30, 2010)

I think you have a slipping belt that causes the smoke. Check it man.


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## PTXer (Aug 31, 2006)

Go back and look through your threads on this. I lossened the motor mount (block motor) and let it up and down to help get my arms/parts in and out. 5 bolts on the pump (1 a different length than others) 3 on the outflow housing. Be careful with your technique if you use RTV for gasketing. It will take a while to burp the system once you refill with coolant. Good luck.


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## PhxJosh (Jun 27, 2009)

PTXer said:


> Go back and look through your threads on this. I lossened the motor mount (block motor) and let it up and down to help get my arms/parts in and out. 5 bolts on the pump (1 a different length than others) 3 on the outflow housing. Be careful with your technique if you use RTV for gasketing. It will take a while to burp the system once you refill with coolant. Good luck.


I ended up just having my mechanic take care of it, he's only charging me $200 to do the pump, belts, hoses, thermostat, and anything else it might need, that's including parts and labor.


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

PhxJosh said:


> I ended up just having my mechanic take care of it, he's only charging me $200 to do the pump, belts, hoses, thermostat, and anything else it might need, that's including parts and labor.


Please let me know as soon as you get this fixed if that is the issue. I'm having the exact same problem and yet when I asked over and over and over no one seemed to know anything.

Does you car get hot with the A/C on only? It usually takes a few minutes but does it eventually start to warm up? My car does the samething, whines sometimes when you turn the A/C on, starts to smoke with the A/C on, warms up pretty much only when he A/C is running. If I dont turn the A/C off it will eventually overheat, etc.


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

*Update!*

I finally got around to changing out both belts and nada. The car is still acting exactly the same as it was before so I dont think the belts will solve anything for you. It has however appeared to have stopped burning oil. Plus at least the belts aren't noisey anymore. I'm leaning towards the radiator. That's all that's left.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Ahh !!!

You have intermittent smoke...

you have the GA16DE correct ?

replace the small squarish gasket under the valve cover....


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

I did that twice in my car and it worked until the belts started slipping. Changing the belts at least stopped the smoking problem.


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## slavrenz (Apr 16, 2010)

Guro305 said:


> I did that twice in my car and it worked until the belts started slipping. Changing the belts at least stopped the smoking problem.


No way new belts cause a car to stop burning oil. I don't know what to tell you in your case, but a car burning oil has nothing to do with the serpentine belts.


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

slavrenz said:


> No way new belts cause a car to stop burning oil. I don't know what to tell you in your case, but a car burning oil has nothing to do with the serpentine belts.


Ok great! Now in this thread alone we've learned that they do and dont. I'm glad we're not professional mechanics. :crazy:


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## slavrenz (Apr 16, 2010)

Guro305 said:


> Ok great! Now in this thread alone we've learned that they do and dont. I'm glad we're not professional mechanics. :crazy:


I'm not saying that after new belts, whatever smoking you had did not stop like you say. If that is the case, then what I am saying is that the original smoking was not coming from the oil in your engine. It would have had to have been something on the old belts themselves. I suppose if they were absolutely drenched with oil, and they got hot enough, but it's hard to say without being there.


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

I'm changing the radiator this weekend. Now she's finally heating up without the A/C on. Fans are both running, the oil is nice and black, every damn possible hose has been changed, the waterpump is working, belts have been changed, s#!t, it's the only thing left to do. At that point, I would have replaced the entire cooling system!!! Radiator isn't super old but it does have a bunch of miles on it so I guess it's time has come and gone.


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## Mongoose007 (Aug 15, 2006)

If you run a garden hose through the top of the radiator, with the drain cap (down the bottom) out, does it overflow from the top? If so, the radiator core is probably blocked up, which means only a small bit of it is being used. This could cause overheating..

Also, is the radiator water a nice green colour, or is it looking more brown? Brown would mean rust in the coolant, which would be another sign of blockages...


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

This is Florida man, we dont use pure anti-freeze.  Out with the old radiator and in with the new. The last few days it was heating up slowly within 15-20 minutes without the A/C.

Put in a new radiator and gave her a half hour lap up and down the highway twice and back around. So far, so good. I'll keep everyone posted.


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## Mongoose007 (Aug 15, 2006)

Yeah, I guess you guys don't get any problem with them freezing over out there lol...

but you do/have used some sort of rust preventative... right?

Glad to hear it's acting better now Guro!


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## Guro305 (Dec 16, 2007)

Mongoose007 said:


> Yeah, I guess you guys don't get any problem with them freezing over out there lol...
> 
> but you do/have used some sort of rust preventative... right?
> 
> Glad to hear it's acting better now Guro!


Well, yeah I use 50/50. Like I said we dont use "pure" anti-freeze.  However you are right, we do have a major problem with rust on EVERYTHING!


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